toolbox

I guess if you consider strapping yourself to someone and leaving an aircraft in flight with very little skill or control of the situation makes you a skydiver, then your criteria are vastly different than my own. It is one thing to say you have made a tandem skydive,but to consider yourself a skydiver after one tandem is a joke. A tandem skydive is a huge step down the path to becoming a skydiver and my hat is off to anyone who takes this first step. But there are a few more steps to take before becoming a skydiver. A skydiver in my opinion, is someone who attempts to take some conscious control over the skydive using their learned skills and experience. In other words, if you come back to learn how to skydive, then I would say you are a skydiver.

I feel the same way. You hear people talk about themselfs or someone they know as being skydivers and all they have done is a tandem. The way people approach skydiving has vastly changed in the last 10 years. It is great that more people are able to make a skydive easier and quicker with tandem than by sitting through a FJC, and this exposes more of them to skydiving. But people seem to view skydiving as not such a big deal anymore. DZ's need to treat tandems not just as passengers, but as first jump students who might use the first tandem skydive as a stepping stone to becoming a real skydiver. Maybe then the industry can turn the present trend around and start making more skydivers using the tandem method as the great instructional tool I believe it was meant to be.

The industry has made tandem skydiving less exotic. Now mainstream america( and other citizens) have come to veiw tandem skydives as a rollercoaster. More people are making tandem skydives than ever. When I made my 1st tandem 16 years ago, it seemed like hardly anyone else knew what a tandem was or even cared. Now I see and hear people all the time who have made a tandem or know someone who has. When I made my 1st tandem, it was an all day event that I and the DZ staff aproached with a more serious attitude. It was considered a student skydive and I was expected to learn exposure to freefall, body position and be introduced to canopy control. Many DZ's nowdays just run em through as fast as possible for the quick buck ( tandem mills). Tandems have become amusement rides because the industry has made it that way. I feel this has something to do with fewer licensed skydivers being produced.

Tandem AAD's going off do not have much to do with the 207 crash,but I am interested in what events led to the AAD's firing anyway.What happened?Was the TI incapacitated?Was there loss of altitude awareness?We should learn from these incidents, and we need the facts to do so.

I feel that night dives test our ability to function in unusual situations that may tend to overwhelm our abilities to maintain level headed thinking. If you can handle a situation that takes alot of level headed thinking and good decision making,then you may be better equipped for the shit that may hit the fan when working with students.Having seen and experienced just a small spoonful of the shit that is possible with skydiving,I know it is just a matter of time(numbers of skydives)before everyone gets to see or experience some scary shit(if they skydive long enough).So why not test our selfs in a somewhat controlled scary and unusual situation,before we get to test our abilities with our students, when shit is going south in a hurry.Like emergency exits,or premature deployments on the step and on and on and on.......I remember when they changed the manditory cutaway and reserve deployment to 10 hanging harness simulations for the tandem rating.Wow! that must get your blood racing, hanging in that harness knowing that if you fucked up you would have a chance to do it again.Instructors should be put to the test in situations that crank up the fun meter(stress that is)before they are turned loose on the students.Everyone nowdays wants to make it easier to get the prize.In my opinnion,the D-license requirements are just the way they should be.We need to stop making things so easy.I am glad they increased the # of skydives for the D-license to 500 by the way.Do your night dives people!You may love them alot. If you aint got the guts,or you really are blind as a cave fish at night,then get the restricted license. It's all fun and games till the pilot chute gets ya in the eye,and it's not yours.

You amuse me.

I hope to see ya there.Maybe we can do some RW,just be easy with me cause my hips been hurtin lately(old age and stuff).

Hey jt! I know what you mean.I came here from Skydive Oregon and everyone got along up in the Northwest. I remember seeing DZO's from the direct competition skydiving with us there.Skydivers would move freely back and forth from one DZ to another.You would see Skydive Oregon folks at Skydive Toledo.You would see Toledo folks at Skydive Oregon or kapowisin.The eugene people would show up everywhere.Everyone got along and had a shit load of goodtimes meeting new friends and learning from each other.The egos were put aside and the sweet goodness was about.When I came to vegas I was amazed at all the fucked up shit that I witnessed here.I have only returned here to help Brad achieve his dream of a real DZ that people can come to and have fun without all the vegas bullshit.The other DZ's are trying to prevent this from happening(Mesquite not included)since in my oppinion, all they want is to prey on the tourist(tandems) and huck em out as low as possible. Brad is looking forward to the day he can buy his own aircraft and offer 10000 AGL or better to everyone, students and experienced alike,but as of now leasing and fuel are tough on a new business.Even with that,he is planning night dives next month for experienced people.Give him a call and check on it. Blue skies bro!

I could care less about the D-lcense debate.I was simply reading the post by all the whiny little bitches on this issue because it amused me.Then I read the post by Lastchance about wanting to experience a night dive.I thought it was cool that a new skydiver was excited about making a night dive for the same reasons I had for making my first.The last thing on my mind was a D-license when I made my first one. I was thinking about how new and spectacular this experience might be,and it was better than I expected.If I still had a second rig I would do night dives more often.In fact I plan on making one on the 9th of next month,just to help the new guys get some night RW.From what I understand,you can get the night requirement waived for the restricted D anyway so why the debate?If you want the unristricted D then make the night hops,otherwise stop complaining.Its that simple.

Night dives are spectacular. I have 64 night dives and would do more except I only have one rig now.9 years ago I had two rigs and they had old sabre mains.If I chopped one of these,I could get another one fairly cheap and still had the second one to play on while the other was being replaced.The main I have now cost twice as much as the old sabres and if you chop at night chances are much better that you will never see that main again,unless it lands close by in a clear area.Oh by the way I just had reserve ride 61 recently.I have packed several thousand canopies with no mals(But there are those who have and those who will).All my mals were packed by someone else since most times I have to be on the turn with another student(and I'm too lazy to want to pack it my self).QuoteSo I think night dives are awsome, but they can be expensive.Make sure the spot is right and roll the dice.Your first night dive is unreal.You will be in awe.Have fun!

Dude! I heard the plane is a total. Is this so? What kind of damage did it sustain?

This place is fairly new as far as Northwest dropzones go.The airport is off limits for landing unless you hold a D-license.Without the D-license you have to land down the road.

Skydive Toledo is very friendly towards 1st timers and vetrans alike. You have to try real hard to ruin your welcome here. The weekend bonfires are great for talking of the days skydives. The views of the Saint Helens volcano are superb along with the rest of the cascade mountains. The Northwest rocks during the summer. Check it out!

I live in the vegas area, and from what I've seen,this is a tandem factory. They might go as high as 7,000 AGL if your even able to get on a load.

I was fortunate enough to get to work the end of the season here after skydive las vegas shut down.Skydive new england is alot like skydive oregon. Only 2 things are different.Skydive new england is a bit smaller and everyone has an east coast accent.This is a great place to make your 1st skydive or to visit for experienced folks. Nice super otter and great skydivers.The fall season is spectacular with the changing of the leaves.Just like oregon,the food of choice is beer.Carp has a nice gig going on.Skydive new england is my second favorite DZ next to skydive oregon.Go check it out. You will love it!

This place rocks! I lived there for 2 years,and I miss it alot. Not a day passes without my thinking about the sweet goodness at SDO. The experienced skydiver population is good size,with CRW dogs,swoopers,belly flyers,and a crap load of free flyers.The 300 series super otter is faster than any other I've experienced.The C-208 does pretty good also.If you like hiking,mountain biking or windsurfing,they are all within short driving distance. From June through early October this place is full throttle.Go there and experience skydiving next to the cascade mountains of the great northwest.

This place has a nice group of experienced skydivers who like to have alot of fun.The landing area is good and a C-208 is not uncommon on weekends.Like all northwest skydivers,the food of choice is microbrew.Visit and make some new friends.

This is a experienced friendly DZ.The landing area is tight,but I've seen worse. They have a C-208 that flies on weekends and there are some nice fun jumpers around.