Milo 0 #1 October 29, 2009 I'm curious. When I started jumping in '97 I seem to remember a 30 foot pea pit. Another in 2001 was also around that size. The last few DZs I jumped at didn't have them. Are they a thing of the past? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #2 October 29, 2009 Mullin's DZ, West Tennessee Skydiving has the largest pea pit I've seen anywhere. Not sure of the diameter though. The two DZ's I've frequented the last few years don't even have one, and they're not even 10 years old."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
MrPeapit 0 #3 October 29, 2009 All the ones I saw were usually around 30 ft in diameter. I don't know if that was the standard or not. It's too bad they're disappearing. I was never an accuracy competitor but I shot the peas on every skydive just because it was another fun part of the jump. They also made for comfortable sleeping on cool nights.1st jump August 6, 1977. Last jump July 8, 2006. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
virgin-burner 1 #4 October 29, 2009 ours got removed just before i started a couple years back; if i look at photos, and the pits at another dz i frequent, i'd say the 30ft are about accurate..“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.” -Hunter S. Thompson "No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try." -Yoda Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CazmoDee 3 #5 October 29, 2009 Sometime back in the 70's, West Point switched from a big sawdust pit to peas. It seamed really big to me back than. I was just a kid. I got a chance to jump my dad's old jumpsuit a while ago and found some old stow bands and a handful of peas in one of the pockets! I keep them in a small jar...... I'm behind the bar at Sloppy Joe's....See ya in the Keys! Muff 4313 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chuckakers 370 #6 October 29, 2009 QuoteI'm curious. When I started jumping in '97 I seem to remember a 30 foot pea pit. Another in 2001 was also around that size. The last few DZs I jumped at didn't have them. Are they a thing of the past? '97 was the early days? Geez I'm old.Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BlueSBDeath 2 #7 October 29, 2009 This is a photo of me landing in the Peas at Barnwell SC. Just a few years before 97 I have no idea how big the pit was! Arvel Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkeenan 13 #8 October 29, 2009 Probably one of the History buffs (Help me, Howard) can answer this, but the DZ at Orange Mass. had a pit made for the first World Meet held in the US back in the 60s. That thing looked like you could see it from space, it was so big. It is still visible today at the airport, but the peas were removed years ago. Kevin K._____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AirCav 0 #9 October 29, 2009 If I remember correct, 10 meter radius was the size for early accuracy.GW685,D3888,C5052,SCS843 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimjumper 25 #10 October 29, 2009 The landing circle at Lakewood (NJ) was 1800' and all white sand! The one at the Lakehurst military base was even bigger. We once had a European group that spotted for a golf course sand trap by mistake thinking it was the target. You can still recognize it on Google Earth. The dropzone closed in '85 I believe. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lodestar 0 #11 October 29, 2009 Shot in the dark on this but weren't the peas primarily to cushion impact when going downwind for accuracy? There was another use which usually happened at night and involved the disc and a member of the opposite....sex..... I'd think with the advent of squares and the diminishing number of accuracy jumpers the expense may be a factor.... Just guessing.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jonstark 8 #12 October 29, 2009 QuoteShot in the dark on this but weren't the peas primarily to cushion impact when going downwind for accuracy? There was another use which usually happened at night and involved the disc and a member of the opposite....sex..... I'd think with the advent of squares and the diminishing number of accuracy jumpers the expense may be a factor.... Just guessing.... Pea gravel really was soft to land in. It had to be roto-tilled each and every year to keep it that way. You could pound in splashing gravel for yards in every direction and still get up to walk away. Crazy what a little competition will make a guy do. jon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen 1,048 #13 October 29, 2009 Hi jon, Quote It had to be roto-tilled each and every year to keep it that way. That depended upon the type of pea gravel used. One local DZO learned the hard way. If you ordered washed pea gravel you did not have to do any rototilling, it always would spray when coming in downwind; unless you let the weeds grow and then you should have had heavy plastic under it. Washed pea gravel has no sand in it. The 'normal' size was 10 meters in radius. But do not miss the peas if the wind is howling. JerryBaumchen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 5 #14 October 29, 2009 Here's an architect's drawing (yes, it had an architect.) I've indicated where Jumptown is. I'm sitting looking at the area as I write, and I made three jumps today into roughly where the "peas" in the center are. They really weren't peas as such, just sand. It was actually the Sixth World Meet, in 1962; just the first in the U.S. Among the competitors was Loy Brydon, who died over the past weekend. More, later, if anyone cares. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkeenan 13 #15 October 29, 2009 QuoteShot in the dark on this but weren't the peas primarily to cushion impact when going downwind for accuracy?.... Yeah, you could really cream into the pea gravel and walk away from it just fine. There's a story of a couple of old-time Florida DZs who had a dispute over ownership of the peas. One night with the help of a lot of beer and earth-moving equipment, some of the jumpers removed the pea gravel (several tons) from one DZ and relocated it to the other. Kevin K._____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chuteless 1 #16 October 30, 2009 I know of one target are that was filled with saw dust. Another was filled with cement and painted green ( Grafton Ohio), and it was always suggested not to do a bum landing. You really had to watch those Grafton guys. Bill Cole Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guru312 0 #17 October 30, 2009 QuoteYeah, you could really cream into the pea gravel and walk away from it just fine. The DZ I owned was in Southern New Jersey which is famous for sand and gravel. When I started the DZ I wanted to have a pea gravel pit. I went to a friend who was an engineer at one of the local sand/gravel companies. When I explained the purpose of the pit he suggested a design with a much deeper middle section than out toward the edges. He suggested a size of gravel which was smaller and rounder than any of the pits I had jumped into during MEPA meets. The size and shape was different than any pea gravel pit on the East coast. Another thing he recommended was mentioned up-thread and that was "double washed" gravel which made it very clean. The trouble with the design was walking in the gravel was almost impossible: you'd sink in over your ankles. It was a great landing area for doing downwind accuracy on a 28' cheapo or a PC. When we hosted MEPA meets the judges were worn out after a day in my pit. They'd continually complain, but the accuracy freaks totally loved it. Lots of people came to my DZ to practice accuracy because the more rounded and slightly smaller stones were more forgiving. Added after reading: The biggest problem with our pit was it had to be raked much more often because the peas were so "fluid". Actually, the raking got to be a bit of a pain in the ass it had to be done so often. Those were the days...Guru312 I am not DB Cooper Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jonstark 8 #18 October 30, 2009 At Skydive City in Sylvania, GA in the 70's I made a pit. We had a couple underwater demo guys jumpng with us who got a case of dynamite and had a source of sandblasting slag. We took 36 sticks of high speed gelatinous Dupont wired all together and blew 'em up in an array inside the designated pit hoping the blast would blow the dirt out of the hole. It blew the dirt a long ways but straight up and it came right back down where it came from. We spent a few days moving the dirt out then lining the hole with plastic to prevent weeds coming back and added perforated drainage pipes. Then came the slag. Turns out it was blindingly bright white and not very fine sand. Duh. It made for a really great target to orient the students as the white circle in the corner of the soy field in the infield of the airport really stood out nicely. Years after the DZ was defunct that white circle was visible from the air. It sucked for accuracy after the first year tho. jon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paralola 0 #19 October 30, 2009 Yes 10 Meter (33 ft) was the standard size and getting the right peas and under-construction was the key to a maintenance free pit. Loved to 'crashed' into it which was overtime when doing accuracy with windAlways happy to fall out of a plane Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon2 0 #20 October 30, 2009 Ours is fairly big, I believe the story is they mistook the asked-for 10m diameter for a 10m radius, this apparently then took a LOT of gravel to fill ciel bleu, Saskia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guru312 0 #21 October 30, 2009 Quote Ours is fairly big, I believe the story is they mistook the asked-for 10m diameter for a 10m radius, this apparently then took a LOT of gravel to fill Your peas are nothing like South Jersey peas. I don't know what that stuff is in your pit but it doesn't look like a pea gravel nor does it look like anything that would be moved easily by an outstretched toe, foot and leg. It looks very "packable" and not fun to land in.Guru312 I am not DB Cooper Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
muff528 3 #22 October 30, 2009 Quote Ours is fairly big, I believe the story is they mistook the asked-for 10m diameter for a 10m radius, this apparently then took a LOT of gravel to fill Looks like they just used bigger peas. If you count them I bet there would be the same number as in a normal-sized pit (of course compensated for scaling to get the same landing results.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #23 October 30, 2009 Ours was a sawdust pit, small club with little money. It was great if it was cool out and hadn't rained for a while. July & August was not a good time, the stuff would get everywhere and stick to ya like glue. After a heavy rain fall, when the pit was only 1/2 dry it was like landing on a wet trampoline! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon2 0 #24 October 30, 2009 Don't know what to call that kind of gravel, but it is good stuff to land in, certainly much softer than the grass around it. I landed a Lightning from half-brakes in it once, gravel everywhere but I was fine When it's frozen solid I don't like landing in the pit, mostly because of subsequently having to walk over frozen gravel, but otherwise it's a fav landing spot for sports jumpers, most if not all TMs like landing in it as do the accuracy jumpers. BTW I have never seen anybody raking it, maybe we have a kind of super gravel ciel bleu, Saskia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen 1,048 #25 October 30, 2009 Hi dragon, You need a drainage system. I helped one DZO make one out of empty beer cans, worked great. JerryBaumchen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
