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patmoore

DZGone.com - The Lost Drop Zones Project

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I posted this over in the history section but wanted to make sure everyone saw it. Those of you who have been involved in the sport for a long time remember old drop zones that are no longer in existence. I thought it would be an interesting project to document those with stories and photos from the past. To date, over 300 have been identified in 42 states. Please take a moment to see if I'm missing anything. If you have any stories or photos you'd like to share, please send them to [email protected]

DZGone.com

Look at DZs with hyperlinks to see sample stories. Florida and Wisconsin both have a fair number of stories.
DZGone.com
B-4600, C-3615, D-1814, Gold Wings #326, Diamond Wings #152.

If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room!

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Great idea. They use to jump in Cordele,Ga. but I don't have any details.

I know this because I went there when I was looking to move the St.Patricks Boogie from Dublin and got the old "We had skydivers here once before and don't want them back" speech from the old airport manager.

Thank God someone showed me Fitzgerald.

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To update Ohio there was a DZ also in Celina (Grand Lake St. Mary's) until a fatality from a drowning.

There were two separate DZ's that both operated for a few years out of Lebanon's airport.

Jumping is occurring again at Waynesville.
Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

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Pat, great project. The Tampa Bay Parachute Ranch is where I started jumping at in 1975. Lots of fun had there with you, the Ski's, Allen Innes and the rest of the locals. I was there the day the landing gear left the Cessna and also have a picture of it leaned up against my motorcycle. :)

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You're missing Pecos Parachute School in Texas. ;)

In Washington, you could also list Blue Skies in Bremerton, WA.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

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Thanks to everyone who is contributing to this project. I want to make it as accurate as I can.

Rick - I remember the strut on the bike. I wish my memory was a little better for other events back then. I updated the Riverview listing identifying you as the accuracy jumper.

I dug out some old color slides earlier this week and scanned them. Most are from Riverview. I can't identify a lot of the folks. I think you're in some of the shots? Anyhow, I uploaded them temporarily to Picasa album.
DZGone.com
B-4600, C-3615, D-1814, Gold Wings #326, Diamond Wings #152.

If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room!

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Thanks shotandahalf.

I'll update the pages in the morning. I knew that Talequah had hosted the Nationals and World Championships but didn't realize there was a year round DZ there. I competed at the 72 and 73 Nationals. See attached image.
DZGone.com
B-4600, C-3615, D-1814, Gold Wings #326, Diamond Wings #152.

If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room!

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Re: Oregon,
They still jump at Beagle Sky Ranch in Oregon, it is a part time operation (Rouge valley skydivers) but they still have a boogie there once a year. Also, I don't think a para-ski meet once held at a ski area counts as a lost drop zone.

There was a small DZ operating out of the Bend Airport in the early eighties. "Central Oregon Skydiving" We took off from the Bend airport and landed on BLM land a few miles away. That group later became Cline Falls skydivers with Bob Daughs which eventually moved to the Madras airport and they are still jumping there now.
Onward and Upward!

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In 1983 I was working at the Nationals in Muskogee and some how got a day off. A couple of us drove over to Talequah to make a few jumps. While we were there we had a guy flying us in a Cessna who had no legs. He controled the rudder peddles with some sort of rods. He was an excellent pilot. Later in the day they put him in a special harness that had a basket like shape made out of webbing to hold his legless torsoe. He went up and made a jump using a jumbo Para Comander and damn near got a dead center when he landed. I think I got him to sign my logbook but does anyone remember this guy's name?

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Thanks Johnny. The page for Illinois has been updated. Do you have any stories or photos from there that you can share?

On a cheerful note, my long lost logbooks have been found! 14 logbooks, pilot's log, rigger's log, and my UK D license #648. The latter was my autograph book for years. Some of the pioneers of the sport signed it including my first jumpmaster in 1962, Lew Sanborn D-1. Lew is still very much alive but sadly many of the others have left us. See attached and click the plus sign to blow it up.
DZGone.com
B-4600, C-3615, D-1814, Gold Wings #326, Diamond Wings #152.

If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room!

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Jim Wallace used to run his own place in CA at Bear Creek Airport just south of Elsinore. Also Oceanside in CA was closed for a long time but is open now with Rich Grimm owner. Just wanted to add Desert SkyRanch at Buckeye Airport that used to be Rick Horn's DZ.

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When I got to Hawaii in 1998 there were three dropzones on the northshore (Dillingham Field, Mokuleia).

The third one was called Drop Zone and it was started about 1997, I believe. It was run by Ken "Tugie" Anderson. They used a 402 for jump operations. It was affectionately referred to as a 4-0-Tugie.

A lot of energy at that place. I saw them do a demo on Ford Island once. They really put on a show. Very good ambassadors for the sport.
Shit happens. And it usually happens because of physics.

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Thanks JimJumper, Bones, and flyhi. All have been updated.

I'm working on a submission form for DZGone.com that will allow photo and story uploads as well as a Search box.
DZGone.com
B-4600, C-3615, D-1814, Gold Wings #326, Diamond Wings #152.

If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room!

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Bones

Pacific Parachute Center-Sheridan, Oregon
Ted Mayfield's place



A DZ of horrors, to be sure... Anybody remember the 20/20 story on Ted Mayfield and his shenanigans in regards to running the DZ?
"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

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