While there are many people who might believe that there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, there are others who actually take great joy in experiencing the exhilaration of skydiving.

“Actually,” Jason Wolcott, Vice President of TURBINE TRAINING in Manhattan, Kansas, “when we conduct our CARAVAN Training and our King Air 90 Training we advise our students that both work extremely well as skydiving craft.”

There are some differences between the two, of course, and it really depends on what you want to accomplish that will convince you which is best for you.

Perhaps the best way to help you make your decision is through the use of a Comparison Chart, like the one below:


ISSUE CESSNA 208 KING AIR 90
"Payload" Jumpers 17 15
"Climb Time" to 13,500 ft. 15-20 Minutes 10-15 Minutes
Fuel Used per Jump Less than 25 Gal. 20-30 Gal.

“The difference in regard to both ‘climb time’ and ‘fuel consumption’,” Dale Wolcott, TURBINE TRAINING’S president explained, “is the fact that the KING AIR 90 has two engines, and the CARAVAN only has one.”

“They each have equally good jump platforms,’ Jason shared, “which, of course, is important to the jumper.”

While the platforms are comparable, the “exit door” is not. The CARAVAN has a big, wide cargo door that actually comes off, providing a situation where two or three jumpers can exit as once.

“While the CARAVAN is slightly more economical per flight,”Dale pointed out, “the KING AIR 90, because of the two engines, can do more ‘turn around flights’ in a day and, when you make a profit based on how many jumpers you can serve a day, that becomes a pretty important aspect of what to consider when choosing a jump plane.”

If you are thinking about purchasing a craft for skydiving purposes, you may find that the initial investment for the King Air 90 might be a little less, as they began production in 1964, where the CARAVAN came into production in the 1980s, indicating that they might run a little bit more should you find one.

Established in 1986, TURBINE TRAINING is one of the leading cessna training centers in the country, where they feature both Initial and Recurrent Training for not only Cessna Caravan and KING AIR 90, but also Cessna 208 training; King Air 200 Training and King Air 300 Training.If you have any questions about the process for receiving TRAINING, contact TURBINE TRAINING at 1-866-335-1224 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The Wolcotts and their staff would be happy to assist you in your quest for Training or Recurrent Training regarding Turbine Engines - and will give you the opportunity of being on the cutting edge of training by using their simulators.