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Dropzone Database: North America: United States: New York : Blue Sky Ranch : Reviews

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has contributed 25 reviews

Review Summary: Average Rating: Total Reviews: 25 Write a Review Show: All Ratings 5 Star Rated 4 Star Rated 3 Star Rated 2 Star Rated 1 Star Rated Sort by: Newest First Highest Rating First Most Useful First Display: 10 25 50 100

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(Review ID:5111)

10 of 15 people found the following review helpful: A DZ with the atmosphere of a small one, yet with the facilities of something much bigger Rated by: skydiverphil on 2009-05-16 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Blue Sky Ranch   Pros: Great atmosphere, nice fleet, great pro shop Cons: Hard to get to if you don't have a car

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

Very welcoming for beginners and students. Even the tandems get instruction and are taught to participate to a way higher extent than normally found. As a student getting his A license, I found people to be very open, accommodating and safety conscious. With a small number of jumps people still automatically invite you into a fourway, and getting to know pros is never difficult. Sonic and his shop feature excellent advice and a great selection. A very satisfying experience. Would recommend to anyone in the NYC area.

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(Review ID:4773)

5 of 13 people found the following review helpful: I made my first tandem jump recently here! Rated by: Verville on 2008-09-09 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Blue Sky Ranch   Pros: An amazing staff, great vibe, and outstanding professionalism Cons: Absolutely nothing

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

There is not enough good stuff I can say about this place. I think everyone should try skydiving at least once and this is the place I would recommend. The staff is great and everyone was friendly. I was amazed about how quickly we were in the air and ready to go... I had an amazing time and cannot wait go jump again!

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(Review ID:4564)

0 of 12 people found the following review helpful: The Ranch lived up to all the hype!!! Rated by: missann1320 on 2008-06-06 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Blue Sky Ranch   Pros: Ranch Pro Shop; Planes; Location/Views; People; Packing area Cons: Crazy wind; Manifest; No snack/soda machine; No bunkhouse

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

The famous Blue Sky Ranch...

I flew in from MI into Newburgh (easy 1/2 hour drive Memorial Day weekend) to work with Sonic and Laszlo for my camera set up. I am a professional Nikon wedding photographer and decided it made sense for me to be a Nikon flyer as well.

As most of you know the mouth/bite/blow switched are not compatible with Nikon's out of the box... so Laz spent the time creating one to fit my D200 and D70 and it worked beautifully!

Sonic spent most of the day fitting me for my helmet, drilling holes, and making sure my ringsight was perfect. Lots of TLC from him and Donna- thank you both!! They even went as far as guiding me on the progression between parts/jumps to safely get that camera/ringsight flying. There help was more than appreciated!!

What I did not appreciate was manifest. I have my C license (C-36575 and ~250 jumps)and was told because I did not have 15 jumps signed in my log book so they had to call the last 2 places I jumps to verify before I could get on a load. Time consuming and over protective for a C license holder!!

Freaking awesome facilities... nice bathrooms, lockers, camping, nice landing stretch (nice unless the winds are north/south), lots of packing room, throrough explanations from folks on the ground and in the plane to where the DZ was, landing, outs, etc. I landed just off the DZ on a 182 load at 'Farmer McNasty's' and not only did someone walk back to make sure I was fine but someone then picked me up on the road out.

Lots of fabulous people to freefly with and a very open DZ when it comes to fun, events, and the after fun ;-) Loved my 48 hours here!! Would go back as quick as I could!!


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(Review ID:4534)

3 of 17 people found the following review helpful: three otters, great people, great parties, just a great place Rated by: billstap on 2008-05-27 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Blue Sky Ranch   Pros: Way too many to list Cons: cant live there ;-(

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

I am still a newbie to the sport, I only have 160 jumps, but have been fortunate enough to have visited a number of DZ's already. In comparing the DZ's the only thing that any of the other DZ's have on the ranch is you can live on them, hopefully someday we can get the local townies to back off and let us be, but we will have to wait and see.

The ranch is an amazing DZ though, the planes are well, some of the best in the industry and we have three of them. on Saturday of memorial day weekend '08 I saw three otters turn 54 loads in one day. I was simply in awe.

the parties afterwards were incredible, roaming from one fire to the next, being fed, and boozed, and great conversation lead to some wonderful nights

Landing is great too, you do not have to worry about being cut off at the ranch, we pick a landing pattern (towards the pond or mountain) which keeps traffic moving the same way. you can choose to land your own way if you would like, you just have to land in a different section, and take a longer walk, but hey at least there's the option.

the experience levels of the people there is great as well, and everyone is willing to give you some insight. I remember one time on a busy day, one of the tandem masters getting up from a pack job just to help me better understand something about canopy control.

Have learned a lot at this DZ and will be very sad if the day comes that I have to move away, and only visit once in a while. and if I have to go to another DZ, I will always be a rancher at heart!

blue skies!!!
SHAWANGA

Billy Stapleton B-30169

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(Review ID:4502)

11 of 55 people found the following review helpful: Dont recommend this place at all, unsafe and unprofessional Rated by: 1LegOutCali on 2008-05-09 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Blue Sky Ranch   Pros: cant think of one Cons: manifest girls arent very good/friendly,landing area,local jumpers not very welcoming to prospective jumpers,not much of

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

The 1st time I visited the ranch was in March or Apr 08. I was happy because I never seen actual skydivers landing and it was awesome. The people outside in the creeping area(kind of one)watching were the local jumpers and employees were pretty cool for the most part, but you had to start the conversation, if not they will ignore you. I was lucky enough to be an outgoing female and have a boyfriend who jumped there so it wasn't so bad to get people to warm up and chat a bit, and of course, have guys flirt with you boasting about how many jumps they have (I could care less). I visited the ranch about 4 more times after that day just to see my bf jump and I basically roamed around and sat outside in an uncovered slab of concrete alone because no one talks to you unless you're wearing a rig,a regular or work there. I thought if people saw me with him they would be friendlier but I was just seen as a whuffo. He took me upstairs to visit the pro-shop while waiting for a load and there I met Sonic and Donna who are pretty cool and I ended up spending most of my time there while he jumped.
So 2 weeks go by and him and I go on a vacation to Z Hills, omg! I did not want to leave and 3 weeks later I'm still teary eyed and missing it a lot. After completing my AFF there and creating the best memories of my life, I'm jaded. Being a student jumper starting out with such a huge student friendly lz(with arrows telling you where to hold and friggin land!), then coming to the ranch is like going to Disney-World then going to Coney island a week later...its a waste of time comparing. I cringe thinking of jumping at the ranch because the lz looks so small that it doesn't leave much room for error, thank god I'm pretty decent under canopy so I'm not that worried but I do believe in murphy's law and not having many outs scares me....
So I email asking a question about a discount for mothers day since I wanted to buy a tandem for my mom and since other dz's(z hills,long island) were having a special that day I thought the ranch would, but they wouldn't even ask Billy if it was possible, they just dismissed the thought as if they got paid per tandem too (maybe), at least skydive long island told me they would ask the owner and have an answer for me by the next day, and they did. I called again 2 days later to reschedule my coach jump since the weather wasn't looking great for my visit there and I was put on hold 3 times, well not really hold, just put my line down on the desk as she joked around and booked up parties for tandems, typically if you're already in a conversation with a caller, you can say please hold for a sec, answer the other line to see if its a quick question, if it is, answer it, if its not, then place them on hold and get back to the person who called first! so after that happened 3 times I looked at my cell and my timer said 20 min, not all of which was booking my coach and my moms tandem :( oh and not to mention that when you walk by their window, if they don't know you they will either roll their eyes or ignore you, unless you're a guy paying them compliments for some reason...tip, its nice to smile to all customers whether you know them or not...
Last weekend 5/2/08 I was there to set up a tent and we noticed a lot of broken bottles and trash around the camping ground, the platforms were decent looking but some just needed to be torn down due to safety risks. I'm not saying the camp is all horrible but if you don't get there early enough in the season you will not have a decent place to camp, all good spots go fast and there aren't many.
The location is in the cut, basically if you don't know the area, its easy to get lost getting there, I was lucky enough to know someone who frequently visits. Im not saying this is a bad place, because it really isn't horrible, but when you go to such a great and big dz, then you come to the ranch...you are spoiled and this doesn't cut it. Maybe I need to stick around and feel out the place more, perhaps in the summer it gets better and people get friendlier but for me right now, I'm going to check out cross keys and long island and feel them out, the lz is bigger and maybe if I have other dz's to compare the ranch to, other than z hills, then maybe I can better choose the dz that best suits me because right now, all I know is that z hills is calling my name.

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(Review ID:4371)

8 of 18 people found the following review helpful: A friendly private airport with great mountain views & nightlife! Rated by: daddy1313 on 2008-02-26 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Blue Sky Ranch   Pros: Great Vibe, Planes, Pilots, Instructors, & Facilities! Cons: Not enough winter jumpers

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

Thanks to The Richards - Billy, Joe and Otto - this DZ is really cool!

Everyone works hard here to make this a special and welcoming place for Jumpers of all experience levels. Beginner and expert alike can share, learn and be safe at this DZ.

The RanchPRO Shop is one of the best in the nation, and is staffed by super knowledgeable riggers, and sales professionals. They really know how to make you feel special.

Regarding the after jump activities I am too old to know and/or comment but its constituents appears to be an entertaining and energetic group.

This is a place not to be missed!




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(Review ID:4068)

2 of 10 people found the following review helpful: Very nice dropzone Rated by: michalm21 on 2007-08-07 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Blue Sky Ranch   Pros: 2 Otters, very friendly people, lots of events and camps, great vibe Cons: Landing area

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

+
The Ranch is a very friendly, opened 7 days a week, 2 Otter + Porter dropzone.
Great people, great vibe, lots of organizing and cool events.
Great place for team training. New Hangar needs to still be finished but is a huge improvement over the "old setup".
Awesome views, but place can be hard to spot if you're new to the area.

-
Landing area is long but narrow (comparing to any other DZ), uneven at certain spots with ditches, and sucks when wet (gets muddy quite easily)

=
I recommend this DZ and will be back whenever I get a chance to.

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(Review ID:3753)

3 of 11 people found the following review helpful: They cry 'Shawanga' every single takeoff! Rated by: nadi on 2007-03-19 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Blue Sky Ranch   Pros: Nice sceneries, Shawanga, very friendly people, fun place in weekends, loads Cons: weather (september), trees

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

They have a lot of planes, but most of them were shutdown when I was there, the porter was broken and only 1 otter went up (occasionally 2 otters in the weekend). Not always enough people to jump during the week and many shutdowns. The people are extremely friendly, fun to jump with and to talk to. They have a lot of parties and very social.

The store is very good and reliable, I bought a new canopy there and the guy sent it to me home fast.

As for September 2006, The ranch had relatively old facilities, with bad showers and toilets, not any place to stay besides camping and packing hall but I heard they built a new hanger and changed all this.


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(Review ID:3641)

1 of 9 people found the following review helpful: A good place to go for a full weekend Rated by: Chris_K on 2007-01-18 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Blue Sky Ranch   Pros: Cheap Jump Prices Cons: Lots of trees, muddy.

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

My experience of the ranch started off as a negative one.

As a result of my rigger not filling in the reserve pack date, I had to rent a rig from the pro-shop. No big deal.

However, when I went into the pro-shop, they could not do a re-pack, then the woman who was trying to help us was not very knowledgeble on what was required.

Once the guy showed up we got our rigs and were on our way.

The jumping is cheap at $20 a jump, that rocked.

Sitting on the floor is a bit uncomfortable versus the side bench system in most otters.

The russian were good at giving out pointers and doing a few jumps with.

Overall on our first day we were ignored by the locals so we just did our thing.

On saturday evening the place was deserted by the time we got back from supper, ah well, we had brought a few cases.

Sunday was a different story. Once people realized we were there for a few days, they warmed up. On the group we started swapping stories while re-packing and waiting for loads.

Some more people came in from NY City and we went to do a nice 10-way.

Overall, even with all the mud from the pooled water (it had rained afew days before) It was a good experience and I plan on going back as, even with all the driving, it is a good enough price to more then compensate for it.


Once the new hanger is finished the facilities will be large and very nice.


Blue skies.

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(Review ID:3585)

4 of 16 people found the following review helpful: Trees everywhere, but nice landing area Rated by: jmoponfire on 2006-12-14 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Blue Sky Ranch   Pros: no food, no phone Cons: no food, no phone,

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

This was my first away-from-home drop zone experience. I took a bus from the city, and a cab to the dropzone. The people in the pro shop were my first contact, and were totally cool. The ticket lady wasn't very friendly, but then the two other ticket ladies on the following days were. The boyfriend of one of them gave me a dirty look though when I laughed at her blowing out a whoopie cushion.

The russian guys were helpful and gave some good pointers w/ low ego. On the second day, one of the video men, Kevin, loaned me his car to go to the store for food and what not. Totally cool. The lady with the nice rack for an older woman was pretty helpful and friendly to me, the stranger in the strange land, giving me pointers, advice, and my first non-solo jump!!!!, Her boyfriend tandem master showed up at end of day. (Can't remember their names), took me to dinner - and even though though lady gave a lot of skydiving lecture (I think that was after the alcohol kicked in) dude reeled her in..and they did buy me dinner and we got pretty drunk. That was a major highlight of my trip and nice thing for them to do. Dude also used the term "beta" in a way I've never heard before. "It's all about experiencing some serious beta" or something like that. Interesting.

I spent the first two nights there by myself. Most of the on grounds staff were not interested in interacting much it seemed, except Kevin and another Russian guy named sasha sleeping out in a tent. Funny guy. There was some irish or scottish looking guy who had pure fire as well. Didn't catch his name. Banana or something like that.

Rotors in landing area were not too bad, although all the jumpers got spooked. Probably my inexperience.

In general I would say that people were a little less ego-tistical then my home drop zone in california which is super clicky and filled with boring people who can't talk about anything else except skydiving.

I'd go back to blue sky. The videographer Kevin cut me a deal and made a spectacular video with all kinds of still shots, music, effects, angles and even dialogue. Killer killer video skills.

This was several months ago. I'm going to Hawaii tomorrow. Can't wait to experience my third drop zone experience in foreign destination. Hopefully will find some folks with an identity beyond "skydiver"...and of course, single fat breasted women in my own age range. j/k.

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