blueskys25 0 #1 July 4, 2007 we need to make the skydiving training more affordable here in the United States.Quote Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Zing 2 #2 July 4, 2007 If you really like skydiving it costs the same as it ever has ... all your money and the rest of your life.Zing Lurks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites djmarvin 2 #3 July 4, 2007 Compare the cost of getting licensed in the US compared to several other countries. We may not be the cheapest, but we are far from the most expensive. It is cheaper to fly to the US and get your "A" license than it is to just complete "student progression" in some nations. Also compare the start up cost of skydiving versus the startup cost of many hobbies. Many will be cheaper, but many hobbies will also cost a lot more. Yes it would be nice to jump for cheaper, but is there really a price on learning to save your life? DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites davelepka 4 #4 July 4, 2007 Some things are expensive. Airplanes are one of them, and we need airplanes to skydive. Running a business that depends on the weather is also expensive. You have to plan ahead, and have enough cash in reserve to survive when you get rained out three weekends in a row. Multiply that factor by two if the DZ isn't a year-round operation (most of them). There are other things to do with your time that cost less than skydiving. They all suck, but they are cheaper. It's been said before, but if you want to jump and are broke, learn to pack. Every DZ needs packers, and I'm sure you could pay for your training with about six months of packing on the weekends. Six more months of packing will buy your first rig. Then it's simple, pack four rigs, and go make a jump. Repeat. It pays for itself. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites chris74 0 #5 July 4, 2007 Yoh, 36 US $ up to 12000ft at my home DZ ! Believe me man, You really enjoy your flight Blue skies Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Krip 2 #6 July 4, 2007 Quote we need to make the skydiving training more affordable here in the United States. Quote Hi BS25 Have we got a deal for youJoin the army, try out for the golden knights and if you make the team Free tunnel time free coachng, free jumps and free gear Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites WGore 0 #7 July 4, 2007 Quote Quote we need to make the skydiving training more affordable here in the United States. Quote Hi BS25 Have we got a deal for youJoin the army, try out for the golden knights and if you make the team Free tunnel time free coachng, free jumps and free gear After an all expenses paid trip to Iraq or Afganistan.GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites baseknut 0 #8 July 4, 2007 Quote we need to make the skydiving training more affordable here in the United States. Quote open wallet, jump, pack.........repeatStep into my (sub)terminal Playground Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites peregrinerose 0 #9 July 4, 2007 If you truly want to afford to jump, make it possible for yourself. I've been a packer for 3 years now so that I can afford to make 200+ jumps a year plus buy new gear and travel to boogies and take a riggers' course and get my AFF rating. Now that I have an instructional rating, I have that to help make it more affordable. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites jm951 0 #10 July 5, 2007 Just to put things into perspective, try boating. Get a reasonable boat, say a 20 footer, for about $20k. Then add in dock fees, license fees, fuel and other sundries and all of a sudden that $20k is the small part of the investment. I used to hang with the PCA, Porsche Club of America. Take the cost of a Porsche, add in insurance, fuel, club fees, track day fees, tires, parts, etc, and it's very easy to crack $5k per year just in the cost of ownership, never mind the cost of the car. Suddenly AFF, a rig and jump tickets don't seem to be so expensive. After training and rig purchase, a day at the DZ is cheaper than a day at the lake or the track. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites diablopilot 2 #11 July 5, 2007 If you want it bad enough, anyone can afford it. I've seen millionaires and college students with no deep pockets make it in this sport.---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites ScottTX 0 #12 July 5, 2007 Quote we need to make the skydiving training more affordable here in the United States. Quote That would be nice, however "cheaper" or "less expensive" does not always mean quality. I have been in the solo training program at the dz where I jump for some time now, and I am rapidly going broke and indebt over the cost( most of which is because of my own learning difficulties), might even have to take a temporary layoff from jumping because of it, however I would not trade the quality training I am now getting to go to some place that might offer less expensive training. There is going to be a point in the future where the quality training I am getting now will pay off in some way. So, yes in the short term I am $$hurting$$, but the payoff will be in the long term Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites AFFI 0 #13 July 5, 2007 QuoteJust to put things into perspective, try boating. Get a reasonable boat, say a 20 footer, for about $20k. Then add in dock fees, license fees, fuel and other sundries and all of a sudden that $20k is the small part of the investment. Suddenly AFF, a rig and jump tickets don't seem to be so expensive. After training and rig purchase, a day at the DZ is cheaper than a day at the lake or the track. Yup. Compared to any other sport or hobby, it really is not that expensive... Scott is right on as well, it cost a DZO who maintains the equipment they are providing a lot. It is not cheap to keep an Otter (or 3) well maintained and flying, buying student and rental gear and keeping that maintained, not to mention all the other overhead. I am also willing and more than happy to pay a premium to jump at a DZ that offers the best, well maintained equipment staff and program like at the DZ where I work and play, and hell, jump tickets are only $20, that is cheap when considering all the overhead involved. There is an awful lot of overhead to manage a quality DZ, just staggering…Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat… Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Akey 0 #14 July 5, 2007 US is pretty good compared to the UK. £18-20 jump tickets (thats $36-40) is the norm. Coz i'm a student there is one place that does jumps for £10 ($20) and i'm not going to spend any less, i'm just going to jump more! As for training, well, it was cheaper for me to fly over to spain, stay there for a week in a hotel and do my aff+10 consols then to do it in this country. Think there were similar offers in the states! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Bill_K 0 #15 July 5, 2007 Quote Yoh, 36 US $ up to 12000ft at my home DZ ! Believe me man, You really enjoy your flight Blue skies Chris Do they show an in flight movie and serve beer with that? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites jeremy_o 0 #16 July 5, 2007 S/L is still cheap - A license for less than 1000 dollars (not including buying gear) is possible at more than 1 dropzone that I have heard of. http://planetskydive.net/ - An online aggregation of skydiver's blogs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites bch7773 0 #17 July 6, 2007 Quote S/L is still cheap - A license for less than 1000 dollars (not including buying gear) is possible at more than 1 dropzone that I have heard of. definitely. A license for like ~$700 I think is what I've heard last at my home DZ MB 3528, RB 1182 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites jacketsdb23 49 #18 July 6, 2007 Love static line! Under-rated training method...especially in this day of canopy flight issues!Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites jm951 0 #19 July 6, 2007 I'm slowly working my way through AFF a the moment, mainly because I lost my "real" job back in Sept. To compensate, I'm starting up a remodeling business. Hey, they aren't shipping houses offshore. Anyway, funds for jumping are scarce, but where there's a will, a way will be found. If and when I get to a point that the business is doing fairly well, I'll jump way more often and have my own rig. Hang in there, financial difficulties are usually temporary. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Broke 0 #20 July 7, 2007 Shop around Many different Dropzones provide a service for different prices depending on where they are in the country. I hear Lodi is a pretty low buck place to get started. Or you can pack for moneyDivot your source for all things Hillbilly. Anvil Brother 84 SCR 14192 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites SkymonkeyONE 4 #21 July 7, 2007 Quote Quote we need to make the skydiving training more affordable here in the United States. Quote open wallet, jump, pack.........repeat And I truly appreciate every one of those dollars, my young padewon. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites mbondvegas 0 #22 July 7, 2007 Quote we need to make the skydiving training more affordable here in the United States. Quote Skydiving is a high-end motor sport (aircraft)....and is one of the cheaper motor sports. If you want a cheap sport consider non-motor sports: BASE, Climbing; the Big5, etc. Running a DZ is full of Costs...I'm suprised that quality DZ's can still operate while only charging $20 per jump ticket. I'm not saying that I wouldn't love to see a DZ that offers $10 Jump Tickets on a brand new PAC (in fact I would spend my vacation there) or to be able to buy a new quality rig for $500....but it just ain't gonna' happen. I wonder if people on Yacht racing sites complain about the cost of Yachts?- - - I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites baseknut 0 #23 July 7, 2007 Quote we need to make the skydiving training more affordable here in the United States. Quote suck it up!! . take into account the dz's profit (barely any), pilot and airport fees.Step into my (sub)terminal Playground Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites squarecanopy 0 #24 July 9, 2007 Skydiving is a high-end motor sport (aircraft)....and is one of the cheaper motor sports. This is the essence of the cost of skydiving! I have people all the time that whine at me about how they would never skydive because of the cost. I ask them to show me a MOTORSPORT that is not expensive, and I usually get a blank stare. "What motor? All you have is your parachute!" Then I try as diplomatically as possible to point out that the aircraft that we jump out of has one or two rather large, fuel guzzling engines so that I can get up far enough from the earth to jump out and use my "parachute"!!! It is still one of the lower cost motorsports around (to participate in). Just burning a hole in the sky..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Bill_K 0 #25 July 9, 2007 Never thought of skydiving as a motor sport, but I guess when you put it this way it makes good sense. I also never complained about the cost either. I've found creative way's to fund it and will continue to do so into the future. 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Zing 2 #2 July 4, 2007 If you really like skydiving it costs the same as it ever has ... all your money and the rest of your life.Zing Lurks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
djmarvin 2 #3 July 4, 2007 Compare the cost of getting licensed in the US compared to several other countries. We may not be the cheapest, but we are far from the most expensive. It is cheaper to fly to the US and get your "A" license than it is to just complete "student progression" in some nations. Also compare the start up cost of skydiving versus the startup cost of many hobbies. Many will be cheaper, but many hobbies will also cost a lot more. Yes it would be nice to jump for cheaper, but is there really a price on learning to save your life? DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davelepka 4 #4 July 4, 2007 Some things are expensive. Airplanes are one of them, and we need airplanes to skydive. Running a business that depends on the weather is also expensive. You have to plan ahead, and have enough cash in reserve to survive when you get rained out three weekends in a row. Multiply that factor by two if the DZ isn't a year-round operation (most of them). There are other things to do with your time that cost less than skydiving. They all suck, but they are cheaper. It's been said before, but if you want to jump and are broke, learn to pack. Every DZ needs packers, and I'm sure you could pay for your training with about six months of packing on the weekends. Six more months of packing will buy your first rig. Then it's simple, pack four rigs, and go make a jump. Repeat. It pays for itself. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chris74 0 #5 July 4, 2007 Yoh, 36 US $ up to 12000ft at my home DZ ! Believe me man, You really enjoy your flight Blue skies Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Krip 2 #6 July 4, 2007 Quote we need to make the skydiving training more affordable here in the United States. Quote Hi BS25 Have we got a deal for youJoin the army, try out for the golden knights and if you make the team Free tunnel time free coachng, free jumps and free gear Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WGore 0 #7 July 4, 2007 Quote Quote we need to make the skydiving training more affordable here in the United States. Quote Hi BS25 Have we got a deal for youJoin the army, try out for the golden knights and if you make the team Free tunnel time free coachng, free jumps and free gear After an all expenses paid trip to Iraq or Afganistan.GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
baseknut 0 #8 July 4, 2007 Quote we need to make the skydiving training more affordable here in the United States. Quote open wallet, jump, pack.........repeatStep into my (sub)terminal Playground Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peregrinerose 0 #9 July 4, 2007 If you truly want to afford to jump, make it possible for yourself. I've been a packer for 3 years now so that I can afford to make 200+ jumps a year plus buy new gear and travel to boogies and take a riggers' course and get my AFF rating. Now that I have an instructional rating, I have that to help make it more affordable. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jm951 0 #10 July 5, 2007 Just to put things into perspective, try boating. Get a reasonable boat, say a 20 footer, for about $20k. Then add in dock fees, license fees, fuel and other sundries and all of a sudden that $20k is the small part of the investment. I used to hang with the PCA, Porsche Club of America. Take the cost of a Porsche, add in insurance, fuel, club fees, track day fees, tires, parts, etc, and it's very easy to crack $5k per year just in the cost of ownership, never mind the cost of the car. Suddenly AFF, a rig and jump tickets don't seem to be so expensive. After training and rig purchase, a day at the DZ is cheaper than a day at the lake or the track. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diablopilot 2 #11 July 5, 2007 If you want it bad enough, anyone can afford it. I've seen millionaires and college students with no deep pockets make it in this sport.---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ScottTX 0 #12 July 5, 2007 Quote we need to make the skydiving training more affordable here in the United States. Quote That would be nice, however "cheaper" or "less expensive" does not always mean quality. I have been in the solo training program at the dz where I jump for some time now, and I am rapidly going broke and indebt over the cost( most of which is because of my own learning difficulties), might even have to take a temporary layoff from jumping because of it, however I would not trade the quality training I am now getting to go to some place that might offer less expensive training. There is going to be a point in the future where the quality training I am getting now will pay off in some way. So, yes in the short term I am $$hurting$$, but the payoff will be in the long term Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AFFI 0 #13 July 5, 2007 QuoteJust to put things into perspective, try boating. Get a reasonable boat, say a 20 footer, for about $20k. Then add in dock fees, license fees, fuel and other sundries and all of a sudden that $20k is the small part of the investment. Suddenly AFF, a rig and jump tickets don't seem to be so expensive. After training and rig purchase, a day at the DZ is cheaper than a day at the lake or the track. Yup. Compared to any other sport or hobby, it really is not that expensive... Scott is right on as well, it cost a DZO who maintains the equipment they are providing a lot. It is not cheap to keep an Otter (or 3) well maintained and flying, buying student and rental gear and keeping that maintained, not to mention all the other overhead. I am also willing and more than happy to pay a premium to jump at a DZ that offers the best, well maintained equipment staff and program like at the DZ where I work and play, and hell, jump tickets are only $20, that is cheap when considering all the overhead involved. There is an awful lot of overhead to manage a quality DZ, just staggering…Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat… Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Akey 0 #14 July 5, 2007 US is pretty good compared to the UK. £18-20 jump tickets (thats $36-40) is the norm. Coz i'm a student there is one place that does jumps for £10 ($20) and i'm not going to spend any less, i'm just going to jump more! As for training, well, it was cheaper for me to fly over to spain, stay there for a week in a hotel and do my aff+10 consols then to do it in this country. Think there were similar offers in the states! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bill_K 0 #15 July 5, 2007 Quote Yoh, 36 US $ up to 12000ft at my home DZ ! Believe me man, You really enjoy your flight Blue skies Chris Do they show an in flight movie and serve beer with that? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeremy_o 0 #16 July 5, 2007 S/L is still cheap - A license for less than 1000 dollars (not including buying gear) is possible at more than 1 dropzone that I have heard of. http://planetskydive.net/ - An online aggregation of skydiver's blogs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bch7773 0 #17 July 6, 2007 Quote S/L is still cheap - A license for less than 1000 dollars (not including buying gear) is possible at more than 1 dropzone that I have heard of. definitely. A license for like ~$700 I think is what I've heard last at my home DZ MB 3528, RB 1182 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jacketsdb23 49 #18 July 6, 2007 Love static line! Under-rated training method...especially in this day of canopy flight issues!Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jm951 0 #19 July 6, 2007 I'm slowly working my way through AFF a the moment, mainly because I lost my "real" job back in Sept. To compensate, I'm starting up a remodeling business. Hey, they aren't shipping houses offshore. Anyway, funds for jumping are scarce, but where there's a will, a way will be found. If and when I get to a point that the business is doing fairly well, I'll jump way more often and have my own rig. Hang in there, financial difficulties are usually temporary. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Broke 0 #20 July 7, 2007 Shop around Many different Dropzones provide a service for different prices depending on where they are in the country. I hear Lodi is a pretty low buck place to get started. Or you can pack for moneyDivot your source for all things Hillbilly. Anvil Brother 84 SCR 14192 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 4 #21 July 7, 2007 Quote Quote we need to make the skydiving training more affordable here in the United States. Quote open wallet, jump, pack.........repeat And I truly appreciate every one of those dollars, my young padewon. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mbondvegas 0 #22 July 7, 2007 Quote we need to make the skydiving training more affordable here in the United States. Quote Skydiving is a high-end motor sport (aircraft)....and is one of the cheaper motor sports. If you want a cheap sport consider non-motor sports: BASE, Climbing; the Big5, etc. Running a DZ is full of Costs...I'm suprised that quality DZ's can still operate while only charging $20 per jump ticket. I'm not saying that I wouldn't love to see a DZ that offers $10 Jump Tickets on a brand new PAC (in fact I would spend my vacation there) or to be able to buy a new quality rig for $500....but it just ain't gonna' happen. I wonder if people on Yacht racing sites complain about the cost of Yachts?- - - I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
baseknut 0 #23 July 7, 2007 Quote we need to make the skydiving training more affordable here in the United States. Quote suck it up!! . take into account the dz's profit (barely any), pilot and airport fees.Step into my (sub)terminal Playground Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squarecanopy 0 #24 July 9, 2007 Skydiving is a high-end motor sport (aircraft)....and is one of the cheaper motor sports. This is the essence of the cost of skydiving! I have people all the time that whine at me about how they would never skydive because of the cost. I ask them to show me a MOTORSPORT that is not expensive, and I usually get a blank stare. "What motor? All you have is your parachute!" Then I try as diplomatically as possible to point out that the aircraft that we jump out of has one or two rather large, fuel guzzling engines so that I can get up far enough from the earth to jump out and use my "parachute"!!! It is still one of the lower cost motorsports around (to participate in). Just burning a hole in the sky..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bill_K 0 #25 July 9, 2007 Never thought of skydiving as a motor sport, but I guess when you put it this way it makes good sense. I also never complained about the cost either. I've found creative way's to fund it and will continue to do so into the future. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
