Mel5

Members
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Gear

  • Reserve Canopy Size
    126
  • AAD
    Cypres 2

Jump Profile

  • Home DZ
    Lincoln Sport Parachute Club
  • License
    D
  • Licensing Organization
    USPA
  • Tunnel Hours
    15
  • Years in Sport
    6
  • First Choice Discipline
    Freeflying
  • Second Choice Discipline
    Tunnel Flying
  • Freefall Photographer
    No

Ratings and Rigging

  • USPA Coach
    Yes
  • Pro Rating
    No
  • Wingsuit Instructor
    No
  1. Went to the dz after reading several reviews from dz.com, brought gear half-way around the world, and made a special trip out to Taupo to find out that regulations in New Zealand apparently have changed. The government CAA agency has taken over all skydiving operations and regulations. The CAA controls plane loading so much so that you do not load based on exit order, but rather weight/balance order and will have to move upon exit order groups. There are two dz's on this same airport. This one allows fun jumpers and Skydive Taupo is a tandem only operation. From how it was explained at this dz before you go know that you have to pay a $50 fee to convert your USPA membership or foreign license to the New Zealand equivalent and it will take a good 2.5 hours to complete all of the paperwork, watch safety videos, etc. Each dz then charges a $75 use fee to jump at each location. The jumps cost $50-$55 NZD per jump. If you only have a day or two to skydive it ends up not being worth your time or money.
  2. I do enjoy the UA 4.0 cold gear for winter jumping, but you can get some other base-layer brands that are a bit less expensive. If you check out Cabela's online they have women's polar base-layers as well for about half the price of Under Armour and they often have discounts on their store brands.
  3. Went for the Summer Solstice Boogie in June 2017 and had an awesome time. They had a Twin Otter for the event, load organizers, and plenty of activities planned. Glacier jumps were breathtaking! Sign-up early to get them out of the way since the weather changes quickly near the glacier site even more than at the dz. Expect finicky weather, it’s Alaska! We had great weather for most the week, but do not plan to hang around the dz if the forecast is clouds, wind, or rain. There are plenty of other outdoor activities within an hour’s drive to do such as hiking, glacier climbing, national parks, fishing, etc. Ask the local jumpers for suggestions. The boogie is great if you want to spend a bit of time jumping and also spend time touring Alaska. We were getting around 22 hours of daylight each day during the solstice.
  4. Mel5

    Skydive Deep Creek

    Attempted to go to Skydive Deep Creek, now called Skydive Cumberland per their fb page. Online said they were open daily and I attempted to both call and message them, but did not get a response. Drove all the way out there and there was no sign of a dropzone in existence. Google and fb had different addresses listed, so I went to different airports within 5 miles of each other. Asked the locals at the airport restaurant and they said very rarely there is skydiving, but they weren't sure who does it, where it happens at, and said it had been awhile said they had seen anyone jumping.
  5. I see you listed your home dz as Suffolk. There are plenty of coaches and instructors to jump with every weekend if you are trying to finish up your A-license. They are normally pretty helpful to students, so I wouldn't be worried about being new. The weather has been really good lately and you can't finish your A-license if you don't show up to the dz to jump. There are also several girls that jump there fairly regularly as long as we aren't at camps or other skydiving events elsewhere. Come out and jump!
  6. Mel5

    Comet

    Probably the worst experience I have had with any skydiving gear vendor over the years since I began jumping. I ordered a jumpsuit back in the middle of February 2015 and was emailed a production date for the end of June 2015. The company took payments without even notifying me they were doing so and did not send an update for the suit status. I was finally emailed a day before the suit was supposed to be completed by the pattern maker asking me to confirm a few measurements. I sent photos of the measurements with the measuring tape to show they were accurate. Several weeks went by and the company did not respond to my email in mid-July asking when the suit would ship. I called a few days later to ask about their production times. They stated it was currently about 18 weeks, but they were finishing suits faster. I then asked about my order which was already past due at 22+ weeks. They said they would try to get it shipped out that week. I never received a shipping confirmation and the suit just showed up at the end of July one day without a copy of the order form or anything. I tried it on and the suit was made for someone much taller and larger than I and was not color matched as I had requested. The order form clearly stated my height and weight as a part of the measurements and the suit itself was taller than me. I shipped the suit right back to them the very next day along with sending an email requesting a refund and pictures showing how terrible it fit. A week and a half went by with no response from LiquidSky to my email and at that point they had the suit and my money. I contacted my bank to issue a refund. It was not worth the expense and wait of over 5 months to get a product that you cannot even use.
  7. He told some of the best stories, was a great instructor, helped around the dz even after he could no longer jump, and always had a smile on his face even through the pain of chemo & surgery. He & his hugs will be greatly missed!
  8. I received an email from that potential buyer as well this week. Certainly seems like a scam, since he didn't ask for any more info. on the gear, didn't care to see any more pics of it, terrible grammar, and just keeps offering to send money via PayPal.
  9. A block from the beach, the staff is awesome, and the facility accommodates skydivers very well.
  10. Only completed one tandem and decided after that to sign up for the FJC.
  11. Tried to add a new tunnel to the indoor page section and it is currently not allowing any to be added.
  12. I jumped at the Tokyo Skydiving Club last summer and thought it was completely worth the extra costs and paperwork. I met a ton of jumpers from different countries while I was there and everyone went out of their way to make me feel at home. I ended up staying overnight, since they have a clubhouse just down the street from the DZ with very nice facilities. The LZ is actually fairly open and they will give you a briefing beforehand. Just make sure to contact them by email a couple weeks prior to your visit, since they have to file paperwork with the government to allow you to jump there.
  13. I went to visit friends & vacation in Hiroshima and decided to make a couple jumps since I was already going to be over there. You have to get permission from the Japanese Ministry at least 7 days prior to when you plan on jumping, so make sure to email the DZ ahead of time and they will file the paperwork. You will also have to pay for at least one month of club membership & skydiving insurance at least 3 days prior to jumping, which came to be about $80 U.S. Currency. I would estimate that about 80% of the DZ can understand, if not speak English so there was not really any sort of language barrier. Ask for one of the club members named Nao if you have any questions at all and he can also introduce you to other jumpers. They have jumpers from several different countries, everyone was super friendly, and I ended up staying overnight at the DZ clubhouse just down the street from the airport. The professionalism of the club members and facilities were excellent and they will certainly go out of their way to make you feel at home. While I will admit that the jump tickets are more expensive than most places and there is more paperwork to complete ahead of time it was still entirely worth it. The views under canopy are breathtaking, so all in all it was completely worth the extra effort and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
  14. One of the oldest skydiving clubs in the United States, Skydive Radio started here, and LSPC has been awarded the Blue Skies rating for Best Cessna DZ. The club owns their own airport, two Cessna 182’s, friendly local jumpers, nice facilities, cheap jump tickets, several different disciplines from FF, RW, XRW, to Wingsuiting. Offers tandem jumps and static-line progression for student jumper and hosts the Redemption Boogie each year. Be sure to check out The Farmhouse Lounge just down the street from the DZ if you are passing through because it has skydiving memorabilia & you might just find D.B. Cooper.