mdf

I´m hoping to visit family in Henderson, NV at the end of September and was wondering if anyone might care to comment on Skydive Mesquite and/or Vegas Extreme Skydiving? Thanks mike

Live and work in Bogota. Been jumping here since I arrived five+ years ago. It´s sporadic, a little on the expensive side compared to most DZ´s stateside, and fun. Most jumping is outside Bogota which has an altitude around 8450msl. Flandes (3hours drive) is the most "active" DZ, operates more or less every weekend or every second weekend. PM me with specific questions and I´ll answer septel or hook you up with someone else.

If you have the time, Empuriabrava is good, also look at Lillo, Spain. For me, it´s hard to beat Klatovy, CZ. Go to anywhere the PINK is flying. Check out the following http://www.skydivepink.com/ http://www.pinkskyvan.com/klatovy.htm blue skies mike

You might also look at Ft Lewis, WA Years ago I jumped on or nearby the base - both civilian and military. There are currently three DZs relatively close, (though 5 minutes is going to hard to beat) depending on which part of the area you might live. You can also use the DZ locator http://www.dropzone.com/dropzone/

Depending on how close you want to be to the water when you land, you might consider Skydive Sebastian, Skydive Miami, or Keywest Skydiving. There are other areas much farther for you (which sometimes = exotic). The Puerto Rico Freefall Fest is primo.

Many places are the same or higher cost, with fewer jump aircraft / lifts available. Try Higuerote, VZ - use cash and try to avoid the official exchange rate.

Elma - I was in Tunis for a year (although a while ago) and there is jumping with the Tunisian military. If you have a "hook" that is your best bet, though it will take some doing. Other than that, Look for the possibilty of the Pink going to Tozuer for a boogie in the Jan / Feb time frame. At the moment, they are scheduled for West Africa in early ´08 - but who knows, things change. Their web site is >www.pinkskyvan.com< While I was in Tunis, I also went to Empuriabrava and Klatovy (home of the Pink) blue skies mike

Nice to see some other "mature" folks commenting; Never used one in Viet Nam, but carried one of these for some years in my jump gear. These were about the diameter of .38 cal round, and were replaced by a small rocket flare only slightly larger with a choice of several colors. I carried several for some years and on one water mission used it to signal a vessel to rendezvous with us so we could get closer to land for a helo transfer.

i jumped there in 99 - 01, and rented a russian rig till i got my new gear. the rig was in good to fair condition, similar to a 7 cell cloud. jumped an an-2, solid, but slow to altitude. beautiful scenery, nice beach jumps. If you're going to be in Varadero, head to the domestic airport on a saturday or sunday, and ask. or hang at the beach and wait for a tandem load and ask, then follow the group. they mostly jump tandem on the weekends - every once in a while a canadian group or belgium group vacations there and you can do some rw or ff. If you're not in varadero, call first or risk the trip w/o a jump. mike

If this is not too late - I jumped there a while back (mostly) at what appears to be the same location - the Peruvian AFB in Collique. Check to see if the new school is related to the old one "Esquela de Paracaidismo" the local number used to be 537-5946. If you connect, ask if Sara Montenegro Levy, or Leandro Vera, or Meylin Sanchez are still around. Say hi from Mike French. Make sure all gear is up to date, take your logbook, license and uspa card. enjoy

You should be fine - in and out. If you haven't yet, send an email to Viviana or Ivan. They can send details. Call when you get in SJ and they can update on days/hours. Have fun !

Terri My heart goes out to you and yours - I met Bob in the mid 70s when we were both PJs. I am but one of the many, many people that count themselves lucky and honored to have known him. michael french

Just learned about Bob and Danny I had the great fortune and honor to have met Bob in the mid 70s when we jumped, ran, and worked together - and was lucky to have met and jumped with Danny in the recent boogie in Puerto Rico. Thank you both for making my world a better place mike

Hey Viviana Thanks for the continous updates. I'm coming in from Colombia and really looking forward to meeting/jumping with everyone there. mike

Checked my old logs, I have the 667-260 number listed as a fax, you might also try 66-7256 and 61-4282. (Country code is 53, city code is, or was, 5). The Cuban government owns the all normal ISP servers and might be interdicting your email. So you could try again. I don't have an email for them.