skyberdyber

ha, ha Mr. Spence! I'll have you know I've made a whopping 5 jumps in the last 3 weeks! That makes a grand total for the year of..........FIVE! Enjoy the picture, also from last year's party!! Trey www.skydiveatlanta.com http://www.skydiveatlanta.com http://www.musiccityskydiving.com

Money!! That's why God invented credit cards! Really though, even if you just come to the party it's worthwhile. Here's a picture of last year's party. http://www.skydiveatlanta.com http://www.musiccityskydiving.com

That was awesome. http://www.skydiveatlanta.com http://www.musiccityskydiving.com

At Skydive Atlanta in Thomaston, we go to 14,000 AGL or higher almost every load in our Super King Air. http://www.skydiveatlanta.com http://www.musiccityskydiving.com

I couldn't agree with you more Spence. Your post nailed it. One thing that people may not realize is that often times, a DZO or event organizer is just passing on the info as it comes to him or her. Earlier this year we had a contract for an Otter which never showed up. We gave the jumpers the exact info as it came from the aircraft owner. When the owner said the aircraft would be there, I believed him. I was at Rantoul last year and have been to a couple WFFC in Quincy. I had fun, but not like years past. My worthless opinions: Regional events like Dublin, Skyfest, Atlanta Freeflight Festival (shameless plug!), Summerfest are the new wave and provide serious competition for WFFC. Don must offer something you can't get at these events to stay on top. WFFC can rebound, but not with $295 RV slots, $70 registration, $1000 vendor tents, and no convention video. Jumpers are not going to have quality skydives with people that have less than 50 jumps not to mention the danger. Raise prices, lower quality, not a successful business model. To return to former glory, they must have a jet with a reasonable lift ticket price and a helicopter with a kick-ass ride like the Bell 412 used to. Don might consider selling 1 or 2 of his fighter jets and buy a 727 or a Bell 412. 727 costs less than an Otter. My hope is that it will come back because there was no vibe I have ever experienced like Quincy at it's height. Talking to 2 guys that had just arrived home after Quincy 1997 and hearing the stories actually got me to do my first skydive. Trey Atlanta Freeflight Festival Oct 27-30, 2005 http://www.skydiveatlanta.com http://www.musiccityskydiving.com

Hey guys! Update... Martin Skrzypczak from East Coast Freefly will be freefly organizing as well. Dee, I am so upset that you're not going to be here!! I mean, what does Hawaii have that we don't.. besides beautiful beaches, perfect weather, volcanos, mountains, big surf, and exotic, half naked natives? Trey http://www.skydiveatlanta.com http://www.musiccityskydiving.com

We actually still own the domain name. We used it for 2 reasons. One- so Ben and Cary couldn't. Two- we are a legitimate competitor for Auburn's business, the same distance from Auburn as Atlanta, Columbus, and Macon. People in Alabama don't want to drive to "Atlanta" to skydive, even though were not that far. Furthermore, that web site said on the front page, "located 90 miles from Auburn in Thomaston, GA." It doesn't get any clearer than that. We use the web site "Skydive Middle Georgia" as well. There's no harm in advertising the same company under other, more local names. As long as you are honest about your location. And we are the only turbine nearby, with a 15,000 sq foot facility and at the time, the only 7 day a week operation serving Auburn. We never told/tell anyone we are any closer than we really are, we don't need to in order to compete. And we never deny to a customer that your Dad is closer, even today. Drawing business away from another DZ is just competition, when done honestly, it's the American way. http://www.skydiveatlanta.com http://www.musiccityskydiving.com

Speaking of not having money, I want all of you to listen VERY carefully. This is Trey, the DZO of Skydive Atlanta in Thomaston. This past month we have had our google ads that are paid click thru's triple. In other words people are going to the Google ads and clicking them indiscriminately. That is, those of you who are trying to hurt ASC/Skyride are inadvertently costing us a fortune. My partner and I believe it's a direct result of suggestions made on this forum. The result for us: we will have to limit our exposure and real potential customers will never make it to us, they will end up at ASC, who can absorb the costs. The result for ASC: Cary will pay a little more and get the same results. You are not hurting him, he has the money to deal with it. Although your intentions are appreciated, you are not helping. Let the DZO's handle it. There are plans in the works. If you really want to help, don't jump at their DZ's and continue to hold those that support Ben and Cary accountable for that support. Please pass the word on to anyone who might be clicking on these ads. http://www.skydiveatlanta.com http://www.musiccityskydiving.com

www.skydiveatlanta.com Thomaston, GA July 30, 31 CPC swoop comp Super King Air- 8.5 minutes to 14,000+ 20+ loads per day, Saturday & Sunday 1 hour drive from Atlanta/ Hartsfield airport 15,000 square foot hangar, free camping, showers Huge landing area- tons of outs Very laid back, fun crowd Free cocaine, prostitutes, and beer (ok, just kidding!) http://www.skydiveatlanta.com http://www.musiccityskydiving.com

Not all riggers are not created equal. Even with the same training. Mostly, you get what you pay for in this world. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, I was not trying to take advantage of you. I thought you just wanted it taken care of. I would have been happy to call and discuss each item with you if I thought it was what you wanted and given you prices beforehand. Although I'm pretty sure I did that, I usually do. Smear campaign was a poor choice of words, rigger bashing would have been more accurate. I was referring to the skydivers general, so many are just more than ready to criticize and speak negatively without the facts. And many state their opinion as fact and denounce other for having an opposing view. Sort of the "I likes a good hangin!" mentality. But thank you to those that are even tempered. I'd like to share some positive stuff. I think we have it really good in this country. I had a customer this weekend that was telling me it is $70 with gear rental to jump in England (that's in dollars not pounds). Regular jump is like $40 and the ride altitude is 40 minutes. She said nobody there would believe her about our 8 minute ride to altitude in the King Air. I'm thankful to be able to fly a great airplane, have a great airport to jump on, and good friends to share it with. Trey http://www.skydiveatlanta.com http://www.musiccityskydiving.com

New Handle - Lisa did ask for the handle specifically. It wasn't until after it was delivered that she said she already had one. Now you have an extra. It's any rigger's perogative to charge what they want. My time is valuable and I charge for it, not to mention that I have 7 years experience. I happen to think your undercharging at $35. BTW, I often will repack a rig and when the cypres returns from 4 year open the rig, put the cypres in and close it again at no charge so the jumper can still jump meanwhile. How do you know, Lisa? Have you packed one? Mirage is a time consuming rig, harder to make look good then, say, a Javelin. I charged Lisa $50 per repack and $5 for the new loop, which are a pain to make and if they stretch too much or you do it wrong, you have to re-open the rig and adjust it. I charge $285 for 4 year with batteries. That includes shipping to SSK and sales taxes. Also the aforementioned opening and closing for nothing if you like. The handle was $58 after tax. That's $448 total. And BTW, I don't mind rigging when I'm getting paid for it, it's just not my favorite activity, but I dislike it a lot when I'm doing it for peanuts. And someone here has to do it. I'm the only rigger on the DZ. And As I said earlier, Mike Gruwell $40, Danny Page $45, Joe Bennett??, all good riggers, I'll be happy to put anybody in touch with them that doesn't want to use me. I just resent the whole notion put forth by some here that I am or other riggers are ripping people off. I won't have my integrity insulted like that. Just curious though. What if someone asked any of you to do your job for 30% less than what you make now? http://www.skydiveatlanta.com http://www.musiccityskydiving.com

I did send you itemized receipts. You could've called and just asked about it. The price included a 4 year with batteries, shipping to SSK, two repacks, new cypres loop and a NEW CUSTOM CUTAWAY HANDLE! It also includes sales tax from SSK, and me for the handle. Your repacks look great. To everyone else on the thread: Nobody got taken here. I do this for a living people. God forbid I actually made some money for my effort. Anyone out there that wants to complain about rigging prices should come rig with me for a day and see how fun it is to close a Mirage when the canopy is oversized in the container. And I still make it look good. I don't enjoy rigging, I do it because I want to know that someone at my DZ is doing it right. It's hard work and high responsibilty. I don't hear anybody complain when it saves your ass from a crappy main pack job! If you don't like my prices, Danny Page is an excellent rigger. Mike Gruwell is an outstanding rigger as well and sounds like he's a lot cheaper too. But more importantly, why is everybody on this website always so prepared to go on a smear campaign against their fellows? Trey http://www.skydiveatlanta.com http://www.musiccityskydiving.com

OK, just saw it. I scrolled through quickly earlier and must have missed it. Thanks http://www.skydiveatlanta.com http://www.musiccityskydiving.com

Thank you everyone for making this year's festival a great success. It wouldn't happen without you guys. The final tally was 220 people registered. 92 jumps on 30 Helicopter loads, 1213 jumps on 32 Skyvan and 46 Super King Air loads. We have plans to make next year even bigger and better. We promise next year more bathrooms, more packing area, and another aircraft or 2. Our goal is 300 people. Anyone who took any pictures, we'd love to see them. Throw them on a CD and mail to: Skydive Atlanta 2333 Delray Rd Thomaston, GA 30286 We're hoping somebody out there has pictures of the firebreathing magician and the laser! We hope everybody had a great time, thanks again, we'll see you next year's Atlanta Freeflight Festival October 28th-30th, 2005. -Trey http://www.skydiveatlanta.com http://www.musiccityskydiving.com

This weekend, October 2,3 Skydive Atlanta will be having the annual casino night. But we are also having an all you can jump weekend with our Super King Air. Bring a tux or gown and get the special price. A dark suit with dark bowtie will do...you get the idea. Free martinis and casino games Saturday night. Being one to play by the new rulz, you'll have to go to SkydiveAtlanta.com for the price details.