Common DZ Practices???

[stratostar 5]

We on the same page here JT. In the case you just posted.... If it was me trying to grow my DZ and I booked X number of slots per day due to AC & staff limits, and I had a pre paid AFF package who called and set up a time for slots, I wouldn't bump that person and take a tandem all friken day, they would be on the books as one of those X number of slots, after all I did get my 1500 or more in the bank already, so I should make sure the person is happy and treated well, seeing how I would like to grow my biz and all.

Now in one or two cases I might have to call said AFF person into the office and say: " hey your insturctor Bob is not going to be able to make your load because he is not packed from the tandem video he just did and in order for him to get ready to take you I'm going to send a tandem load first and when the planes lands it's your load."

In most cases that has always worked very well in the real world, some people will still get pissed, but most are cool. What is total BS is DZ's that blow off all other jumpers all day because of tandems, for one thing if you got that much biz coming in the door you can afford to blow off pre paid advanced students then go lease another 182 or 206 for a month, it's not like that those are all that hard to find.

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

[jaffo 0]

I agree Jimmy.

I remember one case about 10 years ago that a woman went through the first jump course. She was a girlfriend of one of the "skygods".

I remember her wanting to quit after 3-4 jumps, and really, she just wasn't getting it. All of us at the dropzone were worried. (I've always wished I had said something, but I was a neophyte back then).

Because of the peer pressure of her wanting to be part of his world she continued jumping toward her license. The Skygod just kept encouraging her.

On about jump 19 of 20, she biffed and broke both femurs. The kind of fractures that will effect her for the rest of her life. (her and the skygod broke up eventually)

I'm afraid if someone pays all the way through the "A" lic, there might be a little too much pressure to continue if they decide that skydiving isn't for them.

In aviation, this is referred to as "Loss Aversion". Pilots sometimes push a bad situation to avoid a loss, and end up dying because of it.

I know I'm about to get blasted by the "personal responsibility" folks out there, but it's just a thought.

"Ryder"

Take chances, just do it with all the information to make good decisions!!

Muff Brother# 2706 Dudeist Skydiver# 121.5

[bluetwo 0]

Is everything just a business when you get down to it? I knew going into my first (tandem) jump that it was, and that at least in that case, I had to schedule the jump two weeks out. I didn't plan on getting HOOKED right away either...

I don't have to schedule jumps anymore but I almost always get told that I might or might not have to wait all day to get one in. Fortunately I have enough patience and generally plan to stay at the DZ for a few hours to most of the day anyway. The days when I get there at or before openings are always the best though.

I drive 2 hours to Skydive Walterboro, and they are good people for sure, but I'd hate it if I started getting the BS treatment because the next closest DZ is 4 hours away. Not sure whether I would put them on blast about it or not though.

_______________________________________

[Hvance 0]

Interesting point re: loss aversion jaffo.

With respect to jumping in too quickly (no pun intended) I can see your and others' points. I'm working toward my first license at the moment, and every now and then I pause and think "whoa, do I really want to do this for X years?" That's not really because of money (I paid, and I'm fine with that) but more due to how rapidly things have unfolded. On jump led to another which led...so forth.

Now every time I leave the DZ, I'm more convinced that I love this sport, but the point is still that buying the package puts some positive pressure on the student, even if it's not strictly monetary.

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

[timmyfitz 0]

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What if you find that the sport does NOT apeal to you, ??
or that you're NOT gonna be able to continue,, for one of many reasons,,,
financial,, or injury, related to jumping or not..or "domestic" issues, plain old fear,, or plain old "lack of the needed attributes to continue on".. in this sport.
or your employment or living situation changes....

Refund of the balance?

[timmyfitz 0]

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Im a AFF student and was wondering if bumping the students to make room for tandems is a common practice in the industry.

Get over it!

Good response to a serious question.

[Icon134 0]

BTW: I'm not suggesting this is what is happening... but if it is too windy for AFF students there may still be tandem students getting on the plane.

It might appear to an AFF student that they are getting bumped for Tandems in that situation when in reality it's unrelated to the "business" of the dropzone.

Having said that... if that's the case then there is another issue because the instructors are not effectively communicating the reason why the AFF student is sitting on ground and not in the plane...

Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...

[JohnDeere 0]

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Im a AFF student and was wondering if bumping the students to make room for tandems is a common practice in the industry.

Get over it!

Really? You must work at one of those tandem mill's were you get lots of paid jumps in a row due to ass hats treating students like this.......What DZ you jump at?

Nothing opens like a Deere!

You ignorant fool! Checks are for workers!

[TLH3 0]

The main problem is them allowing me to be scheduled in the morning then bumping me. My first jump i arrived at 9am but didn't jump until 1pm then again after 4 pm.

In the DZ's defense they did tell me that the weekends were not good days to jump due to the high volume of tandems but they scheduled me early anyway and I waited.

I did however recently Take the day off work and Get 3 quality jumps with the instructor. I wish I didn't have to use up days off but life goes on and I am enjoying it enough not to discourage me.

Once I start Solo jumps it should be easier to get on a load later in the day when the tandems slow down and i don't have to jump with the instructor.

[cstaffa 0]

You will find that at small, Cessna DZ's this happens more often than at the larger, turbine DZ's. It's unfortunate that these things happen but the fact is: tandems keep the planes flying.