JumpHog

Cross Keys, hands down! There is always a lot of activity going on there during the week, and the staff, fun jumpers, and aircraft can't be beat! Disclaimer: I don't work at X-Keys, but man those instructors are dirt sexy!

Try this one out. I set it up to keep track of the total number of jumps on a specific canopy, though I also added aircraft. If you look at the formulas, you should be able to change it around to fit your needs. Let me know if you have any questions.

I was wondering if their are any DZ with a medivac helicopter based permanately on the airport. I am trying to gather some information as to what protocols are used.

Liz Wendy Sean & Tina Jason Bobby Pancake PJ & Donna Kim Rudderow DAless & Shannon Paul & Joanna

Yes, they have three different websites. Freefall Adventures is the name of the student program at Skydive Cross Keys and www.freefalladventures.com has been their website since they first went online. They made www.skydivecrosskeys.com a separate website that is pretty much just focused on fun jumpers, (it has events, photo galleries, bulletin boards, etc.) while www.freefalladventures.com focuses more on student information. My guess is that they built www.philadelphiaskydiving.com so that they would have a website that is more search-engine friendly. While I don't agree with the practice, they reluctantly added the "$30 gear rental fee" because Skyride had been doing just that. The only difference is that Skyride didn't tell you about this fee until after you had given them your credit card number and paid. So, wheras originally Freefall Adventure's website showed a price of $185, Skyride's websites would show a price of $165 (without mentioning the additional fees). Students would book through Skyride, thinking they were cheaper, even though they ended up being more expensive when you added on the "hidden fees". Looking at Skyride's, www.skydivephiladelphia.com website, which Jessica said that she used, they quote their tandem jumps as being $165 and video as $85. If you want to nitpick about fees, how is it that they were charged $672 for two jumps that they never made. That comes to $336 per jump with video, which is $86 more expensive, per jump, than their quoted price (and they didn't even get to jump!!!). I'm sure the additional $86 was just Skyride's "9/11 fee", and "terrorist fee". On the $30 refund fee, this isn't an insurance that you have to pay for upfront, like you make it out to be. If, after you book a skydive online, you decide to change your mind within 30 days, you will be charged a $30 fee and get a complete refund. I believe this is a fair amount to charge for a refund, and is pretty much standard in the skydiving industry. If you really wanted to nitpick a website, feel free to look at any of Skyride's websites. They offer claims that they can't back up, like "most experienced staff in the northeast", and prices that are far cheaper than what they will end up charging you (with no mention of the extra fees). I do know that Freefall adventures has several instructors with well over 10,000 jumps and tens of thousands of tandems between them. Most of the rest of the staff has over 5,000 jumps a piece. On top of that, almost all of the pictures on Skyride's websites are stolen, copyrighted photos. For example, look at www.phillyskydiving.com and you will find pictures of Cross Keys' staff members, taken by Cross Keys' staff, at Skydive Cross Keys. Well, that's my rant on the whole thing. I hope that Jessica and Ed are able to get their money back and prosecute Skydive Pennridge for illegally charging their credit cards, without their permission. Jim, their are a lot of great dz's in the area, and I suggest you try them all and make a decision based on that. The staff and fun-jumpers at Cross Keys are some of the friendliest people I have met. From the first day I jumped there, I have always felt like I was home. Some other great DZ's in the area that you should check out are The Ranch, in Gardiner, NY, Skydive Sussex, in Sussex, NJ, and Skydive Delmarva. Good luck and best wishes.

Jessica, I'm so sorry that your first skydiving experience had to be like this. I have never jumped at Skydive Pennridge, but I have talked to numerous people who have, who have described a situation just like yours. A few months ago, a guy showed up at Cross Keys, just before sunset. It was his daughter's 18th birthday and they had both booked tandems with Skydive Pennridge. After arriving at Pennridge, they paid for their jump and was then told that it was too windy to jump. The dad, who is also a pilot, was watching the wind sock, which sat completely limp in the landing area. He said that that was B.S. and demanded to either jump or get his money back. They told him that he had not paid the "refund fee" and therefore would not receive his money back, nor would he be able to jump. After a while of disputing, he and his daughter headed to Cross Keys. Even though it was shortly before sunset, the staff at Cross Keys were extremely accommodating, and got both him and his daughter in the air within 20 minutes. They both had the time of their lives, and the daughter will remember her 18th birthday that way, rather than remembering it as the day they were disappointed by Skydive Pennridge. The dad ended up disputing the charges, and contacted several people, and his story ended up in a 3 page article in Skydiving Magazine about the fraudulent business practices of Skyride and Skydive Pennridge. If you want the best experience available, I would definitely recommend heading over to Skydive Cross Keys for your first jump. By the way, although I can't speak for the wind conditions in Perkasie, PA, I can say that we did almost 50 tandems at Cross Keys on Sunday, and I made 14 jumps that day alone. Hope to see you soon. Blue Skies, Paul

I sent e-mails to some of the local DZO's a few days ago, asking if anyone had had gear like this stolen and no one has replied, as of yet. The seller is a pawn shop in Kansas City and the owner was very upfront, even sending me pictures of the data cards (though no owner information was on it). I checked the serial numbers and couldn't find anything about them being stolen. Nonetheless, the whole thing seems a little screwy to me.

Rupert wanted that picture framed to put in his deli, so I edited out the drogue, as well as the mic/transmitter attached to him.

For anyone that missed the original airing on Letterman on Monday night, part of the skit can be seen on Letterman's website below. Rupert jumped at Skydive Cross Keys/Freefall Adventures on June 17th, and the skit that CBS put together turned out great. Glenn Bangs did the tandem, and the video footage was provided by myself, Jason Aubin, and Dave Pancake. http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/dave_tv/ls_dtv_comedy_clips.shtml

You should definately make your way out to Cross Keys. They host a lot of low-key 4-way activities, including some 4-way scrambles events. There are quite a few 4-way teams that you can talk to for pointers and advice on getting started. Also, I know of a few people that are looking at getting another 4-way team put together. The DZ tends to offer some pretty good team rates for 4-way teams, as well. On top of all that, they have an Otter, Skyvan, 3 Caravans, a Porter, and a helicopter to train from. The vibe is great and the facilities are first-rate. Drop me a line if you have any other questions.

John has done it again and is throwing quite a boogie this weekend. The Super Skyvan, Super Otter, Grand Caravan, Stearman bi-plane, and the helicopter will all be here. There will be some great activities planned, including free organizing, plus Ottley's (the tiki bar) will be open each night. If you haven't seen the "new" Ottley's, then you should definitely come out. It has gone through a complete overhaul and the food is absolutely delicious. Anyone who has been to a Cross Keys party can tell you how much fun they are. So, who all is gonna be there?

QuoteI don't know anyone that has had one for more than a couple of hundred jumps that hasn't had to replace (or repair) one.Quote It seems to vary quite a bit. My first switch, which I purchased in 2001 from Conceptus and am still using, has been used on over 3500 camera jumps with no problems. I bought a second switch from Conceptus a few months ago for my Digital SLR, and it lasted me about five jumps, so needless to say, there's no set number of jumps to count on. Either way, it's always a good idea to have a spare one in your jumpsuit.

I had one that averaged 84mph! The tandem passenger was a MS paitient who was fairly tall, but only weighed about 100lbs. For a safe freefall, his arms and legs were bound, which made him as flat as a board. On top of that, the tandem master wore a large, baggy suit in order to have maximum control. All of this combined made for one VERY slow falling tandem.

Both my TRV-30 and my PC-330 do this. If you turn off the sports mode, this will disappear. Unfortunately, it is simply the nature of the cameras and cannot be repaired.

I am probably a bit biased, as Freefall Adventures/Skydive Cross Keys is my home dropzone, but I would have to say, hands down, this is the place to go. The staff is some of the most experienced in the world, and the aircraft are simply awesome. The dropzone is managed by Glenn Bangs, the President of the United States Parachute Association. They have taken over a quarter-million people on their first jump, and the people there are super-friendly, all of which will add up to an unforgettable experience. Whoever you end up going with, have a blast on your first jump. It is something you will never forget. I hope to see you soon.

At about 1/4 brakes, with plenty of airspeed left. the canopy would simply stall and stop producing any lift. This was definately not from overflaring it or flaring too quickly, creating a high-speed stall. In mild turbulence, it didn't take much for the canopy to "breathe" and react much more severly than it should. I was also watching when the canopy collapsed on her. She was landing in the same area that 3 other people had just landed in, and the winds were strong, but steady. At about 50 feet, with no control input, her canopy simply went into a full stall and collapsed. It may have very well been a freak thing, but with everything else I have seen with this canopy, I think some problem in the canopy contributed to the collapse. I have watched tens of thousands of landings and have never seen a canopy behave the way her's did. With a proper inspection/service/repair, this canopy may very well be safe to jump again, and all I want is to make sure that the person who buys it is aware of its current condition.

Please explain how you come up with that. For the "jury's" sake, let put this in terms of something they would understand. Lets say that I sold my car, with 100,000 miles on it to someone dirt cheap, and told them that there was something seriously wrong with it. I told them that the brakes just quit working every now and then, and even after taking it into the shop, the brakes still don't work right. I then tell them that it may be fixable, but it's probably only good for parts and that they probably shouldn't drive it. After buying it, that person turns around and sells the car, which I gave them ample warning about, and claims that it's in excellent condition and only has 50,000 miles, without even driving it once or having it looked at themselves. So you're saying that if the unsuspecting new buyer dies because the brakes failed on them, that I am liable for that. I think any court in the world would find that the person who sold it to this unknowing buyer, without disclosing any of the problems, even though they were well aware of them would be found at fault, rather than the original owner who sold it with the understanding that there was something wrong with the car. If you don't believe me, do some research on "lemon laws" and read about how many people/companies have been sued and imprisoned for selling a car with known problems without disclosing them to the buyer.

You're right, the canopy was not listed as unairworthy. The original owner stated that their was something seriously wrong with the canopy, and that it should probably only be used as decoration. I originally used the term "unairworthy", not the owner. As it is not a reserve, there is no specific thing that makes a main unairworthy (hell, I suppose my bed sheet is technically "airworthy" as a main). Had this guy bought the canopy, then had PD inspect it, and then put several hundred jumps on it, in which he determined it to be fine, and then relisted it for sale, that might have been excusable. But to buy a canopy that was described as being unsafe, and then relist it without jumping it, inspecting it, or probably even unpacking it is extremely unethical to me. Add to that, the fact that he grossly lied about the number of jumps on the canopy and the lineset, and that he then lied again, saying that the canopy listed on dropzone.com was a different canopy than the one he bought on eBay. Those things combined make me think this guy should not be involved in this sport. I have seen Jen fly this canopy, and I can assure you that it is not her flying skills. I consider myself to be an above average pilot, and I could not see anything wrong with the way she flew it. In my opinion, there most definately was something wrong with that canopy, and I would not want myself or anyone else I know to jump it.

I can't believe that it has come to me having to post this on this forum, but I have tried all other avenues to make sure that no one gets hurt under this canopy. I am posting this with the permission of Sangiro. Kenneth S. Ruetch purchased an unairworthy Sabre 107 off of a DZO/Senior Rigger in the midwest for $69 on eBay. She very clearly stated that this canopy was unairworthy and should be used for decoration only. She also VERY clearly stated that it had 800 jumps, with 200 jumps on the new lineset. This canopy has serious issues that the previous owner was unable to resolve with an inspection and a new lineset. It does not fly right at all, does not flare, and collapsed on her at 50 feet, crushing her ankle. She is an experienced canopy pilot, and decided it was not worth putting another jump on. She sold it to Kenny, with the full understanding that this canopy was unsafe/unairworthy to jump. Immediately after buying this canopy, Kenny placed it in the classified ads on DZ.com under his username of "airstream". He listed it as being in excellent condition, and only having 600 jumps, with 100 jumps since the last reline (all lies). He put it up for $500 with no mention if it being unairworthy. I stumbled across this ad, and contacted the previous owner, who sent him a long e-mail telling that this canopy WILL HURT SOMEONE and should not be jumped. She also offered to buy it back from him, at a loss. She also contacted Sangiro, who removed the ad and sent him an e-mail warning him not to sell this canopy. Kenny stated that the canopy that he was selling on DZ.com was a different canopy than the one he bought off eBay, and that the bad canopy was on its way back to PD. I know that this is BS, because before I made any accusations, I wanted to be 100% sure that this was the same canopy. I asked him to send me a picture of the canopy he was selling, and he sent me a picture that is definately the unairworthy Sabre 107. I find it hard to believe that he happened to buy an unairworthy Sabre 107, with a very distinct color pattern, while in the meantime, he was selling a perfectly good Sabre 107, with the exact same distinct color pattern. Not wanting to see this canopy get into the hands of an unsuspecting jumper, who might get hurt or killed under this, I offered to buy it off him for $500. Unfortunately, he says that he has already sold it. This canopy is DANGEROUS and should not be jumped, PERIOD. I still can't believe that Kenny has put another skydiver's life in danger, just to make a fast buck. If you have bought this canopy from Kenny Ruetsch, DO NOT JUMP IT!!! Kenny lives in the Columbus, Ohio area, so he made have sold it nearby. Kenny also has a couple of other canopies listed in the classifieds, and I would not take what he says about those with a grain of salt. This guy makes me sick and ashamed that he is a fellow skydiver. After all of the warnings, he still sold this canopy to an innocent jumper. I couldn't live with myself if I saw that an unsuspecting jumper was hurt or killed under a canopy that they thought was perfectly good. If you have this canopy or know where it is, please contact me so we can see about getting it in the right hands. I've attached a picture below. Blue Skies, Paul Eriksmoen

23 jumps in one day is my personal best (all tandem videos). My "busiest" day was 17 tandem videos, packing for each one of those, using only one rig, and editing every video immediately after each jump.

I've made at least 1000 jumps a year over the past 3 years. About 1100 this year.

I have over 1200 jumps on the HMA lineset on one of my Xaos-27's and over 600 on the other! Both are still in great shape. I'm having the one with 1200+ jumps relined, not because it needs it, just because winter is a convenient time to have it done.

Wow.... in fact Wow Twice!! .........once for the number of jumps/videos you did ..... and secondly for the absolutely small main canopy !!!! Xaos 68 sq.ft......which your profile indicates you jump...... man that's a tiny main...!!!. any mals....?????... also any particular reason not to use an AAD...(I only ask in the event you get a bad spinner @ opening ) any squirell-ly openings while flying camera....? when did you have time to make up the videos????? I tip my hat to you..... skydive softly skydive often skydive with friends jmy No squirelly opening on any of my Xaos'. The only mal I had was a stuck toggle (the brake loop slipped over the grommet on the toggle and jammed). Have never had one hard opening on them either. No real reason for not using an AAD. I keep saying that I'll put them in all my rigs, but I keep finding other things to spend my money on. I edited about 95% of all my videos last year (thank god for real-time editing boards). I packed for about 50% of those. Here's hoping for an even busier 2004!

1100 jumps, mostly tandem videos.

I've been jumping with this camcorder for the past couple of weeks, and so far have been extremely impressed. The quality of the video from this camcorder is phenomenal. I also own a VX2000 and find the image quality to be very similar. The 1/3" CCD of the PC-330 has very good low-light characteristics. Also, the new RGB filter creates very lifelike color reproduction. This camcorder also has the option to shoot in 30fps progressive scan, though I haven't yet used it in freefall. All of my jumps so far have been paid tandem videos and I'd rather not experiment on paid jumps. I also haven't tested the camera's still picture quality, but being rated at 3.0 megapixels, along with the new RGB filter, I would imagine it is pretty good. All in all, I have been extremely pleased with this camera and would recommend it to any other videographer.