riddler 0 #1 January 27, 2003 OK, so we've all heard the bad/evil DZO stories, but we also know from experience that there are lots of cool DZOs out there. So let's hear the good stories! I'll kick it off with my experience this weekend. I get there early Saturday morning with the intention of getting 10 jumps in over the weekend, but I thought the weather might interfere, and it did. Since it was cold and windy that morning, and we only had a few jumpers, we didn't get the first load up until after noon. But the DZO's invite me over to their trailer and cook breakfast for me and a few other skydivers - eggs, bacon and pancakes. Then, all weekend there was almost no one there and they didn't have the Cessna, only the King Air. But instead of shutting down, they flew the King Air with, on average, 6 fun jumpers. 3 loads Saturday and 2 loads Sunday - max was maybe 8 fun jumpers, and one load had only 5. Altitude in 7-8 minutes, no tandems, no AFF students. It was a little chilly, but it wasn't too bad in the later afternoon. I know they lost money on every load, but they still flew because the fun jumpers wanted to. One load had high uppers, which only dropped us maybe a quarter of a mile from the peas, but one of the DZOs came out and picked us up in his truck. Good service. My DZ really has the feeling of home, and it starts with the very cool owners. I hope/know the rest of you also have some stories to share, so let's hear 'em Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pilotdave 0 #2 January 27, 2003 I really liked the DZO at Skydive Williston, Chrissy. She really made my club feel right at home the second we arrived for the collegiate boogie last week. She seems WAY more interested in giving people a good time and making them feel welcome than trying to get every penny from them as possible. This is something I'm really not used to from a DZO. Night jumps out of a kingair at full altitude were normal jump price ($18), and they even gave us all the glowsticks and tape we needed. Chrissy spent most of the days driving around in the DZs pickup truck picking up skydivers that landed in the far landing area or off the DZ, and catching tandems. She stayed late every night to make sure everyone was all set with sleeping arrangements, and just overall was really nice. When one of my club members destroyed a rented canopy (see the powerlines are baaad thread in skydiving discussions), she not only didn't charge him for it, she even let him keep the remains. Thats one cool DZO. http://www.umd.edu/studentorg/cpsc/uf2003.html Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 20 #3 January 27, 2003 Where do I start... Jim and Lee open their house up to anyone it seems. Jim's tossed out more free jumps then anyone I can think of, they are donating a lot of time and reasources towards the midwest DZ.com gathering.. even though its not at their DZ and its not their planes getting leased, Lee has the greatest sense of humor and actually gets the jumpers involved in some of the jokes (Ask DZMom at Lake Wales how the Fucking Gnome is doing and about his travels ). We have BBQ's and pizza parties in their pool all summer, they make sure if anyone is low on cash to jump, if they work hard at the DZ they will get to jump. For Jim's birthday every year we always have a big party at their house. Plus at the Xmas party (that they let us into their house with white carpet everywhere) they always have people from the past at the DZ there. This year infamous Mike Spurgen, and the DZO of West Point, people from SSK and people that have'nt jumped in year... but still love the DZ and the DZO's that much. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildblue 7 #4 January 27, 2003 Wally at Blue Sky Adventures! That guy is just way too happy to be alive! There was something about offering free jumps too... Just the feeling I got in the short amount of time I was there... he seemed like a pretty cool guy. And I do believe a DZO has some input into the 'culture' of a DZ - if the DZO is a good guy/girl, most of the people there will be too. This has held true so far - the places I've been with nice DZOs seemed to have a friendly vibe to them. The places where I didn't get a good feeling from the DZO, I didn't get a good feeling from the rest of the people there. it's like incest - you're substituting convenience for quality Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
