bct110

And those traits show up in pretty much EVERY part of society... especially in the places where type A personalities tend to congregate (business management, military, sports). My big question to you is "what is your point?" What do you hope to accomplish? What should we do about it? Otherwise it is just a "sky is falling" rant or a whine. I don't know you, so I'll reserve from making assumptions as to why you wrote this. ALL people have respect until they do something to lose it. There are good and bad people everywhere and it is part of life to figure that out. People have good and bad attributes... but they are taken as a whole...

That's funny I heard ASC is only 40 min from everywhere...

Edit to say... Lithium is the key to solving all your problems... You will be ridiculed as long as you keep going bonkers over it. B.S. You need to get a thicker skin if your gonna hang. This is not the NY public schools where everyone cares about your self-esteem and the masses bend over backwards for the lone dissenter. Get real. In skydiving people are usually making fun one of two ways... a. to your face (if they like you) or b. talking shit behind your back (if they don't)... looks like they started out with A and are probably moving on to B.... on a final note: And I though skydiving was a respite from the weiners like this that are everywhere in todays society...

I actually get a better field of vision with my Oxygn than I do w/ my FF and Camera helmet because the frames of the Wiley X's I wear. Good point about EPs, you have recognized a problem/weakness (real or perceived) and have done extra training to compensate. When I was a student I thought full faces were "cool" but I haven't worn mine in over 100 jumps. I figured out I like the wind on my face. What ever you choose, make gear changes slowly as each time you change something, you need time to adjust to the changes. Get used to one piece of gear before you start jumping the next. As for this particular case, Talk to your instructors, they know the policies of your DZ. Even if you can't, your only 3 jumps away from your A and then you can jump whatever helmet you want. My suggestion would be to demo/borrow one of the same size/model (or, better yet, the actual one) to see if you like it. Be Safe, Blue Skies, Brad

Knowing that the Skyride website is less than truthful of the DZ's that accept their certificates, is there a "real" list somewhere so I know who NOT to give my business to? Plus they deserve to be "called out" by the honest skydiving community..

No that website was up before... as I recall Chris complaining about it. You can't do much about it without lots of money for lawyers to sue them. It's not like most DZOs have a ton of extra money hanging around...

Well despite the fact that this website has been up long before TSC closed, TSC shut down temporarily as the family attempted to sell the business. I'm 100% sure they did not sell it to Ben or Carey. Food for thought... and yes, Lee, the directions do lead to GA... but notice there are no distances or times in those directions... just vague "take this hwy to this hwy"... and if you call them (like I did when I found out... amazingly, that there was a Skydive Nashville... and it had a twin otter... how cool is that) and ask for directions you have to beat out of them what city and state they are located in. If you weren't smart enough to Yahoo everything (like I like to do before making a new trip) and just followed the directions, you'd be 1/2 way there before you figured out you got decieved. Man I feel dirty for ever jumping there...

When I was learning to sit, I usually exited at the end of the freeflyers (as I was solo anyway). If there are other, more experienced, freefly solos... just ask them to go ahead of you and give some extra time between you and the person/group ahead of you...

Na, check this out... http://www.skydive-tennessee.com/ keep in mind that tennessee skydiving center was owned by the late Chris Martin and now his family. It will be reopened soon under the watchful eye of Beezy. I would love to hear from a legal weenie on how someone can make a website like this. It'd be like me making a website called "Blockbuster" and renting videos from it... I'd get sued so fast my head would spin...

Great! Another 'Huck-bob' who makes 90 jumps a year and thinks he's Roger Nelson. This proves another great point that you shouldn't listen to someone just because they have 5000 jumps. I see your point that the DZO sets policy... got it and very true. I did AFF through Aliscense at alarge DZ in Florida... they exited FF first. When I went back 4 months later for a boogie it was RW first. Seems even the "land of the skygods" open their minds up and learn something. You might want to try it... But I digress... it has been proven by many smarter than both of us, that the exit order you stated in your original post was not a safe order. Resorting to personal attacks instead of just admitting you were wrong does not help your credibility.

Maybe not up-jumpers, but they are part of the problem. I know for a fact that the manifest people and those that do tandems are in on, or at least know about, the shady stuff... yet there they stay. You may not be criminally liable...but if you jump there you are part of the problem. Until recently I didn't care too much, I just stayed away myself, went to the Farm instead. Then they STOLE TSC's 1800 number and it made this much more personal for me. Bottom line: If your not part of the solution your part of the problem. you either give them your money (upjumpers/DZOs) or you don't... there is no inbetween on this.

Yes but they still profit off of the unethical and criminal business practices. Last I checked that was not legal. It's a shame, I have heard he is a great rigger. Too bad his judgment is skewed by his friendships. But my parents always told me that the company you keep reflects on you. This is more than him suffering from ASC... he is PART of ASC. He might as well have just reached in the Martin families pockets himself. Just like I (and many others I know) have taken our business elsewhere... he could have too. But he chooses to stay. Until he wakes up and stops sticking his head in the sand, he won't get a penny of my money or a smidgen of my respect. edit to say that the only real thing we can do is stop giving them our money. DZOs need to stop accepting certificates and upjumpers need to jump elsewhere. Geez the farm is right down the road and is a good DZ (and they would be a better DZ if Ben and Cary didn't try to screw with them every chance they get).

So are you the one who tried to tell me "Skydive Nashville" was "just a bit down I-24"? Bottom line: if you know what they do, and you still work for them, accept their certificates, or give them your money (yes funjumpers you)... then you support them and what they stand for. Take that away and there's no business and no issue.

I have changed my perception of this place completely in the last yr. Last time I was there I saw them psyching up tandem students saying "are you ready to skydive!" then taking their money... when it had been raining straight for 3 days and the forcast was just as bleak for the next 2. They were just on a slight weather hold (something not mentioned until AFTER they had your money) Of course no refunds is a strict policy. This is only the tip of the iceberg for how low ASC will stoop to scam your money. I won't post them here, but I'm sure you can find the stories in DZ.com somewhere. The sad thing is most non-skydivers don't even know they are getting screwed. Another thing I saw that turned me away from this place was that they advertised one price on the webiste then charged me more when I got there... claiming not to know anything about the website claim. My recommendation is to boycott this place, skyride and all DZs that do business with them. It is sad that a DZ with such great facilities could have a closet overflowing with heinous skeletons. The problem is the more skeletons they try to cram in there, the harder it is to keep the door closed...

What can I say about Skydive Alabama other than it has quickly become my home away from home. It's the kind of place where you walk up for the first time and people start walking up, introducing themselves. Everyone from the DZO to manifest to the "Regulars" who are there all the time are great people who will bend over backwards to help you out. They also know how to have fun. There is often a party going until late... so bring your beer with you because it is located in a dry county and it's 30mi to the nearest store you can buy beer. In general, no matter why you are at the DZ (Tandem, Student, UpJumper) you can count on Skydive Alabama being an honest, safe and fun DZ full of friendly people. Blue Skies.