Skydive Deland Fun or Not?

[Rdutch 0]

Recently Ive been doing a lot of jumps at other Drop zones, and I always try to get people to come to my home dz, (which I love). But all I hear is Deland is a team factory and no one fun jumps there. I work there and I know there is some fun jumping going on, I do agree over the years it has slowed down a little with the fun jumpers, they are doing more jumps each year, but I think its cause of teams. In my recent jumps at other Dz's I have seen a lot of skydive Deland's regulars, and when I asked them where they have been, they said "this dropzone is a lot more fun". Anyway to the point, if you are jumping somewhere else, and used to jump in Deland why? Is Deland not fun anymore? I agree that the personal atmospere there isnt as strong as it used to be, and definitely when the jumping ends, everyone goes home, at the other dz's Ive been to the party starts when the jumping ends. Well please give your opinion, Deland isnt a tandem factory, we have awesome planes, well maintained ect, coaching for every kind of skydiving, and a good restaurant. If you have anything good to say about Deland and why you like it, I would love to hear it, but if you have anything bad to say about Deland I would love to hear it also, there is definitely a decline in the regulars. This post is just for me, personally, Im just curious, nothing about this post has anything to do with Skydive Deland, its staff or jumpers. Its based on a few conversations I had with people at other dz's, and at my home dz. I just wanted to see if everyone felt that way or had difft opinions. I would love to hear everyone say "hell no Deland rocks dont change it" so if you feel that way post it, and if you dont want to post it public, IM me.

Ray
Small and fast what every girl dreams of!

[MissMae 0]

Everytime I was able to jump at Deland I had a ball!! It was a lot of fun for me, and the pictures that I took with this little disposable camera turned out so cool with all the clouds there. They are more leinient about people pulling high and just checking everything out and seeing what is around, plus everything is so green!!! And I still can't get over the clouds!!!! Unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity to get back over there since about a year ago, but if I had the chance to go back I'd go back in a heartbeat.
I've attached a few pictures of when I was there and the pics I took of my honey with the disposable camera.

take the time to appreciate the people around you.

[CrazyIvan 0]

I finished my AFF there, since the weather here up north (NJ) wasn't cooperating, I had fun, cool people nice atmosphere and lots of boobies.

__________________________________________
Blue Skies and May the Force be with you.

[MissMae 0]

How did I miss out on all the boobies?????

take the time to appreciate the people around you.

[juanesky 0]

I think is because Ivan has boobievision...

"According to some of the conservatives here, it sounds like it's fine to beat your wide - as long as she had it coming." -Billvon

[NightJumper 0]

Ray,

I have been jumping off and on at DeLand for over a year. You have brought up a lot of the things that makes DeLand a great drop zone. I don’t view the issues that I have seen and heard there as being an issue of a “team factory” which it is, and that’s OK, because I believe that you can have teams, manufactures, and fun jumpers all at the same time, and if anyone can do it, Deland should be able to. The only part that new jumpers may not understand is when the manufactures reps. are there doing test jumps etc. I know when I am there doing test jumps I am focused on what I am doing. But I do believe that you hit the issue on the head that DeLand has lost the personal atmosphere. And this is not from the staff (which are very friendly) but from the skydivers. I have jumped at 15 different drop zones and been to Rantoul and in all of the times that I have been at DeLand there has never been anyone who has introduced their self or asked if I would like to jump with them, etc. I have gone to other drop zones and been stopped at the door and told that I was going to base a hybrid jump or asked if there was any type of jump I would like to do or learn. At other drop zones I have been asked on the way up whom I was jumping with and what I was doing and when I said I was doing a solo I was often asked to join in their jump. This is what is missing at DeLand. Ray, if you remember the other day when I introduced myself to you I said, “Hey, are you Ray?” and your response was “why”. And please understand that I am just as guilty. As a result of the lack of atmosphere there, I usually just jump with the people I work with.

I think this could be turned around pretty easily by just doing a few things like having load organizers putting jumps together for different types of fun jumps. And I am not talking about the old monotone announcement over the PA, but actively having someone go out and ask people to join in. And all of the skydivers saying hey to the new people and making them feel welcome. Do this and friendships will form and people will be there after the last load lands or at least until the beer is gone.

I would like to thank you for taking the initiative to start this post and ask the tough questions to find out how to make DeLand the best drop zone it can be!

Mike

[Emma 0]

Hi Ray,

I love Deland, it rocks. The staff are friendly , coaching is excellent, planes are awesome, great restaurant and bar. But the again, I've only used it for...ah...team training. Also I have not idea what it was like *before* it got all 'teamy'.

I agree that sometimes there's a bit of a gap at the end of a day's jumping, but I've still been there for some pretty cool parties.

Load organising might help out strays without a team, but then again, you need to get 'fun' jumpers (is team training not fun? ) there in the first place, if you do really think that's what's missing. I always assumed Deland 'positioned' itself as the definitive team training Dz; maybe it's this alone that discourages people without teams to jump there? I guess every Dz has a reputation which can work for or against it - it's easy to get pigeon-holed and once that happens you do have to work hard to correct an image that may have evolved, if it's not the image you want.

Emma

[jmpnkramer 0]

Hey Ray:

We did not actually get introduced this past weekend. It was nice to meet you. I actually reconized you because of your avatar. Thank you for coming down and supporting the Swoop Competition. Too bad it could not have been on Monday though, there was no wind.

I believe Deland is fun. I did my time before second Bridman Jump there with Chuck (SkyMonkeyOne) this year. I had a good time even though we only had time for one jump because it was in the middle of the week.

That is not a good restaurant, it is an AWESOME restaurant. The best one I have seen so far which is why I do not understand why everyone goes home after jumping. Of course I have not been to the West coast to jump but it is the best eating/drinking establishment on any DZ I have been on and I have jumped all through the South. From Texas to the East coast I have been to a majority of the DZ's.

I will say that if you are a new jumper it seems hard to get in and taken care of. I say seems because I am not going to judge any staff where I do not jump. I have the luxury of being in the sport awhile now and I know many people all over.

Deland has definitely gotten team oriented over the years. That is not a bad thing though. It is definitely a prime location for teams. It is not too far from the tunnel.

I grew up in the Deland area and sadly at the time I did not know about Skydiving otherwise I would have been jumping as a teenager. When I got off Active Duty that is where I had intended to move back to. Some circumstances brought me to the Tampa area though and I started Jumping and Working at Z-Hills. Since coming off active duty I have had a string of bad luck but the Z-Hills Family took care of me. I am very happy now. If I ever moved though the only other place I would go is to Deland.

Anyway, that is my small opinion. It really does not matter where you go in Florida or the world. I believe that every experience is what you make of it. If you go with apprehensions then you are going to find only bad things. I personally try to find the good things and dwell on them. It makes life much more enjoyable.

Take Care Ray. I will see you up there sometime. I have money on Account. I just get tied up here at the Hill. It is hard to get away.

Blue Skies and Long Safe Swoop,

KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The REAL KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMER!

"HESITATION CAUSES DEATH!!!"
"Be Slow to Fall into Friendship; but when Thou Art in, Continue Firm & Constant." - SOCRATES

[flyhi 24]

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in all of the times that I have been at DeLand there has never been anyone who has introduced their self or asked if I would like to jump with them, etc.

Had the exact same experience. If you're not in the clique, you really have to push to get on an RW load sometimes. Asked one group (on a 20-min call) if I could join them, and they said they had a 13-way jump all set up and were ready to start dirt diving it. They may have been getting ready for the 13-way nationals, but I doubt it.

But you gotta love the big, fast planes. That's why I keep going back.

Shit happens. And it usually happens because of physics.

[kevin922 0]

I have been there once and had a not so great experience. The manifesting was all messed up.. because of the teams they were on every other otter load and for whatever reason they decided to put up a porter.. so basically it was literally an hour wait to get on a load and they refused to put up the skyvan. (I know the skyvan was operational...) i just don' see the logic there, a regular deland jumper who I was with said they evidentally do stuff like that all the time down there.

If you have 3 planes and you have 1 hour waits for manifest it seems like you might want to put another plane up.

[Emma 0]

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so basically it was literally an hour wait to get on a load

Wow, a whole hour? I don't mean to sound rude, but you guys should try jumping in the UK some time.... An hour's wait when the DZ is busy sounds like a pretty effiicient operation to me. I guess we are all deprived over here and grateful for less though

Incidentally, the people who voted that the DZ isn't 'fun'? You mean compared ot other DZs or just not fun to be at, period? It's a whole load funner than many DZs I know. But maybe I'm just a sucker for good facilities and sunshine...

[skydiverbrian 0]

Any DZ is only as fun as you make it, but there is something to be said for vibes. Deland really doesn't have the best vibes. Harsh to say, I know, but that's the truth. I've been jumping there for a little more than a year, very infrequently, and with the exception of skymama, no one has ever invited me on a jump. No one has ever introduced themselves. No one has ever just walked up and said "welcome".

The kind of vibe that makes a drop zone a cool place to hang out is not something that happens automatically. It takes a lot of work, mostly from staffers. Especially on the busiest days. Anyone who wears a bright orange staff shirt should be welcoming new faces and introducing people. It only takes a minute, but the vibe lasts alot longer.

Deland has become so much a team factory, that the 'flavor' is missing. They're just another vanilla dropzone located within 100 +/- miles of quite a few more flavorful dzs.

That said, I'll still jump there. It's close to home and there are two people I like to hang out with. I'll also still do my part to welcome other jumpers and invite newbies into the air and invite solos to join groups (even if it means re-planning the dive on the way to altitude). That's what makes a cool vibe and if everyone did it, the vibe would be unstoppable.

In a world full of people, only some want to fly... isn't that crazy! --Seal

[Ron 7]

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Incidentally, the people who voted that the DZ isn't 'fun'? You mean compared ot other DZs or just not fun
to be at, period? It's a whole load funner than many DZs I know. But maybe I'm just a sucker for good
facilities and sunshine..

Go there when you are not team training. If you don't know people there you will be doing solos.

It has been like this since 1995 when I started going there.

For teams it rocks...like no place I have ever been. I have been on teams at two different DZ's and DeLand is almost impossible to beat.

However when it comes to fun jumps...You either know people, or you can be screwed. It is also hard to meet people when they split right after jumping.

Now I consider myself a local there (Less this year than last). And it is true that if you show up without a team on a normal weekend that you can get screwed.

Thats why I spend most of my non team time in Zhills. DeLand wants teams, Zhills does not. Zhills wants a boogie every weekend, DeLand does not.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[skymama 35]

Of course I think Deland is fun, or I wouldn't be coming back all the time. I've been to 2 other major dz's in Florida, and I was never invited to jump with anyone at those places who I didn't already know from dz.com. The "family" in Deland treated me great last weekend when I did my piddly 300th jump. They made sure I had someone to jump with, announced it on the microphone and I had congratulations from everyone from the dzo down to the packers. They made me feel great! I've had people looking out for me and taking care of me ever since the first day I walked on the dropzone. Sure, it may be partly because I'm a girl, but it also may have something to do with the fact that I show up with a friendly and positive attitude. If you have the right attitude, you can have fun anywhere you go.

I have my own theory as to why the nightlife in Deland is pretty mellow. I think it is because so many people who are there work in the industry, so if they are at the dz every day, it starts to get a little old after awhile and they want to go do something else or even just go home and relax. It is possible to have too much of a good thing. At other dz's, most of the jumpers work other jobs, so they are thrilled to be able to go to the dz (as I am) on the weekends and cut loose.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[Emma 0]

I guess it's just what people make of it then isn't it? It's up to the fun jumpers (whoever they are) to get other people involved. Or do you think there is a conscious approach from 'the top', if you like, to be unwelcoming to non-team jumpers? I think management can set the tone for a DZ, but ultimately it's the people who jump there who make it fun or not, assuming the facilities are good.

[skymama 35]

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It's up to the fun jumpers (whoever they are) to get other people involved. Or do you think there is a conscious approach from 'the top', if you like, to be unwelcoming to non-team jumpers?

I was talking to a tandem master who has been at Deland for a long time about this just the other day. One thing about Deland is that people come in and out of there from all over the world each and every day. If you don't make it known that you are looking for someone to jump with, we're not going to know. There are way too many new faces for us to keep track with what each person is doing. We never know if someone is here for a team, canopy school, freefly school, Skydive U, Aff, demo jumping, fun jumping, etc. It's not like a little Cessna dropzone where you can tell right off that there is someone new hanging around. We joked that we usually figure it out on the last day or two that someone new has been there! I'm sure we could work a little harder on walking around and looking to see if anyone is hanging out alone, but it's not like it is impossible to find someone to jump with. I was invited to do RW 4-way the very first day that I showed up with my 26 jumps.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[Stacy 0]

I've had mixed experiences at Deland as well. Granted when I went there initially, I knew Andrea. I also ran into Kat and Roger from Alti2 there, and thanks to knowing them they got me set up with Carl jumping. I can honestly say that on that visit, althugh it was a boogie weekend, I really didn't feel that welcomed at the party that evening (except for from Andrea). I had a great time there when I returned, although I was there with a team. I've returned there for canopy training with Scott Miller, again it's an excellent place to go learn/train, etc. I too have found that ZHills is more sociable in my experiences and has a family type atmosphere. First day I walked onto the deck there 4 organizers were asking if I did RW before I even opened my gear bag. That was a most welcoming feeling.

Different people want different things from a DZ. I'm sure Deland meets certain people's needs, other DZs meet other people's needs. That's why each DZ has it's crowd that calls it "home."
__

[Vallerina 2]

I had a great time at Deland, and I am not on a team!!! We got there, got all signed in, a very nice gentleman gave us the low down on the dz, I asked about who was load organizing, and they pointed me in the right direction. Andrea showed up later, and we had even more fun! You can chalk it up to being a girl in the sport, but I have been to other dzs that are not as friendly.

I was only there for a few jumps, and we didn't hang out there much afterwards, so I guess I don't have all the info on the place, but I enjoyed it! It was tough to decide between ZHills and Deland for the rest of the Florida trip (although, ZHills having the Alloutte made us happy with our decision.)

Overall, I liked the Deland. Nice people, nice planes, and they put me on some really good jumps there (I guess jumping with Majick will do that, huh? )

Oh...yeah...one more thing...the guys on Majick were really awesome. Laid-back, fun, helpful, just good guys.

There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning

[Emma 0]

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It's up to the fun jumpers (whoever they are) to get other people involved. Or do you think there is a conscious approach from 'the top', if you like, to be unwelcoming to non-team jumpers?

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I was talking to a tandem master who has been at Deland for a long time about this just the other day. One thing about Deland is that people come in and out of there from all over the world each and every day. If you don't make it known that you are looking for someone to jump with, we're not going to know. There are way too many new faces for us to keep track with what each person is doing. We never know if someone is here for a team, canopy school, freefly school, Skydive U, Aff, demo jumping, fun jumping, etc. It's not like a little Cessna dropzone where you can tell right off that there is someone new hanging around. We joked that we usually figure it out on the last day or two that someone new has been there! I'm sure we could work a little harder on walking around and looking to see if anyone is hanging out alone, but it's not like it is impossible to find someone to jump with. I was invited to do RW 4-way the very first day that I showed up with my 26 jumps.

Yep, I agree with you. My question was really rhetorical, in that I've always found 'the top' to be great, very friendly and nice, and when I've been there with non-team friends, everyone has had a good time. A place is what you make of it - there are many DZs where you will be 'stuck' doing solos if you don't make a little effort to be friendly and get to know people :)

By the way Skymama, saw you at Deland, I recognised you from your old DZ.com picture - my team and I were checking out famous DZ.com's Skymama! But didn't want to seem too stalker-ish by tracking down you down there and then in the flesh. We'll say Hi over a beer next time...lol

Emma

[turtlespeed 212]

There's no option for "Dunno, ain't been there yet"

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[skymama 35]

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By the way Skymama, saw you at Deland, I recognised you from your old DZ.com picture - my team and I were checking out famous DZ.com's Skymama! But didn't want to seem too stalker-ish by tracking down you down there and then in the flesh. We'll say Hi over a beer next time...lol

Oh my gosh, you're kidding me! I hope I wasn't being too much of a goofball. I try to behave myself when I know people are looking. I would have loved to talk to you and your teammates, I wish you would have said hello. Please let me know whenever you come back.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[Remster 24]

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But didn't want to seem too stalker-ish

oooh.... Girl on girl stalking... kinky....

Its nice to read a lot of commnets on Deland. I've never been, mostly because of lack of opportunity, but also because of the reputation it has of being quite team orientated, and since I'm a sucky boogie jumper, I choose to go elsewhere with my limited vacation time.

Remster

[flyhi 24]

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If you don't make it known that you are looking for someone to jump with, we're not going to know. There are way too many new faces for us to keep track with what each person is doing. We never know if someone is here for a team, canopy school, freefly school, Skydive U, Aff, demo jumping, fun jumping, etc. It's not like a little Cessna dropzone where you can tell right off that there is someone new hanging around.

"Anyone who wants organized on load six, meet up on the happy face."

Name that non-Cessna DZ.

Shit happens. And it usually happens because of physics.

[wildblue 4]

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"Anyone who wants organized on load six, meet up on the happy face."

Name that non-Cessna DZ.

Lake Wales. EDIT: And I have jumped a Cessna there - doesn't that make it a Cessna DZ? ... although, I'm not sure that thing actually counted as a Cessna, it was way too fast!
Also, the happy face is a great place to hang out after hours - especially if the Screamin' Eagles are training!!

I got the same feeling at Deland as many others - if you're a team, great. If not, sit around on an hour+ wait.
But Skymama is there, so that makes it at least a little better

it's like incest - you're substituting convenience for quality

[Vallerina 2]

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"Anyone who wants organized on load six, meet up on the happy face."

I remember them saying that and denying me. As in, they called that, I walked up to the smiley face, the guy said, maybe next time. I went up there the next time, guess what he said again?

There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning