Are there traditions?

[CrazyIvan 0]

I've read here and there that there are some traditions, is there any OFFICIAL list of them? or is pretty much what a particular DZ decides to do?.

__________________________________________
Blue Skies and May the Force be with you.

[skybytch 259]

DZ's that have been around for awhile develop traditions, and many skydivers carry around even more. And then there's the entire state of Texas, which from what I've heard is one big tradition - I'm sure someone from there will post about their SCR/SCS ceremonies...

I've never seen a "list." I've called two dz's home and they couldn't have been more different. At my first dz, pies were almost a requirement for 100, 500, 1000 jumps and every 1000 thereafter. We also played a couple of silly games, Lancaster Bomber being my favorite. The beer rules were lightly enforced (i.e. if you want to play along great. If not, then please don't drink the free beer that someone else brought for their first).

At Perris it's a trip into the pool for milestone jumps. There's a bar, not a beer fridge, so the beer rules aren't enforced much at all. Perris also has Sky Trash, who are a tradition in and of themselves (someday I'll be Trash too....). And Perris is the current home to several long standing competitions that have become traditional (Rumbleseat 10 way meet, Cal Cup, and the Turkey Meet come to mind).

This is all part of what makes jumping at different dz's so much fun.

[councilman24 36]

I think the idea of "traditions" being in a "list" is contradictory. Every DZ is different, every skydiver has been taught differently. And unfortunately, with the change from the "good old days" of clubs (and ParaCommanders, Cessnas, Twin Bo's, LoadStall's, B-18's, and Agent Orange DC-3) to commercial centers (with turbins, packers, air conditioning, GPS, and ZP) most new jumpers don't know Cap'n Crunch from Cardinal Puff. And when was the last time you saw a hacky not on a PC? You know, I bet there is a whole generation of skydivers that think a hacky is only a handle! Unite to FREE ALL HACKYS so they can enjoy the pleasure of being kicked!!!

For a feel of the old days read United We Fall http://www.cs.fiu.edu/~esj/uwf/uwf.html.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[CrazyIvan 0]

Hey, thanks for the info.

__________________________________________
Blue Skies and May the Force be with you.

[narcimund 0]

Writing traditions is like killing your pets to mount their taxidermied corpses on the mantle.

First Class Citizen Twice Over

[skypuppy 1]

In Florida in '79 - '82 we used to have crater parties... Anyone even know what one is now?

If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead.
Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

[wmw999 2,116]

Quote

Writing traditions is like killing your pets to mount their taxidermied corpses on the mantle.

That's one of the best things I've seen here. Absolutely wonderful!

Now, to make this post topical, traditions seem to come from the people who hang around the drop zone when no jumping is going on. When we're jumping, we're too busy for traditions. So look around when it's slow, and yes, it varies all over the place.

Wendy W.

[Ron 7]

Long ago at Z=hills they (I hear) used to pour plaster of paris in the craters.

At a lot of DZ's I have been to I have been taken on the "crater tour". It was almost part of the check in.

Ron

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[AggieDave 6]

I'm assuming by talking about craters you're talking about ones left by people burning in, right? That's a seriously morbid humor, but I can understand, I think.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Ron 7]

It is morbid, and not all DZ's do this....In fact few did.
And very few still do this.

But it is important to remember that this sport can kill you, and this did a very good job of bringing that point up.

To many times DZ's dance around the fact that this is a high risk sport. It's not dangerous, but it does carry a higher risk of death.

I am not saying that the old "Blue Skies,Black Death" way of skydiving is better, or we should go back, but it is very important that we don't think of this sport as "safe".

I know to many people who really don't act like this sport can kill. They throw around sayings like "Blue Skies, Black Death", "Get in or Go in" ect...and a lot have never seen death at a DZ. (I hope they never do, and I hope they don't lose a friend. But be in the sport long enough, and it WILL HAPPEN.) They want to pretend that people don't die...These people should be shown.

Its not about morbid curiosity...its about a wake up call.

Ron

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[CrazyIvan 0]

Quite frankly, if I went to a DZ and saw several of those, I'll stay away, to me, that's an indication that safety is not important, I know that accidents are bound to happen but also irresponsable people.

I don't know, does it makes sense?

__________________________________________
Blue Skies and May the Force be with you.

[skypuppy 1]

You may think it's because safety is not important, but remember, this was a long time ago, and I usually encountered it down south where you;d have a lot of jumpers coming down in the winter who may not have jumped in months, weren't used to big planes or big formations, and didn't know a lot of people... So you have more accidents where there were more jumps being made...

And remember, this was generally before or just after AFF came out, and before CYPRES was available - sometimes you might have a Sentinel AAD, but sometimes you wouldn't... And parachutes were possibly more likely to malfunction, then, tooo.

Mind you, if you only have 10 jumps as your profile says, you likely wouldn't be taken on the tour, unless maybe you were with a bunch of people from your home dz with more experience...

This usually went on sort of behind the drop zone operators' backs - they knew it was happening, and didn't condone it, but they didn't stop it either... Sort of like if you were smoking up in your van after the beer lite came on...

One of the best examples of the Black Death attitude was when Pirus was organizing a Skull and Crossbones 40 (I think) way at Z-hills... The skull was supposed to wink and the teeth would chatter when some of the jumpers changed grips in the middle. Hooper heard about it and came out to the loading area to tell Pirus not to do it... Pirus did it anyway, got kicked off the staff, and then went over to start up Deland...

BLACK DEATH!

Like my pal Hawkeye said, 'I may not have been L***a's first, but I know for dam sure I was her last!'

Blue skies, Red eyes,

Skypuppy

If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead.
Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

[Ron 7]

You have to understand that most of these DZ's that do this have been around for a long time. Back in the 70's-80's a lot more people burned in (as opposed to hooking in now).

Crater tours are a throw back to then....And like I said they don't happen much anymore.

But I will tell you that if you have ever seen one, that place on earth will always appear different to you.

It is a way of paying respect, and a way to remind you of the risks, and your own mortality.

Ron

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[CrazyIvan 0]

Quote

It is a way of paying respect, and a way to remind you of the risks, and your own mortality.

Ron

I never thought of it that way...if that's the case, it makes sense to me.

__________________________________________
Blue Skies and May the Force be with you.

[usedtajump 1]

Cooledge, AZ used to have a fine crater tour. Since it was in the dry desert, they lasted a long time. AnotherDZ that will stay un named had a tradition of wallowing in a fresh crater for good luck. Go figure.

The older I get the less I care who I piss off.

[ManBird 0]

Quote

Quite frankly, if I went to a DZ and saw several of those, I'll stay away, to me, that's an indication that safety is not important, I know that accidents are bound to happen but also irresponsable people.

I don't know, does it makes sense?

I heard a student ask after the fourth cutaway in a three days at a large DZ, "What's wrong with this place?" Malfunctions are as related to a DZ as pizza is to permanent ink, especially when the mals happened to people packing themselves. The above philosophy would prohibit you from a number of drop zones. More jumpers. More jumps. More cutaways. It happens.

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

Click

[ManBird 0]

Quote

One of the best examples of the Black Death attitude was when Pirus was organizing a Skull and Crossbones 40 (I think) way at Z-hills... The skull was supposed to wink and the teeth would chatter when some of the jumpers changed grips in the middle. Hooper heard about it and came out to the loading area to tell Pirus not to do it... Pirus did it anyway, got kicked off the staff, and then went over to start up Deland...

Makes sense. DeLand was a lot of fun. It seemed loose, but not in a bad way. It seemed like a lot was just left unsaid to experienced jumpers, which, in turn, makes you want to be voluntarily safe, respectful, and responsible. You also feel more free and independent which, in turn, causes you to rely on yourself for safety a lot more (though I did still annoy everyone with gear checks on every load, before boarding and exiting).

I hate getting talked to like crazy at a lot of DZs. Sure I only have 400 sumpin jumps, but that doesn't mean I need an AFF course every damn time I visit a DZ.

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

Click

[Zenister 0]

Quote

And when was the last time you saw a hacky not on a PC? You know, I bet there is a whole generation of skydivers that think a hacky is only a handle! Unite to FREE ALL HACKYS so they can enjoy the pleasure of being kicked!!!

hackys are regularly abused outside the packing area at Eloy between loads or while waiting for the weather to clear....

i somehow doubt its a tradition however..

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[mjosparky 3]

Quote

DZ's that have been around for awhile develop traditions, and many skydivers carry around even more. And then there's the entire state of Texas, which from what I've heard is one big tradition - I'm sure someone from there will post about their SCR/SCS ceremonies...

I've never seen a "list." I've called two dz's home and they couldn't have been more different. At my first dz, pies were almost a requirement for 100, 500, 1000 jumps and every 1000 thereafter. We also played a couple of silly games, Lancaster Bomber being my favorite. The beer rules were lightly enforced (i.e. if you want to play along great. If not, then please don't drink the free beer that someone else brought for their first).

At Perris it's a trip into the pool for milestone jumps. There's a bar, not a beer fridge, so the beer rules aren't enforced much at all. Perris also has Sky Trash, who are a tradition in and of themselves (someday I'll be Trash too....). And Perris is the current home to several long standing competitions that have become traditional (Rumbleseat 10 way meet, Cal Cup, and the Turkey Meet come to mind).

This is all part of what makes jumping at different dz's so much fun.

Lisa,
Next time I am at Perris get ahold of me and I will make sure you become "Air Trash". I have be a member since 1979. And then there is Cardnial Puff.
Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[indigoSkye 0]

Oooohhh,

LodeStalls, hacky's & Cardinal Puff, all in the same place.


Yes, give us the article... a lovely nostalgic flash, thanx.

Perfect speed is being there at the goat roast.

[usedtajump 1]

Quote

I've read here and there that there are some traditions, is there any OFFICIAL list of them? or is pretty much what a particular DZ decides to do?.

Does anybody still "ride the rotating beacon" at airports that have them? Used to do that at night and leave your signature on it.

The older I get the less I care who I piss off.

[SkydiverRick 0]

Does anybody still "ride the rotating beacon" at airports that have them? Used to do that at night and leave your signature on it.

[Tonto 1]

I know...

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[Tonto 1]

No. It doesn't make sense. You can run a really safe DZ for decades. It just takes one person - and you're not safe, right? It's a numbers game. Throw a lot of meat at the planet and some of it will stick. Meanwhile, do the best you can to stop it from happening. My personal yardstick is the pill. As long as you're statistically safer than the pill - you're doing ok. We trust the pill, right?

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[slotperfect 7]

I visited The Blue Sky Ranch in New York in 1991. On my first skydive there, we took off on an otter load, and at about 500 feet or so, someone yelled "SHAWANGA!" The rest of the plane responded by yelling "FLY BABY, FLY!"

I never found out what it was about . . . maybe it has something to do with the mountain the aircraft has to clear a couple of minutes into the climbout.

The other one was the "Grand Opening" sign hanging by the volleyball net. It had signaures all over it. I asked what it was for, and was told "If you open at a grand, you get to sign it."

Arrive Safely

John