Skydiving in Vermont

[crazydiver 0]

Well, there is a strong possibility that I may be in grad school at the University of Vermont in Burlington, VT. I know the winter's there are harsh, but I've heard things about nice summers.

What's the jumping like there. I know there is only one or two near that have cessnas. What type of tandem rigs do they use? Do they do AFF?

Cheers,
Travis

[skymama 35]

I have a friend who lives in VT and he usually goes to Jumptown.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[crazydiver 0]

that's over three hours from Burlington...that sounds like a "only on special occasions" dropzone.

Cheers,
Travis

[skymama 35]

Well, there must be a reason why he chooses to drive so far to go to that one. I can ask him if you want me to, he doesn't post here.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[crazydiver 0]

Sounds good.

Cheers,
Travis

[tonyhays 86]

You can also check out skydive new england! We have all sorts of goodies: rw organizers, super otter, free camping/showers, open seven days a week...

SNE has vector/sigma tandem rigs and usually does at least a few AFF newbies per week.

So what are you looking for? Fun jumps? Work jumps?

“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”

[slotperfect 7]

I am originally from Vermont (Cabot); now transplanted in North Carolina. There are two drop zones that most people in your area use:

Vermont Skydiving Adventures in West Addison (a short drive from Burlington), which I am told has two Cessnas: a 182 and a 205.

Malone Parachute Club in Plattsburgh, NY, which the website says has a Cessna 206.

If you want to head North for Canadian , PM Remi and ask him about the DZs near Montreal (only a couple of hours from Burlington).

Unfortunately I have not jumped at any of those places - my only jumps in Vermont were demos at Burlington "International" Airport (only called that because they have flights to Canada ).

Arrive Safely

John

[billstap 0]

malone parachute club is a great atmosphere but no AFF, but skydive adventures in west addison do have AFF and they are also a great group of guys --- made my first two jumps there and then most of my jumps at malone parachute club, either way you go they are both great DZ's

[howardwhite 5]

Quote

that's over three hours from Burlington...that sounds like a "only on special occasions" dropzone.

Well, there some every-weekend jumpers at Jumptown who come from southwestern Connecticut and one from New Jersey, bypassing some other DZs on the way. From Burlington, it's all Interstate and you can crash at the DZ.
I haven't jumped at Addison, but I know some of the people there. You'll have fun and get some great views of Lake Champlain.
You might also look north to Canada; there are some DZs in eastern Ontario and Quebec.

HW

[crazydiver 0]

I thought about going north to Canada, but I didn't know how it would be working at a DZ there not knowing French. Also, I know USPA is accepted in many other countries, but I didn't know about ratings and stuff how that would work.

Cheers,
Travis

[Misternatural 0]

hey, If you end up in B town
we'll see ya this summer at VSA.in Addison, great people, skilled flyers. (which I am not one)Two Cessnas. As far as tandem rigs I think they are Strongs, but look up Millstone on here- he's an instructor and knows the program.

Wait till you see the view from 12,000'...NOICE!

Write me down on the manifest for a funnel way.

beer ya later.

Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires.
D S #3.1415

[skydiverbrian 0]

Quote

I thought about going north to Canada, but I didn't know how it would be working at a DZ there not knowing French. Also, I know USPA is accepted in many other countries, but I didn't know about ratings and stuff how that would work.

Check out Nouvel Air in Farnham (just outside Montreal). It's approx 60 miles from Burlington. They speak English, will help you with your French, and accept US certifications. The vibe is great and they host the Rainbow Boogie in August.

In a world full of people, only some want to fly... isn't that crazy! --Seal

[crazydiver 0]

THat is the one I was looking at. Do they have instructors there that speak only english? I speak spanish, so learning a bit of French would not be super hard, but is something that would also just be cool to do.

Anyway...I'm excited to check it all out if I end up in Burlington.

Cheers,
Travis

[howardwhite 5]

The owner at Nouvel Air is a regular customer/coach at SkyVenture New Hampshire; I saw him there a couple of weeks ago. He speaks English.

And a local (Massachusetts) kid worked there as a packer last summer; he knows no French (except, he told me last week, "dirty stuff,") but got along fine. He was 17 then and made enough jumps to get his Canadian B.

He said they have an Otter as well as Beech 18s.

[Strandedsurfer 0]

The dropzone in West Addison has a nice environment with good people. I packed there for about two summers and remember beautiful jumps. A nice place to start out and go back to. The other two options as mentioned above are Jumptown or Skydive New England. I hear a lot of good things about the last one.

[doorgirl 0]

I started AFF at Vermont Skydiving Adventures. I love that place. I don't jump there much because I live in NH and that's a looong drive over a short drive to SNE.

The advantage of VSA is that it would be really close, with really great people with lots of knowledge. Disadvantage is its harder to jam in a bunch of jumps in a day since its longer to altitude and there are less seats going up and you have to wait your turn. But as a student I don't think you'll notice that much.

The advantage of both Jumptown and SNE are that they are big DZs with Twin Otters that fly lots of loads and have really great people with lots of knowledge. Disadvantages are that they're a longer drive for you. And as a student you won't get many jumps a day anyways unless you sign up for one of the AFF camps or schedule your training during the week.

But the best part is... all of the cross pollination between the New England DZs. We travel around quite a bit. The Vermonters at SNE and Jumptown. The SNE crew at VSA and Jumptown and CPI (Connecticut). Maybe even journeys out to the Ranch in NY, but we didn't make it out last year. And don't forget the pilgrimage to Florida each January for the Great White North Boogie when all of the New Englanders head down to escape that terrible cold.

Basically, if you're at UVm you'll have plenty of places to jump and you'll be welcomed when you choose to travel.

[crazydiver 0]

Thanks for all the info. I was wondering about AFF so I can keep my rating current as well as my tandem rating. Luckily I haven't had to deal with the perils of being an unlicensed jumper for about five years. I'm up for whatever. I'm spoiled right now having been at a DZ with an otter and king air for the last two years, but have been at cessna only dropzones a fair share as well. I think I will need to do my Strong crossover training if I venture out to the NE to do tandems since it looks like most of them tend towards strong systems up there.

Do you know if these DZ's you mentioned are welcoming to new instructors, or is it one of those things that you must have been there for a while before they put you to work?

Cheers,
Travis

[shaggio 0]

Just go slow on the way in, because "no one likes a dirty donkey"

[crazydiver 0]

Quote

Just go slow on the way in, because "no one likes a dirty donkey"

I'm not sure I'm catching your drift...care to explain?

Cheers,
Travis

[howardwhite 5]

Travis

Jumptown has pretty good number of both AFF and Tandem instructors, but only a few are full-time (Jumptown is a club, operating Thurs-Mon.) So I expect an additional experienced instructor would be welcome, especially on busy weekends (40+ tandems scheduled for next Saturday.) Call and ask to talk to Dick Spates, the chief instructor.

Jumptown has a Strong Tandem course director on site, so getting cross-trained would not, I think, be a problem.

HW

[doorgirl 0]

There's more ass at that dz than I've ever seen. No really. There is... it's next to an ass farm. Drive slow or the donkey farmer will get really mad.

Oh, and sorry I thought you were a new jumper and wrote my post to that effect - I didn't bother to look at the jump numbers. Don't I feel like an ass...

[HeadLicker 0]

Travis,
I am a someone living just north of Burlington and I jump almost every weekend in Vermont at Vermont Skydiving Adventures. Its is an amazing place. Its true that we are a Cessna DZ, but they both have new faster engines with wing extentions, so while it isn't as fast as a DZ with a super otter, we do go to 12,000 in 20 minutes. There is an AFF course, as I learned how to skydive there. The owners are extremely down to earth and everyone is very cool. We have been building a new packing area this weekend, and we start to jump next weekend. The DZ will be open Fri, Sat, Sun and Mon. I think the there are 2 types of tandem rigs there. If you need any more info, just contact me. I can tell you anything you want to know.
Michael

"Political change which ran ahead of social and psychological development was at best useless and at worst dangerous."
--George Eliot

[crazydiver 0]

It's official! I'm moving to the Northeast in two weeks. I look forward to seeing everyone out there and meeting new friends!

Peace!

Cheers,
Travis