Dean358

Indeed, that is a very good description Bill. There also seems to be a foundness for, shall we say, "close ups." Sorry to inform you though that the so called "great hall" is going to be torn down starting this weekend. Not sure if the Wall Of Pain will be reposted in Billy's lovely new hanger, but I hope so. Cheers, Dean

Hi Ron, I’m definitely guilty of this, although I take a wee bit of offense at being labeled a “yuppie skydiver.” I certainly enjoy hanging out at the end of the day at my home DZ, The Blue Sky Ranch, but I have a lot of commitments outside of skydiving that usually prevent me from doing that. While its certainly faster and easier to make friends hanging out at night – not to mention amusing – the vibe at The Ranch makes everyone feel welcome pretty much from the moment they arrive. Although I may not be at the bonfire I do my best to help promote the good vibes when I’m there. I’d like to think it doesn’t completely suck having us darn yuppie skydivers around. Anyway, I gotta motor – need to get my six jumps in today before I run home, get cleaned up and hang out with my non-skydiving wife and friends. Cheers, Dean www.wci.nyc

Quote Why is the Cessna pilot a "Dick", but not the skydiver? Hi Ron, Because unless the Cessna pilot wasn't looking out his window on final, he had to have seen the skydiver right in his path. I got the sense that the Cessna pilot intentionally chose not to avoid the skydiver until the last possible moment, perhaps as an “I’ve had enough of this, I’ll teach those stupid skydivers a lesson” kinda thing. I’ve been a pilot much longer than I’ve been a skydiver and I have to agree with you about pilots not liking us skydivers. All the more reason for all to work together on issues like traffic and safety. Cheers, Dean

Perhaps this is an example of what can happen if we don’t “regulate” ourselves. A few years ago I spent a several days jumping at DeLand – saw some really scary shit on the field. I remember one jumper, with his A license and 60 jumps crossing the active runway at approximately 60 feet to land, cutting off a single engine Cessna on final. The Cessna pilot was being a dick and didn’t abort his landing until the very last second, coming within a few hundred feet of the jumper. (I believe the Cessna pilot later filed a complaint with the FBO). In general I thought the airspace around the airport was very crowded for skydiving operations. Add to this some very high profile fatalities, e.g., a highly experienced camera flyer being killed by colliding with an Otter which was being flown by a top notch pilot, and at some point the government / community / or some external organization is going to step in and say “this needs fixing.” Of course I don’t want to see any of you wonderful folks in and around Deland get screwed. And, I don’t know what adding a tower will actually accomplish. But given the high profile tragedies Memorial Day weekend (not at DeLand) I think it’s worth noting that if we don’t fix stuff ourselves someone else may.

Around 350 jumps, my first time at Z-hills. Solo belly dive to get familiar with airspace. Must have been some giant wild fire burning nearby. Around 11,000 feet I get this intense burning smell and think, "Holy shit, is my rig on fire???" Reach back to check, realize I'm an idiot and spend the rest of the jump laughing until pull time. www.wci.nyc

> For me, clouds are not a big deal unless they are a thick layer all the way across the sky. I have jumped through thin or puffy clouds several times, and its not a big deal. Hi Jeth: I would beg you to reconsider this. Jumping through clouds is not a good way. Putting aside the “Just don’t do it because it’s the law” aspect (funny logic, that) there could be things below a cloud that can get you very killed. Airplanes, helicopters, sailplanes, Para gliders, hang gliders and even other skydivers come to mind. Do you know that sailplanes, Para gliders and hang gliders need to be flying directly under white puffy clouds, as that is where the lift generally is? Hell, last year at The Ranch we had some old guy in a Bonanza flying around the pattern, just beneath the clouds, completely oblivious to the open canopies all around him. When he landed he told us he thought he was landing at Kobelt (a different airport) ! Cheers, Dean