diver123

She corked out of our big way!!! bwaaa!!! "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

I don't have a whole lot of info other than the second hand stuff some of the employees were telling me about...and what I saw/experienced for myself. Oh, and just to bash a little more get this: they're tandem price is 200.00 (that's at least 20$ higher than the average I've seen) and their "video" package of their 25 second free fall (that's right...25 seconds cause they'll only take you to 8 grand by order of the DZO) is an additional 125.00 bringing your grand total for a shitty time at a half-ass dz to 325.00!!! *customer service is available for an additional charge... "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

Thanks jumpervali, that was part of my point. I really didn't understand how he could imply that his teaching methods only were acceptable when they were mandated by the same authority. I didn't know the info about the USPA/DZ thing, that's very interesting... I'm not surprised one bit. Bottom line is this: I love this sport and I mean that. I don't want us as a group (skydivers) to go soft on a principal that is the foundation for the enviornment we exist in ya know. That's a horrible thing that he can have a dictatorship like that out there and continue doing business. It's one thing to have a private dz and decide who can jump and who cannot, but when he's exposing 1000's of new people to our sport each year (so he says) in that manner, it becomes a problem. Case in point: Without any influence of mine, two out of the three first time jumpers I took said, "If that's the way all the places are, we don't want to do it again!"... Can you imagine that?!!! After experiencing something like your first free fall, not wanting to do it again cause of some prick with a Napolean complex!!! "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

See, that's another thing that bit me! During our conversation, I politely asked them if they new of any other Dz's in the area so I could get a jump or two in, but they claimed to be the only one in Nevada... I guess I should've taken the time to find out myself. Call it what you want (bashing), but things like that should not and do not have to be tolerated. 50% of the reason I stayed in this sport was because of the actual jump, the other 50% was because of the people!!! I feel it's my responsibility to make things like this known so we can do our part to weed out these pirate dz's and keep our atmosphere pure... "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

Has anyone ever been to the DZ in Vegas? Listen to this: A group of my friends and I were out there for vacation this past weekend and I had pre-arranged a trip to the DZ so a couple of them could make their first jump. Naturally, I took my rig along expecting to make one with them... So it's the morning of and I call the DZ to get a time to bring them out. As I'm talking with the DZO I casually mention the fact that I can't wait to make one too and he puts the brakes on immediately! He begins to lecture me in a very condescending way about how he's running a multi-million dollar tandem operation out there and that fun jumpers are not allowed!!! He goes on to quote stories about how fun jumpers always go out there and ruin his opportunity for furthered business by not complying with the local "rules" set forth by himself... This totally catches me off guard and I reassure him that I'm a C licensed skydiver and have no intentions of doing anything other than enjoying the experience with my friends... He responds with, "Anyone who has not attended HIS AFF course is not welcome to jump out there ever!". At this point I'm pretty desperate because one of my friends says she's not willing to jump unless I'm in the plane with her so I offer to make a mock aff dive allowing one of his "instructors" to accompany me and ensure that I follow his rules!!! He gets snappy and insists that if he must chose between allowing skydivers the opportunity to jump or his "multi-million" dollar business, he choses the business... As you can probably imagine, I'm totally shocked at this point cause I'd never experienced anything like this in my short career. Nevertheless, I talk my friends into sticking with the trip and we all head out to make a jump (except me) :( ... Remember when I told you about his, and I quote, "multi-million" dollar business? Yeah, we get out there and the place is pretty much a dump. All FIVE of their tandem rigs are all beat up and they were using recycled high school shop suits as jump suits...! After doing some investigation, I found that out of the handful of employess working for him, more than half were disgruntled and did not agree with the way he ran his business, but could not say anything for fear of losing their source of income. The whole thing really was pretty suspect... I'd think if a person was bringing in that much money they'd at least re-invest a portion into their business to better it for the longevity of profit... You'd think anyway...! Anyway, that's my two cents about that DZ... It's a poor enviornment and the business is run at an even lesser level... All skydivers who are interested in keeping the friendly, safe enviornments in our sport a standard, please steer clear of this DZ... Not like you can jump there anyway! "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

well...crap! There goes my chance at having the most views today!!! Thanks for the info. "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

Alright ladies and gentlemen, I know the old honcho is out having a good time somehwere, but what about dz.com??? I've been pulling up this same home page for the past two weeks with nothing new on it and it's driving me crazy!!! All those in favor of some new eye candy say...well, I!!! "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

History, experiences, and results are documented day after day on a variety of subjects in life as a baseline for those who come after us to reference and learn from... That being said, I have the following opinion: Canopy choice/size may be one of the most important decisions you make in your skydiving career. However, just because a handful of people have illustrated their lack of interest in learning and have screwed this process up does not mean that others cannot be successful at the same. Each one of us brings a unique set of skills to this sport and we all excell at different speeds. I say, it sounds like Foos took some time under supervised conditions and made a choice according to what he felt comfortable with. At this point it is irrelevent what any of us think as to what's right or wrong in this situation. You may voice your opinion at will, but he's made a decision. Don't you think it would be more beneficial to share your findings, experiences, tips, and tricks on how to fly as safe as possible in stead of ridicule him or condemn him as "not being smart"? I mean seriously, how many people came to you and said that you "weren't being smart" about your decision to jump out of an airplane as a hobby? But you took the time to study the sport, learn the risks involved, and when you were comfortable you chose to try it out... Just because people have lost thier lives enjoying this very same sport, doesn't mean that there can't be many people who will skydive thousands of times over many years and retire from the sport with many rich experiences does it? Why is that? "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

You're still jumping that rig? Cool, I'm glad it worked out so well for you! "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

2500.00$ would be a steal. "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

Pammi, I just read over this last reply you had and it concerns me a little. If you get a total mal, as was the case in this story, and then "cut-away" you'd then have to deal with the potential of a newly release riser possibly getting in the mix right? I know it's a long shot, but then again, so is a shirt tail wrapping itself so tightly around a hacky handle that a guy (who can bench well over 300lbs) couldn't get it out of it's pouch...? Just a thought. If I'm off here, someone help me. Also, I do think it's important that you can attain a level of clarity in your thought process that would allow you the ability to diagnose and then "treat" the problem accordingly and not just go in to robot mode and hope for the best. I know I'm opening up the door here for contraversy, but that's the way I feel. "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

Well, there are these things called the "pilot chute" and "free-bag" that assist in the deployment of...just kidding. I'd hate to have to buy new equipment if I didn't have to ya know. Sorry to confuse you all. I just re-read the post and it does kinda sound like I was implying a malfunctioned canopy I guess. "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

Okay everyone I'm going to admit something here that I'm not proud of, but hopefully it will help to reenforce the idea that complacency can kill! About a week and a half ago I was out at the DZ enjoying a Saturday afternoon with the birds. I'd been hanging out all day chatting and trying to forget about the work and bills that awaited me on Monday morning... Sunset was coming so I decided to get one last jump in before the hour and a half drive home (this would be the fifth for the day)... Just before putting my rig on I decided to lose my long sleeve shirt and just go with the t-shirt to stay cool on the ride up. Instead of tucking it in all nice and neat I decided to leave it out and just tuck it down into my leg straps. On the ride up I hooked up with this other guy to do some sit and mess around a little, it's always more fun when there is someone else out there with you on a sunset! Anyway, the jump was cool and we said our goodbyes and parted at 5. I rolled over to put on the brakes and check the air. All clear (I love it when it's all clear...). Reached back to dump...What the f__k?! I must be imagining something, let's try that again...Holy s__t?!!! Just burned through 3 and a half and I'm not slowing down at all! As I was grabbing for the hacky (I'm pretty sure I had one when I got into the plane) all I feel is a little bit of cotton and the bottom of my container! No time left to conduct any deductive reasoning so I grab a hold of ol' silver and ripped that thing out of the pocket so hard that I almost popped myself in the mouth. Now instead of having a little fun under canopy to wrap up the day, I'm chasing down my mess and trying to piece together what the hell hapened. I've jumped like this a good thirty times and have never had a problem before... So I land in a dusty dirt field and put my canopy in the dirt. I reached back again to see what had happened and found my (un-tucked shirt...retard) almost knotted around my hackey??? I guess the wind wrapped the excess material around my handled so tight that it stuck... After I realized what had happened I felt this incredible urge come over me to paint a big bullseye on my chest and go stand out in the middle of the freeway for a few minutes cause that's what I deserved! This sport is all about risk management. You have no one but yourself to blame when you take unnecessary risks and although I lucked out this time (what if I had a reserve malfunction??? For a shirt??? Come on...) and everything worked out well enough that I walked away. You can bet your ass that you wont ever catch me looking like a walking stack of dirty laundry ever again. Please take a minute to seriously stop and think about some of the things that you may or may not be doing that could add an extra risk to an already dangerous sport...It may just save your life. "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

Forward- lean back at your hips (recline in the chair) Backward- lean forward at your hips (start to get out of the chair)... "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

I don't get it, I thought surfing dropzone.com was fruitful and rewarding work??? j/j pretty cool isn't it. "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

that's what I've been getting at for years!!! :) "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

What kind of plastered are we talking about here? Better yet, when are you planning on doing it again so we can come? "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

There is probably already something like this setup, and if so will someone be so kind as to give me some info on it? If not, is there enough people from either Perris Valley or Elsinore (or both)interested enough in Quincy to make a trip out there really affordable for us less than rich folks? "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

Where was this at? All I know, is I want whatever "karma" he had looking out for him on my side should I ever get in that situation... "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

You can't just leave us hanging skymama! You've got to spill the beans on all the stories now...please?!!! "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

If she's a friend, then what's the big deal? I understand the investment that goes into a rig, but if you trust her then I think you should go with it. I've personally been able to borrow quite a few different rigs from friends and have done the same for them once I purchased my own. The usual agreement is to pay for what you use/break... reserve ripcord, re-pack, cleaning of container if you soak it in the pond... "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

Yeah, I'm with you guys...! It's torture sitting here and having to be held captive when the sun is just begging me to come out and play. Ya know what, screw it...I'm going! I'll make one for ya'll!!! "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

That's an easy one: 1. sea 2. mardi gras "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

Thanks everyone, you sure know how to make a skydiver feel good on the ground :) Pammi, It actually was quite an increase for me. I gained about 20 pounds since my last skydive and dropped 20ft off my canopy...It moves along just fine now. "pull high! It's lower than you think..."

Thanks guys, I appreciate the good wishes! I'll send a case of the good stuff your way... "pull high! It's lower than you think..."