cashflow

Just remember Boston and LA missed the playoffs so it could always be worse.

Don't rush when you reach exit altitude and the adrenaline kicks in. Be slow and precise getting out on the skids.

Canadian Invasion in Eloy is from the 10th to 25th of Jan. Plenty of altitude and coaching for everyone

That's sort of the vibe I'm getting. Might just have to suck it up and drive to Perris. K-pow is great. I've done a few trips down there and it's always fun.

Does anyone know of any DZ's or private operators offering balloon jumps between these two cities? I'm headed down from Vancouver with a jumping buddy and I've been itching to try one. Anything south of San Francisco (i.e Perris) probably won't be feasible on this trip . Edit: Helicopter jumps are also on my to do list. Also any input or advice on DZ's to stop at is appreciated. The plan right now is Skydive Oregon and Lodi. Trip will be 10-12 Days. Cheers!

I jumped at Niagara Skydive. Can't beat the view up to altitude. Check them out if you don't mind the drive.

Ya i'm 66% of the way through the game and regretting my strategic decision to beat every mission as it comes up. Sounds like you can make a tonne of coin in the online market though, which is promising.

No love for the Leafs. This feels like home. My prediction - 2010 repeat Canada, Gold. Hawks, Cup.

Happened to me (even had a gopro mounted to my tank) last year, except it was a fawn and I wasn't speeding. I managed to swerve enough so that it only tagged my foot and back wheel though. I looked back and it scampered off into the brush so I just kept riding.

I'm still new to the sport but I've been to 4 DZ's so keep that in mind. I called ahead and made the trip down from Toronto on a Friday with two buddies. The DZ was pretty easy to find even if it is somewhat secluded. I was looking to do a student jump and my friends wanted to do tandems. We showed up and walked through the hanger by accident but we met Slade, Sky and Tim and everyone was super friendly. My friends went and did their paperwork and I talked with the coaches about my jump history etc. Cut to an hour later and my friends had already paid, watched the tandem video, and were suited up and manifested on the first load of the day (C.182). I went through some basics with my coach, did a dirt dive, familiarized myself with the landing area, looked over the gear and showed my EP's etc. Next thing I know my friends are taxiing out and I relaxed outside until the plane was headed back down. Everything went smooth for my friends and I had my best jump to date, except I ended up going way long on my landing but their was so much space it didn't really matter. One of the best parts of the whole experience though was the view on the way to altitude of Niagara falls - it blew my mind. I'm not from the area and that was my first time seeing it and it was incredible. Overall my friends and I had a great time. Everything went smooth, safety felt like a top priority, and the vibe was all about having a great time. It wasn't busy when we went (2 students and some tandems) which I think helped make it more personal. If I had to nitpick and complain about one thing it would be that my coach had to jump on another load before we could review my video and sign my log book (pretty trivial but we had other plans which made it the only blemish on our entire experience). I have no idea what camping is like but if I was from the area (or visiting) I definitely think making a trip once or twice a week would be well worth it. Also, they said the tunnel in Niagara is a joke so if you planned on doing that maybe put the cash towards more jumps or wait till your closer to a better tunnel.

Has that duc ever seen the track? Gorgeous bike. I ride a Triumph Street Triple. She's fun for around town but I hate taking it anywhere that requires open highway.

You make a lot of good points, so thanks for clarifying. I wish I could spend every weekend jumping at home but alas my schedule doesn't permit it, so you can't fault a guy for just wanting to jump . Since I am a infant in the sport though I was under the impression there was more uniformity across all DZ's , but as you and others have mentioned it's not necessarily the case (albeit for pretty good reasons). If I get some jumps in then that's great I'll be a step closer to my solo, and if not I have no quarrels with waiting till I am back home. It's going to continue being a fun journey either way.

-> http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af359/gbeezy09/Funny%20Uploads/Calm_down_bro-DWrvfmLVFfKK0S1yir7V.jpg Do you think the DZ only has one pig? No. So in this hypothetical I don't expect someone to slaughter 1 pig for 10 lbs of bacon if they have more suitable pre-cut portions available. If they didn't then everything I have said would be unfounded now wouldn't it?

Care to elaborate further? If you're right it means choosing one of two crappy choices: over paying, or not jumping at all. I'm optimistic about finding a DZ that can offer some middle ground.

No, what is slightly ridiculous is you're assumption with your 13 jumps in the sport that you know enough about the difference in training program, gear between the DZ's, instructional staff, and general acceptance of liability for you. It is their DZ, and it is their rules, and you by posting here are throwing a tantrum about things not going your way. Not the kind of attitude that is conducive to safety, or longevity in this sport. Where exactly in this thread did I throw the tantrum? Please dispatch an internet WAAMbulance to it's location. All kidding aside it sounds like you're under the impression I only care about money and not safety, which is wrong. I simply wanted to start a discussion so I could enlighten myself on other peoples opinions about the issue at hand (i'm new to the sport, how do I know what's fair and isn't?). I did so because in MY opinion this DZ in question is using safety as a mask for charging me the full cost of ground school. That is not to say that I would not benefit in any way from taking the class as I am sure I would. However I believe that with my (albeit limited) training and experience I can make a safe and successful jump at their DZ without needing to go through (and paying for) their entire ground school. Would you buy an entire pig if you only needed 10 lbs of bacon? I know it's a poor example but the principal is generally the same. Now as others in this thread have mentioned I am sure they have warranted reasons for their requirements, and whether I am right or wrong, I just don't agree to the them. Hopefully I have better luck when I talk to other DZ's but if not I can wait till I'm back home. Thanks for your input.

I'll be in Ontario, and I might go to Montreal if I can convince my friends (I don't live in the area so I am at the mercy of what they feel like doing). If they're up for it though I will hit up the tunnel there. If I don't go when I'm out there I won't be near a tunnel (and when I say near I mean 5+ hours away in Seattle) until September. When you're in Ontario, hook up with other jumpers. There are plenty of people going to Montreal for training on very regular basis. Don't waste your money on serious amounts of time in the Niagara tunnel. If you're there, have fun for 2 minutes, but it's not a tunnel that's conducive to training. I wish I could do that but I only have a week (and I don't know any jumpers out in the area) and my friends would rather do tandems then anything indoors. I'm going to try my best though at convincing my buddy that Montreal would be worth while. Strippers, poutine, maybe a little tunnel time, give me one reason why you wouldn't want to!?

I work about 90+ hours a week in the middle of nowhere for weeks at a time. Right now I won't be back home until September but I'll be across the country close to several DZ's and I wan't to continue jumping. So yes, while it would be easier to stick with one DZ their is just a myriad of circumstances that stop me from doing so if I want to learn at a decent pace.

I'll be in Ontario, and I might go to Montreal if I can convince my friends (I don't live in the area so I am at the mercy of what they feel like doing). If they're up for it though I will hit up the tunnel there. If I don't go when I'm out there I won't be near a tunnel (and when I say near I mean 5+ hours away in Seattle) until September.

Not sure if it makes a difference but I should clarify that in my OP I said that I transitioned back to GFF after doing levels 1-3 of AFF and I am on solo 15-20 second jumps and have done them from the same aircraft that the dropzone in question uses. Alas you have all made some good points that I may have overlooked due to inexperience and perhaps a bit of self centered-ness. Andrewwhyte, not sure how you extrapolated my location but I will be visiting Ontario/Quebec and I am from the West (but nowhere near Beiseker).

HAHA thanks for making my morning! I don't really have a choice, it's that tunnel or nothing (for now), and I really need to work on some stuff before getting back in the sky. I'll try and make sure they put me in a suit that is less trash baggy though

I'm not criticizing as I know it is "their sandbox, their rules", I'm just starting a discussion about DZ policy and practices for these situations. I definitely only want to jump at a DZ that put's safety first but to me what they are asking for both in terms of money and a time commitment is slightly ridiculous. Thanks to capitalism though I have options so my friends and I can spend our money playing somewhere else. And yes BIGUN I am sure they knew that I was a student working on their solo cert.

http://www.niagarafreefall.com/freefall/ Sadly my home DZ is 3000+km away from the tunnel so any friendly discounts are out the window. I would love to go iFly Seattle (closer to where I actually live) but that isn't feasible for now. I'll see if I can negotiate with them once I show up though.

I just wanted to hear what people thought to see if I was way off base for thinking it is somewhat ridiculous. So far I think everyone is on the same page. I don't personally know anyone who has jump experience their, and the reviews seemed overall pretty good on here. However I kind of got the feel from what I've read that you might be right in regards to them being a tandem mill. That is a good idea and something I will think about, although they may not be lenient with me now as I was pretty upfront in my emails about expressing my dissatisfaction about their decision. *Removes foot from mouth* haha. I'll look into any CSPA rules tonight or tomorrow and see what I can find. I have my log book but a call from a DZO or JM would be good backup to have also. Should I be in that area I may just do that! Thanks for the tip.

Back story: I did an IAD first jump course last August and loved it but didn't have the money to continue. I got the money and this June I took a trip and tried out AFF at a different DZ because the one that I jumped at before didn't offer it. This meant re-doing ground school but as I had only 1 jump and a tandem I needed it. Fast forward to today - I passed Levels 1-3 of AFF but never went back for more so I returned to my local DZ to work on my solo cert in the GFF program and I now have 13 jumps (4 mins of FF time). I land without radio guidance and my JM's are comfortable with me landing in the fun jumper field. When I got back to the DZ I first jumped with they spent about an hour with me as a refresher, put me in a harness to check my EP's etc etc before they sent me up. Anyways, because of work I haven't jumped in 10 days, and won't be able to return to my local DZ until September. However I will be traveling to another part of the country to see friends and they live near a tunnel so I hoped to get some jumps in to stay current and practice what I learn in the tunnel as I have had issues with turns. So far I've reached out to one dropzone to discuss the possibility of me jumping their and what I'd have to do. They got back to me and told me I would have to take their ground school before I could jump, no exceptions. The price of the ground school and one jump is $327 (regular price of a GFF jump is $100), but they will give me $60 in jump credit if my two friends who would like to do tandems come along. I believe in safety and procedures, and I in no way shape or form think I have learned everything in the sport but does this not seem like unreasonably high price? I know some people will say "If you don't like it don't jump there" which is what I plan on doing, but I figured I would see what people on here think. I was under the impression that I'd need to learn the DZ rules, familiarize myself with their gear and landing patterns, learn the planes/do a few dirt dives (though they use C. 182's like my home DZ) and that would be enough. To me that should take about an hour and not constitute having to retake ground school. When you discount the jump the price of that learning is going to cost $167 or $227 if my friends wimp out. Now my goal isn't to bad mouth the DZ (which is why I've left it vague) I'm just interested in hearing your overall opinion on this and how you've seen it dealt with in the past. Cheers.

Well technically speaking where I "live" is closer to the tunnel in Seattle. I may end up going there in the fall/winter, or road tripping to Arizona or Cali, to work on some things once I get my solo and hopefully my A. However, I work away from home for two weeks at a time and I will be in Ontario for my next set of days off so the tunnel in Niagara is my best bet until September.