DZ bums roll call

[base698 1]

How many people here live on a drop zone, and skydiving is still (aside from possibly family) their number one priority? How many fun jumps do you do? Do you still enjoy it? Have you regretted it? Would you recommend the experience to someone who has dropzone marketable skills and no job?

Just checking.

Thanks

[firstime 0]

wow I never knew Geraldo Rivera had an interest
in our sport

[BigM 2]

Quote

How many people here live on a drop zone, and skydiving is still (aside from possibly family) their number one priority? How many fun jumps do you do? Do you still enjoy it? Have you regretted it? Would you recommend the experience to someone who has dropzone marketable skills and no job?

Just checking.

Thanks

I don't think too many of the people that fall into this group would have internet access in their tents. Probably not the best forum to find them in. Just a thought.
Blue 111-
Jeff

"When I die, I want to go like my grandmother, who died peacefully in her sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in her car."

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

I lived on the dropzone in a camper for about a year and a half while I was managing the school. It was not a bad life, but most everyone I know who has done the same, or still is, finds themselves sort of "stuck" on the dropzone, rarely leaving (assuming a dropzone with a bar, restaurant, etc). That can grow very old after a time. Fun jumping comes seldomly if you are a working man. If you have all your ratings and are making a living off of them, then you will have to work very hard in order to support yourself. If you are a packaho, then you will be too busy packing to skydive. You can make more money packing than instructing and hauling meat, period, but that is not "making a living skydiving."

Some people are suited for dropzone life; I am, others are not.

[Glipazide 0]

Quote

Some people are suited for dropzone life; I am, others are not.

Don't leave Billy Bob out!

http://sexygirlabs.com/url]

[AdD 1]

I'm hoping to be a dz bum this summer.

Life is ez
On the dz
Every jumper's dream
3 rigs and an airstream

[skygirl1 1]

I lived at my home dropzone in a camper for 4 months...........at first it was cool and fun......then money started running out and I had to go get a job waiting tables between packing and learning to jump....I guess I should add my bf was working as a coach and ground trainer, and airplane mechanic..............but it got old...........hot days.....some cold nights.......plus dropzone politics and so forth...........
We kept the camper for boogies and camping, but do not forsee doing that again for more than 1 month or less at a time.......but it was cool waking up to the first load in the morning and jumping out of bed and grabbing your gear to make the load.....skydiving is one of the most important part of our lives..........but you need money to get the money to attain your ratings and classes and gear and all that..........so now we are moving as close to a dropzone as we possibly can get and getting the best of both worlds

skygirl1

skygirl1

" Mean people SUCK!"

[Andrewwhyte 1]

I live on a DZ, and while Skymonkey is right, it gets old not getting off the DZ, waking up walking distance from the plane rules. Skydiving every day rules. Your profile lists you as a rigger but not a tandem Master or Aff instructor. If you are going to earn your living on the DZ you will spend almost all your time doing just that; earning your living. In your case that would be on the ground rigging and packing. All my rec jumps are free, but I made less than one hundred of them last year. If I didn't enjoy Tandems, Pff jumps and coach jumps this job would suck.

[Designer 0]

Be prepared to be poor almost all the time.Everybody who jumps needs to try this at least once.Unless you own the business it will be hard on you.Rigging,AFF,Tandem and Video will put more money in your pockets for more jumps.Good Luck!

[bertusgeert 1]

I did this for a month, and as said before, be prepared to be poor. If you are willing to scrape by, you can work and skydive. I had a nice balance between the jumps I made (AFF - it was way more expensive per jump) and the packing I did.
This summer will be a repetition, but in order to get more money to jump, i think it will be better to get a job off of the DZ. We'll see how it goes. I already know hom much this rocks tho! Everyone needs to do this, and "cutaway"!!

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As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

[skyfriend 0]

How about a variation on the question.
Giving up corporate life for a year to skydive fulltime.
Your cost-of-living could drop $10K by living on the DZ (no rent).
Work part-time doing video, AFF instruction, packing, etc...
You have plenty of time to jump, can travel among the South and West coast, and make your savings last as long as possible. Make your passion your life!
At least until the money runs out. I'm not sure what I would do for medical insurance.

People in Europe and Australia seem to be able to take months off in a year to go traveling.
Seems like the same idea.

Any comments good or bad to this idea?

[PhreeZone 14]

Most DZ's won't let you work unless they see you doing a commitment. They need to know they can depend on you being there when things are both dead and slammin busy 6 months from now. At a lot of DZ's there is a glut of staff already and new people get added to the bottom of the list.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com