scottjaco

DZ's bill payers are students. *** Thats fine with me......as long as they keep those jump ticket prices down! Next time I see a Tandem or an AFF in the plane.... I'll be sure to thank them for my skydive!!! scott

I'll definatly keep that in mind! As far as "up jumpers" being of little value to small dropzones? They fill in all the empty slots on the student loads, so there is a little extra money there. Also somthing that DZ owners should keep in mind is consistancy. Most people who do tandems only do it once, Most AFF students never make it to level 7! I paid for all those AFF jumps in the begining, now that I'm a licensed skydiver I'm not considered profitable? If I do 5 jumps a day, thats $100 bucks! Its about consistancy. I see Tandems and AFF jumps as "quick cash" for DZ owners. The "up jumpers" are the bread and butter that keep the place going, they are there every weekend. If you do the math....over time those $20 dollar jump tickets add up. Not to mention all the money made on gear purchases and rigging services. Common! we can't be that much of a burden! scott

I undestand what you are saying...... I recieved the wrong info....that is what I'm upset about with Skydive SanDiego. If I had just went up there without calling, I'd have no cause to complain. Shit happens......I just expect better customer service. I e-mailed Skydive San Diego with my concerns. scott

Nope, I think I'll stick around......if you want this thread to die....quit responding! bye the way, I am an asshole sometimes......deal?

Well, another example....... today I called up Skydive SanDiego.....I'm visiting my parents who live about 1 hr. away. They tell me over the phone that they have tandems at 2pm and 3pm. I drive down there....arrive at 1:35pm and just as I'm pulling into the parking lot I see the damn Caravan taking off! Apparantly the info I got over the phone was bogus! The 3 tandems were there at 1pm! So I got screwed. There were no other fun jumpers there! I went into manifest and waited awhile and asked if this 3pm tandem was happening. Nope! cancelled. There will be no more loads today! Well, OK I responded, I was told over the phone that you had 2 groups of tandems today and that one that just left wasn't suppose to leave until after 2pm. Opps......sorry! was the response I got. I was really pissed because I could have driven the same distance to Perris or Elsinore and jumped. (I didn't say this to them), I tried to be as nice about it as possible but I was really annoyed that they gave me the wrong info......I guess I'll head up north to Perris or Elsinore where they do more than 1 load and have more than 1 "up jumper" visit per day! I'm not expecting them to do a load just for me but this is an example of how fustraiting small drop zones can be sometimes. I like Skydive SanDiego but I probably won't waste my time driving down there anymore. Hate to sound like an asshole but I just spent half of my day in traffic on the I-5 without my skydiving fix. scott

Wow hold on guys, I think you are taking what I'm saying way TOO PERSONALLY!!! however I have a point to make here! I've had many experiences where I've visited other dropzones besides the "big two" perris/elsinore around california. This is one example.......I'm not going to name dropzones out of respect for peoples "feelings" but my feelings are also valid.... They rented a twin otter from Perris, I went up there on a Sunday (my mistake) instead of Saturday, everyone was hungover....I got there at 10am and only got to do 1 load! I drove an hour and a half to do 1 load.... Apparently the twin otter had to be flown back to Perris for some reason? proably because the 3 other turbine planes they had weren't enough! The only saving grace was that there was leftover beer from the night before.....this definatly made up for the lack of jumps I got to make...so I'm not mad! Ohh I should mention that they brought out the c-182 after the otter left, but nobody wanted to pay 20 bucks to fly to 10K. I kinda felt bad for the DZ owner because I like the Dropzone and I want them to succeed but I was kinda pissed about the good plane leaving. Ohh and about the turbine controversy....yes...true...I will not jump at a dropzone that does not have turbines. Like I said...Perris has spoiled me rotten. When they get the DC-9 JET working.....I'll probably never go anywhere else! I started skydiving out of a King Air at 14K now I'm stuck doing 12.5 everywhere else. I can only prey that Air Adventures West reopens soon! I do however like the nostalgia aspect of jumping out of c-182....theres nothing wrong with that....I just have better options, sorry like I said I'm spoiled. You all think I'm insulting you personally! Like I said, I'm just talking about planes and load numbers here. I wasn't questioning the skill level of the skydivers that jump at these places. I don't think the attitudes I express are causing people to leave the sport of skydiving. Gees! You all have the balls to jump out of an airplane but can't handle a guy's constructive remarks? scott

What does LMAO mean?

That sucks that Sundays are dead at these backward dropzones in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. What is the deal with these dropzones? What type of plane do they fly out there? Is it at least a turbine? I'm spoiled rotten, I was just at Skydive San Diego on a Saturday, I wasn't used to being at such a tame facility, I now can picture what you mean! Come to Perris on a Sunday.....it's a little different...... here at a real dropzone. You can actually do more than 2 loads in less then 4 hours......I'm serious!!! Good Luck! scott

I'm glad we have skygods.....opps I mean experts like you on this website to set us 100 jump wonders straight!

You ought to upload the video to skydivingmovies.com so we can all watch it!!! scott

"Skydiving is suicide.......without the commitment!" I've heard this line used to describe BASE jumping as well..... scott

I think I said "trust me you'll get sick of being belly to earth....unless you are doing RW" No disrespect to belly flyers..... RW is cool too, although I have yet to try it..... What is all this bitching about politics at the DZ? I really don't get it. I see more politics on this Website than I do at Perris or any other dropzone is Southern California. I would be very interested to hear what your concerns are, what are people fighting over? I said this once before....I'm there to jump....the friends and beer are a bonus but that is not the sole reason I jump. scott

You only have 65 jumps. Trust me, you will get very sick of being belly to earth. That is, unless you are interested in RW. Tracking, 360's and back/front loops get very old. If I want to relax, I go into a sit fly position because the view is a lot better, you can see the horizon better. When you are belly to earth, all you see is the ground, I feel more in control in a sit fly position. Stand up flying is cool because you go really fast. Head down is what I'm working on right now, I'm getting better at it, it is very interesting because being able to do a good head down has made me much more stable when I do other manuvers. I did a 6-way head down in Taft, CA last weekend. It was a mess but it was really cool to try somthing new. There are so many different disciplines to try out! Wingsuit, Base Jumping, Big Way Formations to name a few.....it's going to be a while before I can master all of these things. Skydiving doesn't get boring......you get boring! scott

I understand your fustrations..... It took me a long time to finally shell out the $1,225 + tax for the cypres2. By the way, it also lasts for 4 years without needing a battery. I like the idea of having my AAD checked every 4 years. I'm not so crazy about the 12 year lifespan limit. I figure in 12 years I'll be able to afford a new one! I think the display for the Vigil is a bit thicker, it may not fit as well into the display pocket of your rig. I haven't seen one in a rig yet. Another thing that bothered me about the Vigil is that this product has no track record, the cypres has been around since '91 and all of the functions in the original cypres are carried over to the cypres 2. The cypres 2 is the same as the original cypres.....it just has a better battery and it's smaller and waterproof. I hear everyone talking about the Vigil but how can people trust it? Also, I hear they are putting a bunch of ProTrack features into w/ an infared diode to hook it up to a computer like a ProTrack. Why do I want this? I already own a ProTrack and I would rather Vigil spend the money on the AAD instead of adding a bunch of bells and whistles. Only time will tell. If they had maintained the $600 dollar price that Vigil was charging for the BETA models then I could see a reasonable argument for skydivers and DZ owners to equip their rigs with the Vigil. Now that Vigil has jacked up the price to nearly what the Cypres 2 costs, why bother? scott

I heard they were being sued by Airtec because the cutter is made by the same company that makes the cypres and cypres2 cutter. Airtec is pissed that the maker of the cutter is "double dipping" by selling the cutter to both companies. The Vigil is suppose to be $1000 bucks anyway, just get a cypres2...... scott

I've sent e-mails asking if they can could get jumpers up to 13.5K. I did this as a suggestion after they raised the jump ticket prices. I was up there a couple days ago and it seems that they are averaging 13K! That is a little better than before.... scott

I suppose you are right about people having trouble with the large group exits! The doorway is pretty small! I don't think that people would get sick of it though. 1) The plane can probably make it to altitude in half the time of an otter or skyvan. 2) You can expect better altitude like say 14K. The same way you get a little extra altitude out of a King Air. scott

I broke my fibula this summer. (caught a downwind draft while flaring) I was in a cast for 6 weeks. Then a month on the treadmill before doing my first jump. I chose to upsize for my first couple of jumps back. I jump a Sabre 150, however, my first few jumps back, I rented a Sabre2 190. I upsized for one reason only.....to make sure my leg could handle it. I knew I could still flare my 150 properly, I just didn't want to take any chances. If you are coming back, try to land some place soft, Perris Valley has a great student landing area. I still land there because I like it so much, even though I really don't need to. I was nervous coming back but I would be god damned if I let some pussy assed injury keep me from enjoying such an amazing sport. What else is out there anyway? a mortgage? nagging wife? kids? a job you hate? screw it all....expect more out of life! Good Luck scott

In aviation, "expensive plane" and "not used a lot" don't cut it. I can see a lot of issues trying to make this plane even break even. *** Yes, I agree....but what about the Skyvan at Perris? They only run it on weekends and then, only if it's a busy weekend. Normally they run 2 otters while the 3rd otter is being used some place else. The skyvan sits there and collects dust. If they got the dc 9 working....I would be up there every weekend. It would crush the competition. scott

I noticed that my jump numbers were changed.... as well as my birthdate.....I have since corrected them..... scott

OK, the runway shouldn't be too hard to extend..... Now I'm hearing that they haven't bought it yet? Are you sure? Everyone says they bought it like 8 months ago! Now they need new engines? that sounds like another big setback! Why would you buy a plane that needed new engines? You wouldn't buy a used car that needed a new engine? (unless it's a classic) could someone who knows planes explain the pros/cons of this purchase? thanks, scott

Thanks for the specs! Wow, That must have taken a lot of balls for a Drop Zone to buy a jet for their jumpers. I'm impressed! .....and to think I was bitchin about the jump ticket prices. It will be well worth it to be the first drop zone in the world to own a jet of any type for skydivers. thanks, scott

I just heard about the DC-9 Jet at Perris. I did a search and found out that people have been talking about this on Dropzone.com since January! Is there any new information about this plane? Why does it take so long to make it skydive friendly? Shit!... the thing is soo big...why not just let people sit in the seats just like regular passengers? What is the hold up? thanks, scott

I agree, I treat my Main as though it's the only parachute I have. I never want to rely on the reserve unless I have to. scott