starkmtn

Well, there ya go! Fast food'll getcha every time... "You guys should just do CRW. There are so many more ways to get killed, it makes a CYPRES seem safe." -Kevin Keenan

Just a question.... How does the act of doing a tandem or going into the wind tunnel make you a "natural flyer"? I smell a troll.... "You guys should just do CRW. There are so many more ways to get killed, it makes a CYPRES seem safe." -Kevin Keenan

Amen. If someone were to ask me, "What is your favourite type of jump to do?" my immediate answer would be "Night jumps." To be able to do a night jump in my favourite discipline when I get the rare chance is intoxicating enough. To be able to participate in a world record dive at night filled me with an elation so overwhelming that it could not be adequately expressed. I was truly honored to be included among such an august group of CRWDogs. Pictures would only have been a sugar rose on top of an already deliciously iced cake. I have, burned into my memory, the joy of docking on that formation, feeling others dock around me, and getting to holler "Complete!" No picture could capture that. "You guys should just do CRW. There are so many more ways to get killed, it makes a CYPRES seem safe." -Kevin Keenan

Imagine you get to start fresh and create the perfect DZ. This place comes pretty damn close. Let's look at some of their highlights: 1. They have a wind tunnel. Right there. Not an hour away, in the middle of Tourist Central - right there. Walking distance from Manifest. 2. They have a pool. 3. They have a great restaurant with a real selection of good food, great service, and cool ambience (there's a live video feed from the tunnel so you can laugh at your friends flailing around). 4. Manifest staff were courteous, friendly, and knowledgeable. 5. Ample packing space. 6. Terrific boarding facility with kitchen, several bathrooms, chill room, and real beds with linens and towels provided. Could be a little bit cleaner with respect to cobwebs and insects, but that's what I get for taking the top bunk...they also have a bunkhouse which is a little cheaper than the "IHOP" (International House Of Parachutists) but I haven't seen it so I can't comment. The only things that were not perfect: 1. The prolonged waiver-signing process (involves being videotaped). Give yourself an hour and a half to get through this. I'm serious. 2. The fact that you're in Perris, CA - the town is pretty useless, the smog is nasty, and when the wind is from the wrong direction, you can smell the sewage treatment plant. 3. Video rooms are good for small groups but not for big-way debriefing. Otherwise, this is an incredibly kick-ass DZ. If it could be picked up and moved somewhere else, I would take it home with me.

I don't think this DZ warrants a 5-star rating. It's not a sh**hole but it's not the best I've ever seen either. They are quite expensive, which is what you get, I guess, when you're near Boston. The Otter was pretty slow, and they do something funky with tandems - they drop them out at about 10 or 11K and then take the experienced jumpers up higher. Yet they charge the going rate for a tandem from 13.5. When I took my cousin there (when I lived in the area) to do his first jump, the tandem master was quite rude to him. They have packing areas and a small food concession, but no bunkhouse (at least when I went there), video rooms, or restrooms (they had port-a-potties). Like I said, not the worst, but not the best either.

My Quasar IIS is five years old and I've been quite pleased. I was in college when I bought it and needed something in the low end of the price range. It's now my CRW rig and I can't complain. It doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles but it has served me quite well. I like that there's no exposed pop-top to get snagged by a line when I'm doing CRW. I also like the HUGE reserve pilot chute - I _know_ that thing's going to sproing out there like a mofo and pull that reserve out with it! Of course, it gave me a black eye when I was trying to pack it, so that's a downside if you're a rigger I guess. As for customer service, I must have gotten lucky. When I needed a new cutaway handle, it arrived even more promptly than they had promised on the phone. They also got me a new pilot chute quickly when my old one developed a rip in it. So YMMV.

Gefeliciteerd op het nieuw record! "You guys should just do CRW. There are so many more ways to get killed, it makes a CYPRES seem safe." -Kevin Keenan

Well, before we get too excited...I'm not sure what exactly got done. I was not reassured by the letter to USPA from the TSA. USPA's spin includes this sentence: "Screeners have been advised that under no circumstances are they to touch or pull handles or otherwise forcefully open any parachute. " However, the TSA letter clearly states that rigs can be completely opened, including _both_ parachutes being deployed. OK, I concede, now I get to be there when they do it. And the recommended window is 30 extra minutes. All right, so after getting to stand there helplessly while they do whatever they want (after all, they _are_ the TSA), I spend 6 of those 30 extra minutes repacking my main. Then I spend the next 24 paging a rigger who can do really fast repacks?? Seems to me that the only thing we've gained here is that 1) we can now watch the incompetence in action, and 2) screeners have (we hope) been taught not to CUT reserve ripcord cables with wire cutters. (Note that we don't KNOW they've been taught this, because the document is classified. We also aren't assured that they'll remember what they might have been taught, because they aren't exactly being paid what they should be paid if we want intelligent, vigilant, and courteous people doing this vital job. Oh sorry, was I ranting?) They can still pop my reserve, which I will then shove into my gear bag, and hope and pray that I can find a rigger who will be able to repack it in time for my training jumps/competition/whatever the next day. Grrr. I'm going to bed before I get so cranky I start a bloody coup (Mr. Ashcroft, are you listening? Put another letter in my secret secret file!). "You guys should just do CRW. There are so many more ways to get killed, it makes a CYPRES seem safe." -Kevin Keenan

Amen! Whoo-hoo for night jumps!!