Skydive Deland Fun or Not?

[Ron 7]

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I guess it's just what people make of it then isn't it?

Well you can show up with a great attitude and be nice as hell, but if people are training or don't know you, you may not get on any jumps.

DeLand is a great place if you want to train. If you know people there is some good fun jumping there as well. But if you show up oout of the blue you might just find yourself alone.

This is from experience....I used to go there with a girl I was dating and we would do 2 ways until we found other lost souls like us....Now we knew people there, but they were on teams or were coaches so they were not jumping.

I have been on team there for two years, was married to a girl that was born there, and I can tell you that DeLightful, DeWonderful, DeLand is not a place to show up and hope to boogie.

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Or do you think there is a conscious approach from 'the top', if you like, to be
unwelcoming to non-team jumpers?

No I would not say that....But the focus on that DZ is teams. And when you are team training you do your 10-12 jumps and get off the DZ as fast as you can. John Hoover wrote an artical about DZ time. Get the training done, then get off the DZ. It is easy to understand why the teams, coaches and staff don't want to hang out after work. I don't hang around my office when I clock out.

As it is DeLand has a very large number of people that are there for a reason...And they are working while they are there.

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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.

Well anyone thats been to the DZ knows DeLand has everything you would need. But the fact is simple most people there are there for a reason. There are the fun jumpers, but they are greatly out numbered by the teams. And DeLand has a very rich history of skydiving....Its not always easy to break into that group.

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

[Emma 0]

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I hope I wasn't being too much of a goofball. I try to behave myself when I know people are looking.

Lol...Wasn't that you rolling around nekkid on the bouncy castle on the night of the sumo wrestling and Hawaiian shirts? [*joke*] Don't worry, you seemed pretty sophisticated and elegant to me. We, on the other hand, were probably not...Damn lairy boys getting pissed on turbo shandies and bringing the good name of Great Britain into disrepute...
See ya next time!

[Stacy 0]

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"Anyone who wants organized on load six, meet up on the happy face."
Name that non-Cessna DZ.

Cross Keys has the big smiley face meeting spot as well.
__

[skymama 35]

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But Skymama is there, so that makes it at least a little better

That's right, because you can come to Deland and jump with me and think, "wow, I thought I was bad, but at least I suck less than Skymama!"

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

[jmpnkramer 0]

First of all Andrea it is your Home DZ. I would hope that they would recognize your accomplishments.

Second you do not just get invited onto jumps. You either have to know people or ask if you can join. At Deland if they do not know you you cannot Join. At Z-Hills we have several organizers who cater to all levels.

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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.

We have many industry types who hang out at the Hill and in the summer when we are closed on Tuesdays there are BBQ's for the staff and others who would like to join.

Not trying to be rude or harsh but the atmosphere is stiff there. I personally have the luxury of knowing people and being in the sport for a long time. But when a novice skydiver goes there to get an "A" card done and not one person helps that individual that is just wrong. It destroys a persons self confidence and makes them wonder why they started in the first place.

This is a fun sport and we need to help the up and coming skydivers. The person I am referring to above did AFF at another DZ not Deland but then decided to go there for the completion. Was not able to get it done. No one even took time to tell this person about the SIM. I mean C'mon.

All DZ's need to try and be more friendly to new commers. The first impression is a lasting one. Instead of my DZ is better than yours we need to all work together in order to keep the sport strong and safe.

Blue Skies & Soft Landings,

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

The REAL KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMER!

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

[skymama 35]

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Second you do not just get invited onto jumps. You either have to know people or ask if you can join. At Deland if they do not know you you cannot Join.

Sorry, I disagree. On the first day I went to Deland by myself, I had 26 jumps. I was a definite nobody and knew no one. I was standing on the creeper pad and within 10 minutes of my arrival someone asked me to join a 4 way. When I told him I was no good and would blow the dive, he insisted. That was Richard Schrackner, our Southeast Regional rep. who invited me. It was that way for me when I started going there, and it's been that way ever since. *Shrug*, I guess it's different for everyone.

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

[rjackson 0]

My first experience wasn't that great at Deland. I'm a RW fun jumper. When I got there I did the waver thing put some money on account and got ready for some fun. Unfortunatly there where alot of teams training and no one really doing any "fun" jumps. Since I was there by myself and didn't really know anyone, I was hoping to get on a LO load. Well there wasn't anyone orginazing so that plan wasn't going to work.

My first impression wasn't a good one. The DZ was happy to take some money and they'd put me on a load and thats about it. I'd like to try Deland again but I'd have to bring other people to jump with. Unless things change I wont go back by myself.

Since you work there please pass on the feedback.

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Randy

[turtlespeed 212]

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It was that way for me when I started going there, and it's been that way ever since. *Shrug*, I guess it's different for everyone.

Yeah, but you are a hottie.

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

[skymedic 0]

Andrea...with all due respect...you have boob's...and were fresh meat.

Marc
otherwise known as Mr.Fallinwoman....

[jmpnkramer 0]

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I was standing on the creeper pad and within 10 minutes of my arrival someone asked me to join a 4 way.

Hmmmmmmm let's see 5'8 nice body, and good looking. I dunno. It should not have to be that way to get on a load.

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I guess it's different for everyone.

I am not going to dis agree with that. As stated by you or others it does have to do with attitude as well.

From the general consensus of this thread though maybe ya'll could learn to be a little more attentive to someone new on the dz. Possibly even designate an individual to get people onto some loads. I know we can have them jumping all day due to experience level but it should not be near impossible for someone to jump with a group. Solo jumping sucks because there is no reference.

Laters,

KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMER!!!!!!!!

The REAL KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMER!

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

[skymama 35]

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Andrea...with all due respect...you have boob's...and were fresh meat.

Ok, you're a guy. If you ever ask a woman to jump with you, it's only because you want to get in her pants?

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

[crutch 0]

I have been jumping off and on in Deland for over sixteen years. At one time, I even considered myself one of the locals. I only get down there two or three times a year now, but have always had a great time. I will say though that I am at a great advantage versus many of the other people who show up there to jump. Everytime I go, I see old friends and we always have a lot of catching up to do. Also, for me to get on a skydive is very easy, as again, over the years I have been able to meet quite a few people.

I will say that most of the time I go there though, I do solo jumps, not because I have to, but because I want to. I have made many memorable skydives there, my first 100-way, the world's first two-point 100-way, a seven-point 20-way, my wife's first 12-way and a 14-way with a FAA examiner that punched a cloud in freefall. But for me Deland changed when Tommy died, and it hasn't been the same since.

blue skies,

art

[skymedic 0]

I didn't say anything about getting in anyone's pant's....it is just a simple fact. women TEND to get a tad more attention at new DZ's than guys'...especialy if there a hottie..like yourself.

Now my experience with Deland is kinda mixed. When I first went there it was a pain in the butt to find someone to jump with. everyone was a team guy, I was there on a weekday, blah blah blah...now I met quite a few nice people that I ended up jumping with...but they happened to all be visitors to the DZ. this is the primary reason that even though I lived only 10 minutes from the DZ that I drove 110 miles to Sebastian to jump most day's and did all my training there. the vibe is ALOT different there.

now flash forward almost a year...after jumping there quite a bit during the week for about a year. I started making quite a few friends. mostly because they knew me from DZ.com..but some true Deland peeps...then I got invited on quite a few FF jumps and had a great time. it just took forever to break into the groove. I did have a great belly dive there one time when I only had 40 some jumps and told bob I needed someone to jump with...he found lisa aune and two PD blue guys for me to jump with. still not sure of there names but it was a blast and will always remember that jump.

the night life there is kinda to be desired...but I think Andrea is right in that most people there are the industry..so they tend to go home at night to tend to other things in life than 100% skydiving...

anyway, when I make it back down to FL for a vacation Deland will be on the list...just because it really is a great DZ...even if it has a few quirks...

marc

[joshjumps 0]

We'll lessee,

I did my first jump actually my entire AFF at Deland. I did the entire thing in three days and was invited by Bob to dinner Sunday night at the restaurant. That event may be one of the moments that made me want to stick around. The next week Bob had a water training class at his house and we had a bbq afterwards. I was hooked, skydiving, having a blast afterwards and feeling like family.
That quickly changed after I was off student status. I don't blame Bob or his staff they were just too busy. I rented a rig a couple of weeks after I started and was ready to transition to throw out. I did one jump on the rig with the ripcord and then asked to be changed over. They wanted me to jump the same gear so I waited about an hour for the packer to change the pc. I then had to wait about 2 hours for an instructor to show me how to use a throw out. And another 1 1/2 to get on a load. All in all I spent about seven hours and was only able to get on 2 loads. Not two more only two total! I was willing to jump at least 4 or 5 times but just ran out of daylight. Now I had rented the rig for the full day and spent more per jump on rentals than if I had rented it per jump. And I was frustrated. All I got from manifest when I returned my gear was "that's the way it goes sometimes."
I returned once more a week or two later and had to wait more than an hour to get on a load. The next time I manifested I was told I would be the same amount of time and was given my load number. I checked the manifest computer about 10 minutes later and found out I had been put back a load, almost 2 hours. I inquired at manifest what happened and she told me a team had to get on and since I was solo it shouldn't matter. Maybe not to her, but she should have asked. Again I had rented the gear for the full day and was not able to get the jumps I wanted to get.
I searched around and found Zhills. No getting bumped off a load for a team there. There was always someone to jump with and a great party atmosphere afterwards.
Deland has a wonderful restaurant, top teams and wonderful airplanes. They have (had) very little for the low timer who wanted to fun jump. There are a lot of dz's out there who when checking a new jumper in ask what kind of jumping they do. They point out the organizers or people who do that kind of jumping and they get the new jumper on their way. Deland did not do this when I jumped there and I don't know if they do now or not.
Now this may all seem negative but from a business standpoint deland has carved a great niche for themselves. They are a team dz. Their slogan is "Where the best come to get better" or something like that. They want your team business and if you are on a team there is no other dz that will give you what they do.
If you like to fun jump and get on organized loads maybe down the road to Z-hills is the way to go.

Josh

[skybytch 259]

Disclaimers - I've been to Deland once, done one jump there, went with friends, and I know people in the industry.

I had a great time at Deland. I got to meet - and hug! - Rdutch, which made the entire trip worthwhile (hottie!! ). I did a fun skydive with Jack and Lynn. I got a screamin' deal on a pair of Tevas. I met a bunch of people. I was invited to jump with other people, but we had to leave. Since we were only there in daylight hours I can't comment on the night life.

I'm looking forward to heading out there as soon as I can once I get settled at Sebastian.

But, I've been jumping at Perris for a few years, so I'm used to having teams around. Perris also has a reputation of being cliquey; like Deland there are a lot of very good skydivers around and they like to do very good skydives together. It can be hard to break into those groups. Perris has done a great job over the past few years of having LO's available to get newer and visiting jumpers in the air.

[SpinDoctor 0]

Yeay!

Lake Wales....

Be there over Xmas and the New Year.... Can't wait!!

Yeeee haaaaaa!!!!

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Connextion: British 8 Way Team
www.bodyflight.co.uk
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[ladyskydiver 0]

I was at Deland last January. Came one day (Friday) and was on weather hold. Came back on Monday to do 1 jump before I got on the plane. Everyone was very nice to me and ZeroG. Had people showing us around the DZ and willing to jump with us if we had been able to get in more than 1 jump.

The restaurant is very, very good. Good food, nice service, smiles.

ZeroG and I both had fun at the DZ and would definitely go back.

I think a person's experience at any DZ is totally dependent upon what you make it and everyone will have a different experience. Yes, there were a ton of teams practicing, but there were, also, fun jumpers there that would have been more than willing to jump with us.

If the fun jumpers want more fun at Deland - go make the fun. Life is what you make it. Take a chance and come up to someone and say "Let's jump." Take a chance and talk to the teams and ask them that when they are done with team jumps if you could jump with them and maybe, just maybe, learn something from them.

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[jmpnkramer 0]

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If the fun jumpers want more fun at Deland - go make the fun. Life is what you make it. Take a chance and come up to someone and say "Let's jump." Take a chance and talk to the teams and ask them that when they are done with team jumps if you could jump with them and maybe, just maybe, learn something from them.

Well put CORA. Although once again, Two Good looking women show up and everyone wants to jump with them and get to know them.

Just had top throw that in there.

Laters,

KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMER!!!!!!!!!!

The REAL KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMER!

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

[skydiverbrian 0]

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come up to someone and say "Let's jump."

Very often, the reply to that statement is something like "We've already got our 2-way planned and there's not time to rearrange it to make a 3-way". If that's not the verbatim reply, then it's something similar.

I think that there are a few dot commers here that take the negative comments very personally. Understandably, they are very defensive and quick to rationalize the problem. It might be more constructive to first acknowledge the negative comments, then accept that the comments are valid, then try to change that person's perception. Not by asking them to look at things a different way, but by changing your own behavior.

Many people have echoed the same complaint that no one comes up to you and offers a skydive. So the next time you go to Deland, make it a point to walk up to someone and offer to jump with them. This works especially well if you find a soloist - bring them on your jump with you. How hard can it be to add one person to your skydive? Even if it IS already dirt-dove and you're lining up the exit order.

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

[EricaH 0]

There are positives & negatives to each & every dz.
I however will not be going back to DeLand.

A friend visited there for the New Year's boogie & had a great time!! She was on student status & so was kept busy - so we included it in a spring tour of FL dzs.

We came round noon & set up our tent & ate, there for almost 2 hrs & no one talked to us. Went to do tunnel camp & cam back round 7:30/8pm... the place was deserted!! So we went to the bar. We practically had to jump on the bartender to get her to serve us, she was so engrossed in conversation w/ the only other 2 people there. She served us while continuing said conversation. After 2 drinks we went out for a smoke. Some random dude walked up & asked to bum a smoke, I said sure, but only if he'd talk w/ us. He made short nice-nice for about 3 min & then just had to leave.

Our first jump of the AM was bumped due to teams filling the planes & finally after about 2.5 hrs of waiting we got to do a jump. The only time someone acknowleged our existance was in the loading area to see if we were belly or free fliers since we had on FF pants & t-shirts.

I've traveled around a bit in my 1 year of jumping. Jumped @ 12/13 dzs & visited 14/15... never, never have I seen such a lack of personality as there. Not even SoCal... where I actually expected it.

I'm FROM FL & will be visiting family there quite often. I love Z-hills, didn't get to jump there on our tour due to weather & was there for much less time than DeLand, but left w/ at least 4 new friends. Lake Wales is almost Chicagoland's winter home & I love that place as well.

Apparently DeLand doesn't need the fun jumper's $$ & that's a good thing cause they won't get any of mine. No matter how great the food is or how nice the beer selection is - the supurb attitude & welcoming feeling from LW & Z-H will always draw me there.

We also visited Sebastian & Titusville... both places met lots of people & were invited to hang out after - Titusville doesn't even HAVE a bar or food & it was a blast!!

There is no can't. Only lack of knowledge or fear. Only you can fix your fear.

PMS #227 (just like the TV show)

[jumpwally 0]

People were afraid to ask you to jump cuz you look like you just escaped a boy scout camp...lol just joshin',,have ya ever jumped at Skydive Chicago? now there's a make ya feeel good place? any stories out there? wally

smile, be nice, enjoy life
FB # - 1083

[bodypilot90 0]

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Name that non-Cessna DZ.

lake wales great dz, great vibes.

[SkydiveNFlorida 0]

I recently spent a week up in Deland and I had a great time! I made friends with a lot of people, jumped with 4 different people even though I was still on student status. I was trying to get my A card filled out, and did get some things signed off, but had a hard time of getting the entire card taken care of. There are a lot of things on that card, and you really need an instructor to sit with you and discuss pilot stuff, plane procedures, equipment stuff, etc. In an entire week I did not accomplish much on that card, but I did have a blast with the locals! And, did make lots of fun jumps:)

The guys took good care of me there, when I was sick, I was kept company and brought water. When bored, people hung out with me, chatted, etc. I even went on a road trip with the Deland hotties to z-hills one weekend. And, there was a nightlife around some nights, just not every night for every one. I'm a pretty social and flirtatious person, so I can usually find someone to chill with. I can see how you could get bored if you don't put yourself out there, tho.

On the flip side, I really enjoyed my time in z-hills, too! I have been invited to do rw and stuff in groups and will definitely do that next time. They have swooping there, and that is fun to watch. And, the nightlife at the dz is pretty cool! The people are a blast as well. I wish I could combine them. I definitely like both dropzones. I think Bob Hallet is a real cool guy, and much of the staff at Deland are really nice people (especially the packers! ).

Ok, I know I really didn't argue one way or the other. I like them both, for diff reasons. But, i'll probably be spending more time in Z-hills doing fun jumps. I do plan to get to Deland to get some learning done, and to visit with all the friends I met there.

Angela.

[airboy42 0]

Well well, Fun or not fun:)
I just had over a one hour conversation with skydiverbrian about this, I think it is harsh to judge if the DZ is fun or not fun when you don't really know what to expect from the dropzone, every dropzone is different.
I happen to live at skydive deland over the last couple of years and I think it is great, there might be few things that i don't agree with how it is opertated, but who am I to judge, I don't know half of the reasons the management has for running the DZ this way.
One ting I do know is that this dropzone is a team training dropzone and teams all over the world come and train there year after year and they love it, Skydive Deland has team training number 1 priority and that is what you can expect when you get there.
If there is 1hour waiting for a ride and they don't pull out the skyvan, there is a reason for that, this last season They bought the Porter for many reasons, and one of them was for the teams that are going for Gap, so when ever they had teams training, they had to pull out the porter instead of the skyvan, why? because teams are the first priority.
At skydive Deland we have load organizers, both for belly and freefly, usually the organizers for bellyflying are here wed and friday afternoons and all saturdays and sundays, freeflying there are organizers here, Im not sure when they are available, but as far as I know they are here when ever the dropzone is open and there are people to jump, The biggest chance is weekends like on most other dropzones. If it happends that someone askes to get on a bigway just like someone mentioned here earlyer (13 way) and gets the no for a answer, the reason is simple, when you manifest 13 people about 40min before takeoff, the rest of the plane is very likely full so there is no space for one more, But a can garantee that if the same person would have asked if he could join them for the next jump it would have been no problem at all, it's all about the timing.

But on the other hand, here is alot more training then fun jumping, and few people are here full time trying to make a living on jumping, like the freefly coaches, and if they get a student to coach, they take the student up and noone is on the ground to organize for free, and I do think that there is a missing link somewhere, but I don't think it is someone one to blame, I think it is just the way the dropzone is set up and the priorities that keep that missing link. But in order to make one person happy, you might have to make someone else unhappy, thats just the way things go. I think this dropzone will continue to keep the teams in the air, even if someone else has to wait for 1 hour on the ground. If you want to go to dropzone where everyone are funjumping (No training) I think you should choose another dropzone.

Skydive Deland is a great dropzone, it has great restaurant and great facilities for everyone who is here to learn as much as you want. The people here are very open for new people, and as far as I know I think most of us welcome every new person, some people are more into them selves, but lets look at the ones who are willing to share:) If you don't find what you are looking for here, there are other dropzones not so far away that might have what you are looking for, if so, then thats great. There are people all over the world who love this dropzone and keep coming back and we want to keep them happy too:)

Thanks Ray for bringing this up and Im sure you could answer who you are in a more friendly way:)

[NightJumper 0]

So Ray, what do you think? Going to pass any of this on to the folks (Bob) at DeLand? Think they will be receptive?(I bet they will)