scottjaco

You left $400 worth of jump tickets lying around in your car and you just forgot about them? Seems a bit silly that you are getting angry so long after the fact. You snooze, you loose. It sounds like you should have been more diligent about the whole thing. From what others have said, the new owners of SMB did in fact give people a grace period to use up the tickets, which is more than most new DZ owners would do. If it were just a handful of tickets, it would be a nice gesture for SMB to honor them to keep you loyal but you are asking them to swallow $400! I never buy tickets in bulk for that reason. Dropzones have a way of disappearing without notice. Anyone remember AAWest in Taft? Anyway, Greg Nardi is the new owner. He owns a couple of dropzones in Florida, Skydive Space Center & Jacksonville Extreme Sports. I hope that helps you to track him down. You know, you could just ask SMB for his e-mail or phone number.

I think it’s one of the shittiest things you could do. You want them to believe they are losing their student? It's your money

Some guy responded to my craigslist ad for a KiteBoard package I had for sale. I told him that I'm selling the gear to focus more on skydiving. He then said "Oh I've done a bunch of Tandem jumps, we did backflips, barrel rolls, head down & sitflying and all that shit!” I asked him what was happening with his drogue chute while doing all these "sweet" tricks. He said "uhh, I don't know, we just did it". Needless to say, I didn't buy his story, and he didn't buy my Kiteboard.

It's the same thing when I visit my folks and they go on & on about golf. Skydiving is one of those things that you either love or hate. It is very hard to convince someone why it's important.

That kind of behavior would pretty much end any interest I had in that person. What a jealous knucklehead. Glad you left his selfish ass.

Perris probably is the best bet for you. It’s open during the week, which makes it ideal for travelers. They have the bunkhouses & restaurant on site. It also has a wind tunnel you might want to check out.

At that point, I would leave, call my credit card and have the charges cancelled.

You know what, I think the majority of skydivers should just drop the Skyride issue altogether. Yes, they annoy me with their false websites, weather insurance and deceptive business practices. The buyer must beware. Who in their right mind wouldn’t do research among the various dropzones and service providers via the internet & BBB.com when pursuing something as unusual as skydiving. If you don’t shop around, you’re going to pay more. This is true in any industry. I personally don’t feel an obligation to save these dupes from themselves due to their own laziness as consumers to research the facts about a vendor before handing over a credit card number. If a vendor refused to tell me the location of their dropzone, I wouldn’t give them my credit card number. I’d hang up.

Check this u-tube video out: She's 20, She's Hot......She's Pregnant! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNd7djrQoi0

Ever thought about contacts?

I totaly disagree. THis was happening, but because of the insistance of DZO's that there was an instructor shortage, the USPA has allowed the quality of instructors to plumet, thus causing the lack of eduaction and enforcement that is currently being experienced. But isn't it the guys with 1000's of jumps who are causing these accidents? You really think they are going to sit these guys down in the office and have a "chat" about their canopy behavior?

My advice, although I'm not an instructor, screw the tandems. Get going on the AFF course. You've already done 5 Tandems and you're dropzone should stop trying to milk more money out of you.

I could do that.

Billy Corgan is GOD!

I just read this interview of Billy Corgan. I had to laugh. I'm pretty sure it's a fake though. http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=262627

I just sent them an e-mail, what do you know about this dropzone? I wouldn't mind checking it out.

Is it that bad up there? It seems like a hell of a good deal on jump tickets!

Well, the military still uses round canopies. Seriously, not to be a gear snob, but a round reserve is so outdated in the sport. I'm not a rigger and I realize rounds can be more reliable under certain circumstances but what good is an open canopy if you have no control over where you are landing?

Fuck NO! I wouldn’t donate a vital organ to anyone! It’s not like those things grow back. Loosing a kidney shortens your lifespan and you must alter your lifestyle dramatically to compensate for the loss. Besides, there are enough people dying nowadays that these organs can be easily harvested from cadavers who no longer need them.

OK I finally saw this movie. It was a fun way to kill 2 hours. The plot was over simplistic and didn't offer the villan any sort of depth to his character or motives. The ending was similar to Transformers. It happened too fast and too easily for the amount of explosions and car crashes throughout. Why can’t action movies have a decent plot?

I’m sorry if I sounded harsh. Knowing the higher malfunction rate, the butt-slide landings and the fact that you’re handing your life over to a Tandem Instructor, I just don’t see how this will be beneficial or safer. I’ve been through my struggles and the end solution is to just man up a little bit and put your fears aside. Trust your skills and your equipment. You have plenty of experience to get back on the horse. What exactly is it that you are so afraid will happen? Leave your fear and self doubt on the ground where is belongs. You are welcome to come and play in the sky when you feel ready.

Oh come on. My situtation was a bit different. I saw 3 people bounce it 2 days. It tweaked me out.

430 jumps and you want to do a Tandem after only 4 months away! That is fucked up! The other jumpers are right to give you shit about it. You aren't making yourself any safer because as soon as the tandem is over, you then have to put your rig on and do a normal skydive so why bother! Do your EP's on the ground, pack your own rig and do a landing pattern briefing if it makes you more comfortable but don't waste your money. Just get out there and jump. You'll be fine. P.S. I have fewer jumps than you and have taken longer breaks. I just got back on the plane and jumped. I'm still alive.

Please read this thread. http://www.funjumper.com/skyride/

Oh. Thanks for the info.