padu 0 #1 September 8, 2008 So I live 5 minutes off Skydive San Diego... Saturday afternoon and I decided to make a fun jump. Load 17 had just taken off. Got my ticket and went to the manifest. The nice lady was on the phone and signaled to me with her hands "two" - "zero"... Ok, I was on for load 20 right? Here I am, sitting on the packing area looking at load 19 taking off... She came to me and said... "hey, you were supposed to be on that plane!" I said "no... you said load 20"... she said "I said 20 minutes..." Ok, now I feel like dumb and prepared to go home without jumping (and probably with $25 bucks less on my pocket)... That's when she goes out of her way and really amazes me... she asked the other pilot to take me (and two more guys laying around because load 20 was already crowded) to give us a "quick lift" to 13,5. I have to say it was the roomiest twin otter I've ever been... (not to say about the climb rate! yeeey) Skydive San Diego was already my home DZ, but now they really captivated me... Thanks! You guys are awsome!Una volta che avrete imparato a Volare, camminerete sulla terra guardando il cielo perchè è là che siete stati ed è là che vorrete tornare. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mdrejhon 8 #2 September 8, 2008 Three skydivers in a Twin Otter. That is pretty roomy. The roomiest Twin Otter I've been in was probably 14 or 15 people, no less. I wonder when the dropzone starts losing money... Probably at 3 person, it is already a loss so they were very generous to you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
padu 0 #3 September 8, 2008 That's for sure. Gladly, they don't have the thinking of immediate profit. I doubt they lost money at the end of the day, even with the 3 ppl load, but I've been in some DZ's where this would be unthinkable.Una volta che avrete imparato a Volare, camminerete sulla terra guardando il cielo perchè è là che siete stati ed è là che vorrete tornare. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #4 September 8, 2008 Quote Three skydivers in a Twin Otter. That is pretty roomy. The roomiest Twin Otter I've been in was probably 14 or 15 people, no less. I wonder when the dropzone starts losing money... Probably at 3 person, it is already a loss so they were very generous to you. Depends on the DZ, but some will send an Otter with two tandems (with video) and 4 to 6 fun jumpers if it's a slow day."Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnDeere 0 #5 September 8, 2008 It is a great ride with 3 on there! I have been on a otter load with a tandem and me at skydive dallas. I have also been on otters with 5-6 every once in a while. But will any of your DZ's fly a caravan with 5 people all day?? Nothing opens like a Deere! You ignorant fool! Checks are for workers! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Superfletch 1 #6 September 9, 2008 A couple of years ago I was invited to go up to the Des Moines skydivers for their Halloween boogie to shoot some video. They Had an otter come in from Skydive Chicago. The day before the boogie it showed up and Pat Rounds had him fly a load for 4 of us that had gotten there early so we could get a fun jump in before all the work began the next day. It was awesome. I wish I would have thought about it before we left and I would have brought a football so we could have had a little game of 2 on 2. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Speer 0 #7 September 10, 2008 I'm almost ashamed to say that a couple years ago I rode that otter (N300DZ) to 5500' for a hop n pop as the only person on the plane other than Terry (the pilot)... and yes, it felt very strange. I live a little over 2 hours away from the DZ, and had made the trip down to deliver a piece of equipment during mid-week. Buzz told me to hurry up and catch the next load as it was getting ready to go. He lead me to believe that I would be going up with some military jumpers there, as he knew I'd refuse taking the plane up alone. I ran out all geared up to find I was the entire last load of the day. Just his way of saying thanks. No DZ can consistently send aircraft up at a financial loss, but i can honestly say I've been on more than one very sparse load there when they were just taking care of up jumpers. Thanks Buzz, Blake... and Andy W too! Russ Generally, it is your choice; will your life serve as an example... or a warning? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
