javajunkie

How cool! This is going to be a great time, and no one will notice how rowdy the skydivers get... On a more serious note, will there be a registration fee?

Does this mean the Southeast Region won't have a regional director?

Which dropzone is this, and where is it located? It seems like skydivers are catching a lot of shit lately...

The skyhook is pretty amazing! I watched a few intentional skyhook cutaways at the convention and was blown away at how quickly the jumper went from cutaway to a full-inflated reserve. I'm definitely thinking about getting a Micron for my next container after seeing that.

Who cares! It's advertising! I look at Skydive Kansas City's website and they say that they "are the only center in the area with a perfect safety record", while MRVS' website claims that their "safety record is second to none in the entire country." How can these both be true? I'm so confused! Oh wait, it's called marketing. MRVS' website also claims that they have "the midwest's only full-service parachute loft." I know I've been to at least a few DZ's in the midwest that had full-time full-service rigging lofts. Skydive KC's website says that "they have never had a serious injury at their facility." What about http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1948044? How does Skdyive KC define a "serious injury?" They also state that they were "the first to offer new, state of the art square main & reserve canopies for students" and that they "are also the only student-training center to use exclusively Cypres AAD (automatic activation device) units." Hmmmmmm. They again state in their FAQ's that "At Skydive Kansas City we have the best safety record in the midwest!!" Do you have anything to actually back that up with? They also state that "Static line skydiving is recognized as the most popular and reliable way to learn to skydive." Maybe in Yugoslavia. Once again, who cares? It's all advertising. I know not to take anything I read online with a grain of salt. Every business is going to try and get a marketing edge by using half-truths (and much less than half-truths). That's life in America.

Everybody seemed really cool there. There were quite a few spectators out that looked like they were having a good time. I saw quite a few people that brought their kids out to watch the activities. There was a police officer driving around the airport for most of the day, though I never saw him drive over to the DZ. He left about 20 minutes after sunset, so I'd guess he was just there to enjoy the show. I was a bit hesistant about going to the boogie, because I had heard all the propoganda about jumpers being arrested and the DZ being shut down. After looking back at the posts, I see that all of those posts were made by anonymous people who registered just to post that. I'm guessing that the competition is feeling threatened and is doing (and saying) whatever they can to survive. In the end, I don't think it will matter. People will vote with their wallets and considering that on this dropzone's opening day, they had a Super Otter that flew full until sunset and never shut down, I think I know who most of those wallets are voting for.

I just wanted to thank the new dropzone owners for opening the best DZ around! This weekend was a ton of fun and I made some of my best skydives ever. I also wanted to thank the load organizers for putting together some great skydives. You will definitely see me every weekend from here on out.

They flew a full sunset Otter load with 22 people after the winds died down. The energy at this place was so amazing! There were probably 40-50 people there today, and they weren't even officially open yet. The DZO's are all about making this place great for the fun-jumpers. Everybody gathered around after sunset and popped a bottle of champagne to toast the new DZO's. I can't wait till tomorrow!

Thanks! The forecast for this weekend looks teriffic. We can't wait to check out the new DZ, as well as get some Otter jumps in!

WooHoo!!! I'll see you there. How much will jump tickets be? Will there be a registration fee and, if so, what is included with it? I can't wait!

I believe it's "Eat, F*ck, Skydive." Isn't it written in the landing area of the Couchfreaks' landing area?

In the same sense, in the summer Cross Keys sells thousands of tandems a month. The price they charge when they sell a tandem is based on, among other things, current fuel costs and insurance rates. If they had one person cancel a tandem without being charged a fee, they would be fine, but if they had 400 people cancel their tandems on a weekend and not be charged a cancellation fee, that would have a major imapct on Skydive Cross Keys. If it happened over and over again, they could even risk going bankrupt.

I don't know if I would call it unethical. It's pretty common in a lot of consumer industries. A couple of months ago, I booked a flight, and then found out that I wouldn't be able to fly on the day I orginally had planned. Even though it was still over a month and a half before my flight, American Airlines charged me $50 to change my reservation to a different day. They would have charged me $75 to get a refund for the $400 I had paid for the ticket. I would have called it unethical if they had charged me $75 for canceling, and still charged me $400 for the ticket I didn't use, without my permission. A few weeks ago, I had to cancel my reservation at a day spa. I canceled with 10 days notice and was charged a $25 cancellation fee, though I was not charged the full price of the spa appointment. You are right that the spa probably didn't do $25 worth of work in making my reservation and then canceling it, nor did the airline do $50 worth of work in rescheduling my flight. Nonetheless, this is a common practice and I was aware both times that I would be charged this fee for canceling, so I wouldn't call it unethical. It would be completely unethical if any of these places charged me the full amount for the service I never used, without my permission, or if they charged me a cancellation fee that I was never told about. Cross Keys does say, right upfront, that there will be a $30 cancellation fee, and that seems fine by me.

I don't know if it's something in the air, but I TOTALLY know what you mean. I ate part of a Rice Krispie treat in freefall, and it was absolutely the best thing I have ever tasted in my life. And I don't even like Rice Krispie treats very well!

I saw a bit in a Skydiving article earlier this year about the new rigging tool "The Terminator." It's a tool for closing reserves that uses a pump-clamp to apply tension as opposed to a to the positive-leverage rod most people use. Does anyone have any any experience with the Terminator, is it worth the cost, and if so, how do I get one?