Lodi or Skydance AFF

[RMax 0]

I am planning on taking the AFF course in the next month or two depending on work and weather. I have done a tandem at Lodi and loved it. I have been to both dz and talked with people at both. I got a good feeling from both. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

[chuckakers 370]

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I am planning on taking the AFF course in the next month or two depending on work and weather. I have done a tandem at Lodi and loved it. I have been to both dz and talked with people at both. I got a good feeling from both. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

I can't speak for the student programs at either location, but from what I hear they don't wear seat belts for takeoff at Lodi, and if that's true I wouldn't even get on their planes, let alone support the operation with my cash.

If you want to be a skydiver, you owe it to the sport to vote for safety with your money. Federal Aviation Regulations REQUIRE that everyone onboard an aircraft where a seat belt during taxi, takeoff, and landing. If a drop zone knowingly and repeatedly busts FAA regs they don't deserve your money.

We make a lot of mistakes on our way to getting safer in this sport, and wearing restraints was one of our toughest lessons. None of the jumpers in the story below had on belts and most died from being crushed by their unbelted friends when the plane smashed into the ground. The few who lived were in the back of the plane - and therefore on the top of the pile of bodies.

If my sources are wrong and they are wearing restraints these days at Lodi, I applaud them.

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/23/us/16-die-in-california-crash-of-plane-full-of-sky-divers.html

Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX

[Cashmanimal 0]

Byron is right there, too... we have nice new rigs, lots of awesome instructors, and an ultra-friendly environment. And seatbelts.

It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

[skybytch 259]

I know there are some really good instructors at Skydance. And well maintained aircraft.

[uberchris 0]

how much are jump tickets at byron?

gravity brings me down.........

[Cashmanimal 0]

$20... not exactly sure on AFF rates

It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

[catfishhunter 1]

I haven't heard of any aff students dying at either place nor anyone dying/injured that didn't do something stupid so there ya go....pick one and I'm sure you'll be fine either way. I am pretty sure Lodi is going to cost you considerably less though.

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.

[Born2Late 0]

Before entrusting your life to Lodi. You might want to read this:
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=3972072;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;

Davis is right up the road.

[matthewcline 0]

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Before entrusting your life to Lodi. You might want to read this:
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=3972072;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;

Davis is right up the road.

Based on the easily available information about Lodi, I would never recommend any one go there for any type of jumping.

Matt

An Instructors first concern is student safety.
So, start being safe, first!!!

[Born2Late 0]

That's what I'm saying.

[Ron 7]

Knowing what I know about Lodi.... I can't recommend them.

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

[some27where 0]

skydance ! get about 200 jumps under your belt before you go to lodi again...at that point you'll have enough knowledge to decide if you want to risk your life at lodi !

[stayhigh 2]

I don't see what the big deal is with jumping at lodi.

Cheap as hell, and they do have talented people jumping over there consistently.

other than landing area being tiny, lodi isn't bad.

I'm pretty sure, Bill doesn't wanna total his Twin Otter and does enough maintenance to keep em flying.

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[chuckakers 370]

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I don't see what the big deal is with jumping at lodi.

Do they use seat belts?

Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX

[davelepka 4]

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I'm pretty sure, Bill doesn't wanna total his Twin Otter and does enough maintenance to keep em flying.

Just the Otters though, not the King Airs.

I don't think anyone wants their plane to crash, but if Bill thinks an Otter needs one level of maintenance, and Dehaviland and the FAA say otherwise, I've got to go with the canucks and the FAA as they might know a hitch more than Bill about Otters.

[chuckakers 370]

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I'm pretty sure, Bill doesn't wanna total his Twin Otter and does enough maintenance to keep em flying.

Just the Otters though, not the King Airs.

I don't think anyone wants their plane to crash, but if Bill thinks an Otter needs one level of maintenance, and Dehaviland and the FAA say otherwise, I've got to go with the canucks and the FAA as they might know a hitch more than Bill about Otters.

+1

I find stayhigh's post quite ignorant and revealing at the same time. Assuming he means what he says, he's assuming that Bill knows more about maintenance than the manufacturer, whose requirements are backed up by decades of historical evidence, accident report analysis, and best practices.

Amazing what people will convince themselves of for a cheap ride to altitude - right up until it all goes to hell...................

Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX

[Ron 7]

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I don't see what the big deal is with jumping at lodi.

Well the serious lack of aircraft maintenance is a big deal. The FAA and more importantly the aircraft manufacturers required maintenance schedule should be a bare minimum.

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Cheap as hell,

Amazing how much money you can save when you neglect the required maintenance huh?

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and they do have talented people jumping over there consistently.

The most skilled jumper in the world is not going to save you when the plane crashes due to a issue with maintenance and the most skilled jumper in the world is not going to help you when your body is crushed by all the jumpers who were not wearing safety belts.


It amazes me how much people will risk to save a few bucks. Maybe years afl I would have been as foolish? But now after seeing death, id rather pay a few extra dollars for the added chance of the plane not losing control due to not changing out the control cables.

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

[LyraM45 0]

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I don't see what the big deal is with jumping at lodi.

Well the serious lack of aircraft maintenance is a big deal. The FAA and more importantly the aircraft manufacturers required maintenance schedule should be a bare minimum.

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Cheap as hell,

Amazing how much money you can save when you neglect the required maintenance huh?

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and they do have talented people jumping over there consistently.

The most skilled jumper in the world is not going to save you when the plane crashes due to a issue with maintenance and the most skilled jumper in the world is not going to help you when your body is crushed by all the jumpers who were not wearing safety belts.


It amazes me how much people will risk to save a few bucks. Maybe years afl I would have been as foolish? But now after seeing death, id rather pay a few extra dollars for the added chance of the plane not losing control due to not changing out the control cables.

Yep-- what he said. This was basically going to be my reply. I'll second what somebody else said about getting some jumps under your belt and then visiting the area dz's and make your own decision from that point. Don't get me wrong, I know good people and good instructors who are at Lodi, and I would recommend them to you for your AFF in a heart beat..... just not at Lodi. I would suggest if you want to stay in the valley, check out Davis. And as somebody suggested, if you want to go a little closer to the Bay Area, then check out Byron. Just my .02 about all that.

Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

[davelepka 4]

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I'll second what somebody else said about getting some jumps under your belt and then visiting the area dz's and make your own decision from that point.

Why? How does skydiving experience qualify you to make an external inspection of internal aircraft components?

Did any of the 'top' jumpers at Lodi know the control cables were long overdue to be changed? Of course not, because this is only something you find out in one of two ways - either the FAA busts you on it, and tells everyone about it in a press release, or the plane crashes, and the FAA discovers it in their investigation and tells everyone about it in the accident report.

Ditto for the skipped inspections on the wing attachment pionts. Nothing short of personally inspecting the MX logs for the aircraft will allow you to be truely 'informed', so your jump numbers are not a factor in determining the safety of a DZ. You look around, and take a guess, but certain things you have to take on the 'word' of the DZO, such as aircraft MX.

When the DZO has downed planes due to short-cutting MX, and then been busted very publicly for flagrantly short-cutting MX on another aircraft, why would anyone trust that DZO again? Of course, I mean besides the cheap jumps, anyone who has such low prices must be a great guy...

I'm still amazed at the number of Lodi jumpers willing to defend the DZO, even after he lied to them and put their lives at risk. Just because the plane didn't crash doesn't change the fact that the man did this to every person who jumped at his DZ, but saving $10 a jump makes it all OK. Crazy shit up there in Lodi.

[Ron 7]

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Why? How does skydiving experience qualify you to make an external inspection of internal aircraft components?

I'll answer even though you didn't ask me.

A person with no experience has no clue of the history of Lodi and what they have been doing. After that person gets some experience they hopefully will have heard some of the story's.

Just like the new guy does not know why he should not jump a Nova..... Even if it is lightly loaded

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

[Maksimsf 0]

Year ago I was in your shoes:

Lodi, Byron or Davis.

In Lodi AFF will run you $1000 + $100 (Tandem required before AFF), you will jump with 1 JM.

Davis: AFF will cost you $1300-$1500 depends if pay as you go or pay for everything right away.

Byron: - They did not have rigs that I can jump (I'm 6'3 250lbs) So I don't know their prices.

My choice was Davis. After 19 jumps I went to Lodi for a couple of "cheap" jump with my coach buddy. Picked up a rental rig and had my first cutaway (line over) on jump 20 :) On jump 21 I got kicked out of the airplane because 5 seconds separation time is too much there :) And yeah, forget about seat belts...

Byron or Davis is what I would personally recommend.

[J-S 0]

Id go with Skydance, Davis or Bay Area Skydiving, Byron.

Did my AFF at Skydance. Loved it, the instruction from the instructors was very thorough and safety conscious. If you go during the week it's a bit less stressful being not super busy, more time to spend with your instructor on the ground.

The guys and gals at Action Air rigging shop (across the courtyard from Skydances hanger) are really helpful getting/ordering gear. No bullshit or attitude from them.

Skydance also has canopy control classes, hence their safety conscious attitude. From what I hear from other jumpers it's a really valuable and fun course to take. I hope to make one this year.

Byron is cool too, the jumpers and instructors. Didn't have any instruction from them, but friends that had said it was thorough as well. Check them out too.

Choose a place that makes you happy and feel safe.

Have fun!

[SkiFreak 0]

Newer than new here.

Made 4 tandem jumps with SkyDive Hawaii the past month and loved it. I plan to get my AFF very soon. Living in Tahoe-Reno and having read the various threads, bumping this one for any new insights.

A few very experienced acquaintances of mine jump Lodi. But I'm at the opposite far end of that spectrum, obviously.

[LyraM45 0]

davelepka

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I'll second what somebody else said about getting some jumps under your belt and then visiting the area dz's and make your own decision from that point.

Why? How does skydiving experience qualify you to make an external inspection of internal aircraft components?

Did any of the 'top' jumpers at Lodi know the control cables were long overdue to be changed? Of course not, because this is only something you find out in one of two ways - either the FAA busts you on it, and tells everyone about it in a press release, or the plane crashes, and the FAA discovers it in their investigation and tells everyone about it in the accident report.

Ditto for the skipped inspections on the wing attachment pionts. Nothing short of personally inspecting the MX logs for the aircraft will allow you to be truely 'informed', so your jump numbers are not a factor in determining the safety of a DZ. You look around, and take a guess, but certain things you have to take on the 'word' of the DZO, such as aircraft MX.

When the DZO has downed planes due to short-cutting MX, and then been busted very publicly for flagrantly short-cutting MX on another aircraft, why would anyone trust that DZO again? Of course, I mean besides the cheap jumps, anyone who has such low prices must be a great guy...

I'm still amazed at the number of Lodi jumpers willing to defend the DZO, even after he lied to them and put their lives at risk. Just because the plane didn't crash doesn't change the fact that the man did this to every person who jumped at his DZ, but saving $10 a jump makes it all OK. Crazy shit up there in Lodi.

Sorry I never replied to this, Dave...for some reason just seeing this now. Agreed on all accounts. You and I are on the same page with respect to this issue. Getting more jumps under your belt would do nothing for you in terms of gauging the internal condition of an aircraft. I guess I was just alluding to if you're an experienced jumper and aware of why this place is so infamous, then you're a grown up skydiver at that point and can make your own decisions vs. students or 1 time only tandems who just don't know what they don't know.

I'm with you with the last bit of what you said. It amazes me too. But $15 jump tickets, so it's all good right? Cracks me up because I bought a bunch of tickets at skydance when they were $18. What a difference 3 bucks will get ya!

ETA: I just saw ron posted a reply and basically took the words out of my mouth, but I'll leave my reply anyway

Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

[LyraM45 0]

SkiFreak

Newer than new here.

Made 4 tandem jumps with SkyDive Hawaii the past month and loved it. I plan to get my AFF very soon. Living in Tahoe-Reno and having read the various threads, bumping this one for any new insights.

A few very experienced acquaintances of mine jump Lodi. But I'm at the opposite far end of that spectrum, obviously.

I don't think there is much new insight to add, so I would just take a look at the replies here and go from there

Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)