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picior

Good DZ around san francisco?

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Davis (Skydance skydiving)
Byron (Bay area skydiving)
Hollister (Adventure center skydiving)

Are all turbine DZs with good upjumper crowds within reasonable driving distance of Sonoma, Davis is the closest and a very friendly DZ, they have the new PAC 750, the other two have king airs.

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Hollister is awesome, drawback is a 15 minute van ride back from the LZ. Skydance may be closer to you and they are pretty awesome too. Byron isn't open as much, monterrey is really pretty but expensive. PM me for more details on all of em ;-)
So there I was...

Making friends and playing nice since 1983

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Thanks guys! you ve been all very helpful. I ve checked all of them but few DZ charge lots of money for the equipment rental. Is it normal that they rent the rig, altimeters, helmets separately and for each piece you have to pay additionally? If I jump there I ll spend more money for the rental than for the jumps!!! >:(

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Most skydivers, by the time they are leagal to travle to other DZ's have at least an Alti, Helmet, goggles, and jumpsuit, all of which travel nicely.

Some DZ's do charge, some don't, but it's really your responsibility to make sure you're outfitted correctly.

Why should they spend a ton of money for jumpers paying regular jump ticket prices to provide gear that gets easily lost, walked off with, and broken?
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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

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Depending on how many jumps you are making, pick up a protec for $30 at the DZ where you choose to jump. Renting 6 times would pay for it. If you don't have room to haul a hard helmet, see if someone at your DZ has an old frap hat you could borrow. Folds flat to pack easily. Sometimes someone on the DZ has a spare alti to borrow. (I've loaned mine out a few times) Providing a six pack once the beer light is on is cheaper than renting.

The rental fee on the rig includes the packjob. If you know how to pack the canopy/container system that you rent, see if the DZ will reduce the rental fee if you pack the rig. You will always have to pay for the packing of your last jump.
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isn't the protec $40 typically? Still may make more sense on a longer trip out.

Not all rentals include the packjob. ActionAir typically rents out the rig with the main unpacked - no worries about the quality of the last pack, but unfortunately a delay before you can manifest. Monterey used to (not sure if it's different with the new guys) have everyone, including students, pay $5 after directly to the packers on duty.

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From a European point of view, Byron is neat! :)
I spent 4 days there(and to many dollars on car rental:S) and loved it. The couches are great to sit in and there are a lot of farms around the area that are nice to visit :D. How ever, it tends to be a bit windy.

Proof 1: There are MANY wind mills on the way, witch indicates that there is some wind in the area
Proof2: The Byron Boogie info sheet had something like this written: "...if there's no wind(ha-ha).."

Had a great time there!

but you'll need trasportation aka: car. It took me about 1hr from Berkeley(except when there was rush traffic and two accidents[:/]) Ask someone here at DZ.com and ask if anyone is passing through on the way.
"Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you long to return." - Da Vinci
www.lilchief.no

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I could feed you with what i know

Gravitygear.com is located there(gravitygirl is the owner)

They rent out, but I don't know the price :(

On fridays there is less jumping(they are open thursday-sunday)

A ticket costs $20

here's their address: http://www.bayareaskydiving.com/

They use a king air, but also has a 206. The king air is only used saturday and sunday if I remember.

Farrah is very pretty :$

If you're able, check with Bonnie prior to depature on used"new gear, and have it ready when you get there. I believe a rig is cheaper in the US then in the UK

That's it, i guess:)
"Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you long to return." - Da Vinci
www.lilchief.no

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Byron charges $30 per jump for equipment rental. This includes a helmet, altimeter, jumpsuit, rig, and a packjob. If you can pack your own main then they take off $5, but I'm not sure if they'll allow you to pack the last packjob.

Also the great thing about Byron is they have an awesome gear store, including gear consultatons for new and used gear. I'd recommend PMing "GravityGirl" since she owns the gear store and can offer great advice on jumping at Byron.

For full disclosure I should probably admit that she used to employ me ;)

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Lodi, CA is a fantastic place and you will not need your USPA membership, if that is a concern to you. Jump tix are $15.00 ($13 if you buy in bulk). Lodi is open 7 days a week. PM me if you want more info...

You'll have fun at any northern CA dropzone (Davis, Lodi, or Byron)!!!!!

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Lodi, CA is a fantastic place and you will not need your USPA membership, if that is a concern to you. Jump tix are $15.00 ($13 if you buy in bulk). Lodi is open 7 days a week. PM me if you want more info...



Cheap rentals too, or it was a year and a half ago. $20/jump, includes the pack, was a wings/triathlon combo. Liked it enough that I bought the same a few months later.

Byron's 30 was the highest I saw anywhere, though if it includes all the auxilary equipment it's not so bad for the visitor. Me, I did one jump and left. Packing yourself for $5 less except for the last one was the option given, but I wasn't packing those days.

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I ll assume that if employees give good feedback



I'm a former competitor of Bonnie's and I'd recommend her shop as a place to buy gear as well. She's good people and will take excellent care of you.

Depending on how long you'll be in NorCal, I'd suggest jumping at Davis, Byron and Lodi if you can swing it. Each one has a different vibe, all three have great people and nice views from altitude and you can jump out of a variety of turbine aircraft (King Air at Byron, PAC 750XL at Davis, Otter or Beech 99 at Lodi).

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Proof 1: There are MANY wind mills on the way, witch indicates that there is some wind in the area



10,000 windmills can't be wrong:D. Byron, Davis, and Lodi are cool places. You could hit them all up in the same day if you like to drive a lot:)
BASE 1224, Senior Parachute Rigger, CPL ASEL IA, AGI, IGI
USPA Coach & UPT Tandem Instructor, PRO, Altimaster Field Support Representative

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