des

yeah skyhawk,manager or something.isn't it a great place,with the best people and dz owner in the world? dammit, i miss everyone there bigtime! i'm on a beautiful tropical island,doing 80 to 120 jumps a mth tho,fishing and diving after work,so won't be back real soon. give that beautiful susie a big kiss for me please.wait till wayno's out of sight tho!. say "gidday" to all the regulars for me please. thanks mate. des. try giving nazi ben a kiss too!tell him i love him!

mark,please consider that less than half 1st jump students continue,yes ,the next jumps are cheaper,but you really don't believe the dz's are doing them to break even,not my argument or my point,aff gets cheaper too. i think i underpriced the s/l 1st jump course quite a lot (125!,bet you paid more than that!). point is, s/l is undeniably more profitable to the dz ,than aff,for the 1st jump. completion cost varies considerately,depending on student ability,and a host of other factors. as an aff and a s/l instructor,all i know is i am a lot more worried doing s/l ,than aff. once a s/l student exits ,i have no control,can't do anything to help(i hate that). my main point is ;that dz's that do not offer s/l courses,are doing it 'cos they believe aff is the way to go,NOT for financial reasons. i personally know a dzo,who tries to talk all tandem and aff bookings into doing s/l,for purely financial reasons. i will name him and his dz by email if you like. don't really want to tho,cos he is a friend and a good guy,but also a businessman. been a fulltime skydiver inst/tm for 10 yrs,and there's no way my kids are going near a dope rope. respects to all that do tho.,imho you guys got balls. those old guys that did s'l with roundies are real men,and have my total respect,i don't think i would have had the guts. regards, des

go,the canetoads!the cockroaches are eating shit,(about time tho),we needed a win.

not trying to "cook books", i forgot that the us is the only important place ,and the only place that does things right. please convert dollars mentioned to australian dollars,and 150 per hr for a 182 is cheap!but it doesn't matter the relationship is the same.i was fulltime instructor for 5 yrs,we always took 5 jumpers in a 182,no problem,and perfectly legal,30 mins to 12,000' was average. again 3 or 5 ,it doesn't really matter!as i said my figures were arbitrary.my question was,can somebody show me different.i KNOW s/l is more profitable.prove me wrong. we also had a caravan,and averaged about 40 tandems a weekend, the dzo,would have been very happy for them all to have been s/l, except for the worry factor! i nearly got really sarcastic here,but restrained myself,cos i've had a few beers again. a caravan in oz hires out at about 800 pr hr.before you ask ,after conversion jump prices are exactly the same as in the us,about $us17. des

just want your money!that's a crock! s/l is more profitable to the dz than aaf. eg 1st jump c182 s/l 4x students @ 125 = 500 cost 1 j/m 4 students @ 5 = 20 plane to 3000 @ 150per hr(assuming 4 passes) 20 mins =50 profit to dz $430 (most places can carry 5 jumpers in a 182). 1 aff student @ 350,2 up jumpers @ 20 = 390 2 j/m's @ 30= 60 182 to 10000ft 30 mins =75 dz profit =255 i realize these figures are arbitrary,but can some one demonstrate them working the other way?you can also look at tandem jumps this way,and including reasonable gear hire,also falls behind s/l profitability. as a s/l, and aff instructor,imho,both methods work,but my kids,will be doing aff,(sorry sons,no choice for you).

that's true skreamer,scariest for me it was aff3 (3rd jump),but i had already made the decision to jump,i believe it's that 1st time,you make the decision to jump,knowing next to nothing,and deciding to jump from a plane,requires the most courage and commitment,that's why i give all my tandem students the utmost respect. let's not forget,we all did our 1st jump once. just my thoughts. des

don't think that categories are really necessary.is it cool to be able to say "i am a skydiver"?who really gives a shit. i was a skydiver once,never missed a weekend,or boogie for 3 or 4 years,now i am ,as albatross correctly put it ,a tandem driver,and love every jump i do.(can do fun jumps for free anytime i like ,but usually don,t bother),tandem students/passengers have my total respect,they are trusting someone they've known 5 or 10 mins completely,and jumped from a plane,they are NOT whuffos. the attitude of some tm's that they are trying to kill you,really jacks me off,they are people doing the best they can,usually with minimal instruction,and if you can't deal with expected mistakes,DON'T DO TANDEMS!. i get abigger buzz from tandem reactions than i ever got from a completed big way ,multi point 4 way,or a successful tight demo. i think anyone who jumps from a plane,tandem,aff,s/l ,deserves respect,1jump or 30,000 jumps,it doesn't matter,because that 1st one is the biggie, everyone remembers that one.classification is unnecessary. just my humble opinion. des mountainman,best wishes to you and your wife.love your attitude.see you somewhere,sometime in that big blue sky.

yep!those guys are fantastic.i live on a remote island wher it's impossible to get dytter batts,so they sent me 8 free!they even paid postage! been jumping a long time now ,and have only ever heard great things about these guys. dytters rule. des

p.s forgot to mention,there is a dz in "mens paradise", angeles city,in the philipines. des

hey sangiro, i jump in saipan in northern marianas (micronesia). there is a tandem operation here ,and in guam, jumping from bandierantes,unfortunately we don't cater to fun jumpers. the landing areas are too small ,and we get very severe turbulence during the trade wind season. there are no other dz's in micronesia.the good news is the diving is great,we dive all year,no wetsuits and 100ft plus visibility.palau is probably the best dive spot in micronesia,but there is also the mantas in yap,and the wrecks at chuuk (truk). the philipines are very close ,and is excellent,very cheap diving and living,(and i mean LIVING).take no notice of the news it's a very safe place,with beautiful people. if you want more info or contacts in the area ,email me. des@saipan.com regards. des

my most successful pick-up line. "how about i shit on your chest",it really worked,but i didn't marry her.still not married,--funny that,can't figure it. des

just fyi.marmite is a yeast extract,vegemite is a vegetable extract,love them both,but i really dig promite,dunno what that's made from tho. des

hell! i've been to the u.s 5 times.looked real hard,and couldn't find any good food! des

friendliest,most relaxed dz i've been to.the welcome,laid back atmosphere,not to mention the visuals at height ,more than made up for the single 182 available. had no gear,nothing,with me ,but thanks to mike,who loaned me his gear,had a blast.

really professionally run dz.great staff and friendly jumpers.fulltime turbine aircraft.highly recommend for student training,really A1 programme and pro instructors. visited from o/seas,was really looked after well. but,HELL, where's the bar? this should be priority no 1. blake..........joe.

10 years ago,with 2 novices from another dz,early morning ,a bit foggy.usually when fog starts to clear it's gone in 10 mins,so we take off for a 4 way.could see enough to spot,can't remember how the jump went,but when we opened.8/8's fog!couldn't see jackshit,except for some of the higher hills.but god,it was beautiful.just blue sky and canopies!we were all going off! knew the jump run and where we exited,so took a guess,and f*** me,we came out at a few hundred feet,right over the dz. jumped in a lot of beautiful places,but those visuals beat them all. des

well huffermoose, no=one drinks fosters anywhere,but if no-one wAs drinking xxxx,you sure as hell were'nt in queensland.(the real australia). des

your right mountainman. i'm a wanker,when i'm drunk.sorry,all. des

sp has good advice,another option is swoop cords,come into effect when you need them.as sp said wings are not the answer ,docking is difficult ,and any reaching will send you over the top. dress for success,pick your slot. p.s base is a really cool slot,and good organisers will only have good ,reliable skydivers in base slots. the visuals from base on a big way are great. des

students should exit where they are guaranteed a good spot. i.e not first and short ,and not last and long. if the following group simply looks out the door they can ensure adequate seperation. tandems should always be last ,as the tm has plenty of time to check the spot in freefall,and can dump high if necessary. just my opinion.

dammit! lay off. i've hooked or front risered my last 4000 jumps and it's the best way to land. people die in all sorts of ways,hooking is only one of them. if you don't have the experience or ability,don't hook,but leave those who do alone. shit,i'm sick of this crap.

cessna 208 is a caravan,and will run you us$600.000 to a million plus,they are probably the lowest maintenance plane around and can take 17-18 jumpers at a pinch.and at 600k your looking at atime out engine. a c206 (6 jumpers)or a porter are your best shots,but there may be others . des

a very good friend of mine,gary cobb,from cal.(now QLD,australia) has done over 1000 logged jumps wih his canopy on backwards,he also does crw that way,there are a no. of bcrw jumpers around now. it's no big deal,but it ain't easy either. i think if you'd never flown backward before,a chop wouldn't be a bad option,(depending on experience, of course),but if you walked away,you made a correct decision. regards. des

mountainman,if you are going to buy gear soon after student graduation,i think used gear is definitely the way to go.ask many questions,not only instructors,but also experienced jumpers of all levels. you will have to sort thru the 1000's of different opinions yourself in the end tho. regards des

like your attitude mountainman,but reading a previous post ,seems you haven't completed student training yet.ask your instructors about this,a forum like this has no idea of your,or your wifes abilities. some dz's willgive a similar type canopy to you during training (depending on jm assessments),others will think it's way over the top. your keen,great!,but slow down a little. being a tandem master is the best job i ever had,but it takes a while to get there. hang in there.(i am referring to another post from mountainman.) good luck , des