If he was referring to flying the jumpers (parachute that is) then he is probably hinting at the maintenance practices of those operators. It was true at the place I flew for before joining the military. The planes were stripped of nearly everything to include the radios (used handheld ones instead) and it wasn't uncommon I was told for them to quite halfway to altitude Never happen to me thank goodness - but part of my inbrief was not to get outside of gliding distance to one of the three airfields around our little grass strip.

USMCFLYR