dgm458 0 #1 July 1, 2004 This question may need to be in another forum, but I present it here anyway. My brother and I are travelling to Hawaii in July and plan to go to Dillingham to make some fun jumps. I know that there are two dz's on the airstrip and I am looking for opinions and which is better and why. Right now I'm leaning towards going to the non-USPA affiliated dz because everyone I have spoke with so far has said that they are friendlier and the plane is better. I was also told that the landing area is a bit constricted. True? Thanks in advance. david-------------------------------------------------- Failure to prepare is preparing to fail Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fergs 0 #2 July 1, 2004 Whichever you choose, keep in mind that the ocean is very close. So have flotation gear on you and always check the spot as you get out, do not blindly trust whoever spots the load. I had an unintentional water landing out past the reef years ago - it was a 4way load and should have become more suspicious when the guy who had spotted pulled at 4500'. Then I compounded the problem by turning 180 and tracking away from the land. The wind was such that I had no way of making it back to land. I ended up just outside the reef. In fact, the only one to make the land was the guy who pulled high... Lessons: 1. If you are going to land in water, be prepared to lose everything. After landing, cutaway your main - disconnect RSL first. 2. Reserve stats bouyant for quite a while - so I found that I was Ok leaving it on for ages (5 minutes at least) but be prepared to get it off as soon as it loses bouyancy. 3. If you want to hold onto your main, swim around above it and hold by the pilot chute. 4. When it starts to sink, it WILL SINK RAPIDLY and whatever or whoever is attached to it WILL GO DOWN WITH IT. If that it you, YOU WILL DROWN. But don't worry about it sinking and being lost forever - your next canopy will be much nicer than this one. The canopy I lost was less that 24 hours old and it was its' third jump. 5. I did not have flotation gear. You should get/have/use some - not because you'll necessarily need it (because you will always watch the shoreline and spot on exit). But you'll feel a whole lot more comfortable having it. 6. Other than losing a new canopy, I loved my sydiving vacation in Hawaii. The scenery is stunning and the weather is great. Blue Skies, fergs Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites BlueSBDeath 2 #3 July 1, 2004 I posted this in a previous thread about Hawaii: I left Hawaii in December, I was there and jumped there for over 5 years. The two companies share runway and DZ. When I left each had a King Air, and a Cessna (SDH-182, and PISC-206). Each is a tandem factory, one stays open till dark the other till they run out of tandems, but both will treat you well. Just get comfortable with the landing area prior to jumping and ensure you understand the current winds and hazards for that day!! It is so beautiful, it is worth the effort to jump there!!! Have fun, and be safe!! If you need more information please feel free to PM me or ask on this forum. ArvelBSBD...........Its all about Respect, USPA#-7062, FB-2197, Outlaw 499 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites dgm458 0 #4 August 14, 2004 I thought I would give an update on the jumps we made in Hawaii last month. My brother and I both made four jumps at Pacific Skydiving Center. They flew a King Air plane that was pretty quick getting to 14.5 and 15K. My first jump was a little weird, simply because we were exiting over the ocean it seemed like. The landing area is a bit small, but it's larger than my home dz so there was no problem with the size of the lz to us. The tree line was another story. They've done a remarkable job of clearing most of the trees along the east end of the fence, but some remain across the road on private property. You have to make sure to stay out of the turbulence for a good landing. The winds seemed to maintain at least 15 mph all day, getting higher as the day went on. The scenery is absolutely beautiful. We took a throw-away camera up and took some real nice pics. Some have mountains in the background, some have ocean, some both. I'll post some pics later once I get them scanned into the computer. The folks at Pacific were very friendly and outgoing. The dzm/dzo was a frenchman named Guy and he was very helpful. Two of our four loads were nothing but fun jumpers. We would have made more jumps during the week had they stayed open later during the day. They close early. Jump tickets were only $20 to 15K. I pay that for 10K at home. What a deal. If anyone ever get the chance, definitely jump in Hawaii. Even travelling with my gear as carry on went smooth except for one overzealous TSA guy in Kahilui on Maui. The guy claimed to be a skydiver but didn't have any idea was the Cypres was. He held me up for 20 minutes trying to tell me my rig wasn't allowed as carry-on. The look on his face was priceless when I told him and I taken it as carry-on on more than six flights in the previous two weeks. david-------------------------------------------------- Failure to prepare is preparing to fail Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. 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BlueSBDeath 2 #3 July 1, 2004 I posted this in a previous thread about Hawaii: I left Hawaii in December, I was there and jumped there for over 5 years. The two companies share runway and DZ. When I left each had a King Air, and a Cessna (SDH-182, and PISC-206). Each is a tandem factory, one stays open till dark the other till they run out of tandems, but both will treat you well. Just get comfortable with the landing area prior to jumping and ensure you understand the current winds and hazards for that day!! It is so beautiful, it is worth the effort to jump there!!! Have fun, and be safe!! If you need more information please feel free to PM me or ask on this forum. ArvelBSBD...........Its all about Respect, USPA#-7062, FB-2197, Outlaw 499 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dgm458 0 #4 August 14, 2004 I thought I would give an update on the jumps we made in Hawaii last month. My brother and I both made four jumps at Pacific Skydiving Center. They flew a King Air plane that was pretty quick getting to 14.5 and 15K. My first jump was a little weird, simply because we were exiting over the ocean it seemed like. The landing area is a bit small, but it's larger than my home dz so there was no problem with the size of the lz to us. The tree line was another story. They've done a remarkable job of clearing most of the trees along the east end of the fence, but some remain across the road on private property. You have to make sure to stay out of the turbulence for a good landing. The winds seemed to maintain at least 15 mph all day, getting higher as the day went on. The scenery is absolutely beautiful. We took a throw-away camera up and took some real nice pics. Some have mountains in the background, some have ocean, some both. I'll post some pics later once I get them scanned into the computer. The folks at Pacific were very friendly and outgoing. The dzm/dzo was a frenchman named Guy and he was very helpful. Two of our four loads were nothing but fun jumpers. We would have made more jumps during the week had they stayed open later during the day. They close early. Jump tickets were only $20 to 15K. I pay that for 10K at home. What a deal. If anyone ever get the chance, definitely jump in Hawaii. Even travelling with my gear as carry on went smooth except for one overzealous TSA guy in Kahilui on Maui. The guy claimed to be a skydiver but didn't have any idea was the Cypres was. He held me up for 20 minutes trying to tell me my rig wasn't allowed as carry-on. The look on his face was priceless when I told him and I taken it as carry-on on more than six flights in the previous two weeks. david-------------------------------------------------- Failure to prepare is preparing to fail Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
