Help your local DZO and skydiving businesses survi

[Craig 0]

A message from Kate Cooper of Square 1.....
Greetings,
As you know, the VFR flight ban has kept each and every one of you
from making skydives in the US. What you might not know, or be aware
of, is that this ban is effectively destroying the entire economy of
skydiving.
Every dropzone, rigging loft, jump pilot, tandem or AFF instructor has
basically gone without a paycheck now for 9 days, with no quick end in
site.
How can you help? Well, in addition to writing local, state and
national government officials, you can also help RIGHT NOW on a local
level.
1) Call your DZ and prepay a weekends worth of jumps. They can use
this money to pay current bills while this temporary ban is in place.
Heck you aren't jumping the money anyway, and this way you will have
the first weekend covered when we are up and ready.
2) Get some much needed rigging work done. Now is the time to reline
that canopy, wash your container, repair the jumpsuit, in short, get
your gear up to snuff while you are down.
3) Prepay 10 packjobs with your local packer. Again, you are just
making that first weekend back that much more enjoyable.
4) Take your favorite instructor or jumpmaster out to lunch, or
dinner, or just loan him or her $20. Remember how supportive they
were with you while you were on student status, now you can support
them in their time of need.
5) Remember that great photo you always wanted to buy but never had
the time or cash because you were jumping all the time? Well, time to
call your favorite cameraman and/or videographer and get those
pictures and videos sent out to you. Beleive me, they have the time
on their hands right now.
6) Time for a new helmet, jumpsuit, gearbag or anything else? Go to
your favorite gear store and order it up. You will have their full
attention, what better time to talk gear than right now? If you
already have something on order, maybe now is a good time to pay off
the balance due.
7) Buy lunch or dinner at the DZ restaurant. Most are still
operating, even although they may be on shorter schedules. (call
first).
8) Talk some people into making their first jump. Show video, talk
it up, and then have the give deposits to the local DZ (some DZ's
might offer specials right now for a group of students)
Lets band together as a sport, and protect our own. We have no idea
when this ban will be lifted, but the longer it takes, the more in
jeopardy our sport, as we know it, will be. Take a moment now to
invest in your skydiving future.
blue skies
kate

[Kelly 0]

craig,
i just wanted to bump this one back up to the top. Even though were allowed to jump now (at least most DZ's are) we still have to acknowledge the fact that we lost out on 9 (11 for us, 2 extra due to weather) money making days.
Im glad to see that Kate sent this email out. She definitally came up with some good ideas. I went last saturday and brought my BEER gear. After a customized container/reserve, main canopy, Cypres, protrack, Nvertigo helmet, new goggles, teeshirts, sweatshirts, closing pin necklace, and a bunch of other things i had spent about 6,500 dollars!!!!! Geeze! in one day! my friggin 97 pontiac sunfire didnt even cost that much!
The fun jumpers at our dz have been great about writing letters for the local papers, contacting the news stations, emailing congressmen and senators and investing in the dz.
A large sized dz makes a few thousand dollars a day... so times that by 5 weekdays, and then add in another 300 tandems on weekends plus about 32 loads of fun jumpers from a turbine aircraft and your dz has really taken a loss.
We dont know what the future has for us fun jumpers. Just because were skydiving today doesnt mean its going to be halted tomorrow. Remember, were getting ready to go to war. Help your dz out!!!!!
Good post craig!

[skybaby420 0]

"Take a moment now to invest in your skydiving future."
Great ideas, Kate! Many are hurting now, not only in the skydiving community, but the airline industry in general. Be happy if you have a job now, folks, but remember - Economy is really just a state of mind of the people as a whole.
Safe Swoops,
~Skybaby

[flyhi 24]

Quote

"Take a moment now to invest in your skydiving future."

Skybaby, couldn't agree with you more. Would like to pick up a couple of those things shown in your picture. Make those to go with nothing on them.
Oh how naughty of me. I deserve a good spanking for that. Go ahead and throw that in. Now, what's the bottom line?
Ooops, I've done it again.
flyhi