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badenhop

the future of wingsuits @ lodi

By badenhop, in Wing Suit Flying

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LyraM45    0

LyraM45
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those arent $15 and $10 on sundays though :/....was gonna go up there when i got my wingsuit and do a shit ton of jumping b/c of the community they have built and the money i would save :/



I think Byron is $17. I hashed through the same thing when I first started jumping out in the Bay Area and honestly the $2 difference is nothing in the grand scheme of things compared to other jump tickets in the country around $25!

*edited to add-- I'm just trying to say all hope is not lost for wingsuiting in the Bay Area.
Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

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badenhop    0

badenhop

Hello
Lodi is the most affordable DZ in the world.
Standard ticket is $15, buy a block and it's $13.
Now the deal is $10 a jump every Sunday!
Bill is a totally awesome, so is Kathy.
Huge grassy landing area, plenty of covered packing.
The fun and games and "family of jumpers" feel rocks!
Many of us call that place home,
I've been jumping there for nearly 20 years.
I was there the day the rule changed from "no wingsuits"
to hearing the call for the "birdmen load" is next.....
That was almost a decade ago now.
Ever since we have been building the wingsuit community.
Tons of people flock there to learn/fly/flock.

Bill has his way of doing things you learn to live with.
It's not difficult considering the freedoms he allows.
As someone mentioned somewhere above,
you may get one warning, then you are done.
It is his drop zone, and he has the right to run it his way.
And he does, it is "Bill's way" or "hit the road".
I am fine with that, as are many, many others, obviously.

Lately careless jumpers habitually land off = problem.

There are other drop zones around sure,
but the jumps are always more expensive,
some even rediculously expensive.
They all offer less than great aircraft.
Not to mention certain DZO's are just not nice ever.
Some drop zone are made completely of dirt, completely.
Also, ten thousand windmills were put in places for a reason.
I don't want to bash all the other dz's,
as I might have to jump there once or twice.;)
Flocking, which is what I do is not so great out the door of a kingair,
nor a cessna, even if it is a 206, and the pac is just dangerous IMHO.

Lodi is awesome year round with otters.
Oops, I gotta go, cya.

Avery

==================================

I've got all I need, Jesus and gravity. Dolly Parton

http://www.AveryBadenhop.com

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Stuuu    0

Stuuu

Sad days!! Please Bill, reconsider! There are many responsible wingsuiters from around the world that love to jump at your establishment. Please do not punish all of us due to a few irresponsible individuals.




I believe that a tar and feathering may be in order for those that have brought this on our community [:/]

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DSE    5

DSE
I'd say Bill has been pretty patient; the first time I came to Lodi to jump on my own, he gave me a reminder "be sure to land on the DZ." That was several years ago.
Any chance he might change his mind? Can we as a community help somehow?

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monkycndo    0

monkycndo
The main landing area is of adequate size and is bounded by fields on two sides. The rest of the area is grape vines and a highway. So landing off can be an issue. There is also the problem that someone has to find/collect the jumper who has landed off. With the number of tandems that are done there, the time/effort spent on the lost jumper could be spent making sure the tandems get the attention they are paying for. For a dumbass wingsuiter to repeatedly land off because they can't navigate, they deserve to get a talking to. I have only landed off once. I learned from that mistake.
50 donations so far. Give it a try.

You know you want to spank it
Jump an Infinity

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LyraM45    0

LyraM45
Quote

Hello
Lodi is the most affordable DZ in the world.
Standard ticket is $15, buy a block and it's $13.
Now the deal is $10 a jump every Sunday!
Bill is a totally awesome, so is Kathy.
Huge grassy landing area, plenty of covered packing.
The fun and games and "family of jumpers" feel rocks!
Many of us call that place home,
I've been jumping there for nearly 20 years.
I was there the day the rule changed from "no wingsuits"
to hearing the call for the "birdmen load" is next.....
That was almost a decade ago now.
Ever since we have been building the wingsuit community.
Tons of people flock there to learn/fly/flock.

Bill has his way of doing things you learn to live with.
It's not difficult considering the freedoms he allows.
As someone mentioned somewhere above,
you may get one warning, then you are done.
It is his drop zone, and he has the right to run it his way.
And he does, it is "Bill's way" or "hit the road".
I am fine with that, as are many, many others, obviously.

Lately careless jumpers habitually land off = problem.

There are other drop zones around sure,
but the jumps are always more expensive,
some even rediculously expensive.
They all offer less than great aircraft.
Not to mention certain DZO's are just not nice ever.
Some drop zone are made completely of dirt, completely.
Also, ten thousand windmills were put in places for a reason.
I don't want to bash all the other dz's,
as I might have to jump there once or twice.;)
Flocking, which is what I do is not so great out the door of a kingair,
nor a cessna, even if it is a 206, and the pac is just dangerous IMHO.

Lodi is awesome year round with otters.
Oops, I gotta go, cya.

Avery



I definitely hear you with all of that. BUT, when it comes down to it and you guys have to do what you gotta do, then at least you have other options. You may not think they are as good for whatever reasons, but at least they are there. Just think of it this way-- you would be much worse off if there were NOT any other DZ's in the area. Then you really would be truly screwed. Try to think of the bright side! :)

FWIW, I have a feeling Bill will change his mind.... just a hunch!
Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

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PeteS    0

PeteS
One of the biggest issues is that Bill and Kathy do not get any compensation for dealing with extra hassle's. It is often so busy that they can't ask when some new kid pulls a wing suit out of his bag half way through the day or some 100 jump wonder decides to "Organize"a tracking jump.

When there is an out landing on a busy day, that is just another thing they (mostly Kathy) does not need. When Bill gets a call from a neighbor wondering who owns the tan SUV cruising up and down the fields, that will ratchet him up a little more.

I don't yet know what the best answer is, but we are trying to come up with something most everyone can live with. I have met with the "angry neighbors" and they are not that angry yet. I gave them a few suggestions to think about and took a little time with them just to get to know them.

So, as of right now we are in a small holding pattern. Please do not do any thing else at the moment. I am waiting for this meeting to get Bill's attention and see what he comes back with. The ground is kind of shakey and things need to settle down.
This will take some man power and commitment if we are to get back in the skies over Lodi. I know we can do it.

Thanks, Pete and the rest of the Lodi regulars.

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davelepka    4

davelepka
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One of the biggest issues is that Bill and Kathy do not get any compensation for dealing with extra hassle's



Then it's simple, anyone doing a wingsuit, tracking dive, or CRW dive who land off is fined $50. If you intend to leave the aircraft and 'fly around' in some way, you take responsibility for ensuring that your flight path returns you to the airport.

Maybe take it one step further. Land off a second time, it's $100 for the second occurance. Land off a thrid time, expect to banned from wingsuits, tracking dives and CRW. You can still jump at Lodi, just not doing anything that could put you off. Bill and Kathy get to keep a customer, and the neighbors get to stay happy. Of course, if you sneak your way onto a tacking dive or the like, expect to tossed off the DZ all together.

If you figure that the average jumper is saving at least $50 a day by jumping at Lodi, one off landing puts them financially on par with a days jumping at another DZ. Furthermore, the extra cash in Bill's pocket can go towards covering the extra effort needed to round up wayward jumpers, and padding out the neighbors pockets so even if they get to the point of being 'angry', they won't stay that way for long.

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robblack31    0

robblack31
On some level, I agree with you. However, those landing off have already proven that they cannot navigate very well. I don't think it is a good idea to give them financial motivation to make it back to the DZ when they find themselves long under a good canopy. Its better that they land off safely than try to make it back to the no fine zone and get hurt in the process. Sadly, there are people out there who might put themselves in real danger because of a $50 fine.

I do hope it all works out for the West Coast Wingsuit crowd, they have developed a fun and safe flying group over a lot of years.

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SwampGod    0

SwampGod
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...those landing off have already proven that they cannot navigate very well. I don't think it is a good idea to give them financial motivation to make it back to the DZ when they find themselves long under a good canopy. Its better that they land off safely than try to make it back to the no fine zone and get hurt in the process...."

I do hope it all works out for the West Coast Wingsuit crowd, they have developed a fun and safe flying group over a lot of years.



+1

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davelepka    4

davelepka
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Its better that they land off safely than try to make it back to the no fine zone and get hurt in the process. Sadly, there are people out there who might put themselves in real danger because of a $50 fine.



Well fine, cater to those folks and continue the ban on wingsuits at Lodi.

If you have the jumps to handle a wingsuit, you should have the ability to navigate yourself and make a safe landing. If you cannot accomplish those two things, you shouldn't be on a wingsuit.

Let's face it, everyone wants to land on the DZ, so the times where a wingsuiter gets too far out are not by design of the wingsuit pilot, it's an unintended consequence of either paying too much attention to the flock (even if it's just one other guy) or misjudging your glide. Those two things are both easy to do, and easy to prevent. If you know that making it back is a serious issue, you can simply move that priority up in your flight planning.

I don't think too much about getting back at my home DZ because I jump in Ohio in the middle of 1000's of acres of farmland (it's sad). I would have to guess that a wingsuiter at Skydive Hawaii might be a little more concerned about making it back to the DZ as the alternate is millions of acres of the Pacific Ocean. When there are real consequences, it's easy to make it a priority.

As it turns out in this case, when the consequence was pissing off Bill, that wasn't enough for people to be serious about making it home. Bill called their bluff and made it serious by banning wingsuits. At this point in time it's either no wingsuits, or serious enough conseqences for people to make getting back a priority.

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Sangi    0

Sangi
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So no low pulls, no swoops, no wingsuits...all the sudden skydance ain't look that bad!



haha what a lame DZ.

I wonder why people even go there if the whole idea of FUN in jumping is being taken away..

The fossil who's running everything needs to go to the retirement house.
"Dream as you'll live forever, live as you'll die today." James Dean

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DSE    5

DSE
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Quote

So no low pulls, no swoops, no wingsuits...all the sudden skydance ain't look that bad!



haha what a lame DZ.

I wonder why people even go there if the whole idea of FUN in jumping is being taken away..

The fossil who's running everything needs to go to the retirement house.



The "fossil" that's running the place has done more jumps and good in skydiving in one day than you've done in your entire life. The problem is that there are out of town bad-azz mad skillz Ignas-types that can't do in real life what they can do with a video game online. One bad apple spoils the bunch.

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bodypilot1    0

bodypilot1
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If you have the jumps to handle a wingsuit, you should have the ability to navigate yourself and make a safe landing. If you cannot accomplish those two things, you shouldn't be on a wingsuit.



Exactly. Unfortunatly the major damage done was by trackers and freefly tracking groups landing out.
Further talks with the farmer that is complaining has reveiled, it's not the jumpers so much landing in the vineyard, but instead they are pissed about the people Bill makes go over and pick them up. They drive around locked gates and all over the property to find the jumper or cutaway gear that may have landed there.
www.WestCoastWingsuits.com
www.PrecisionSkydiving.com

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