Free Demos

[BillyVance 34]

And anybody wanting to do demos, reading through Airtwardo's posts in the Scary Stories thread in the history and trivia forum is required.

Awesome shit in there!

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[skycop 0]

When we had our "team" (two cops, the Flyin' PIGS") we did our demos for cost. We did jumps for non-profits and small local airshows. They paid our insurance and for our jump platform. We had written parameters for our demos. We never pushed those parameters to do a jump. I was lucky to have trained with a military team, they taught me that a demo is NOT a normal skydive.
Once we got into it I was able to procure a full demo rig (Startrac II, reserve and container) for free from a sponsor. Unfortunately Sept. 11th kinda did in our team. I had several military committments over the following years and my partner and I quit jumping. I still have the gear and hope to start again someday.
Demos can be done pro-bono as long as it's for a good cause and the jumper(s) have the right mindset.

"Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

[JohanW 0]

Quote

"pay" .. expressed in other than monetary considerations.

I would not say you did free demos, even if they were pro bono.

Johan.
I am. I think.

[jackwallace 3]

Money, shmoney. Beer, pizza and pussy. The only reason anyone does demos. Even got beer at a demo for AA!

U only make 2 jumps: the first one for some weird reason and the last one that you lived through. The rest are just filler.
scr 316

[billvon 3,009]

>Beer, pizza and pussy. The only reason anyone does demos.

At lost prairie one year they needed an AFF-JM for a few jumps. It was a woman who wanted to get off student status that week. I made two jumps with her to get her through levels 2 and 3. (Heck, free jumps, good looking woman, nothing else going on.)

Afterwards she came over and said "John said I should talk to you about how much to pay you, and give you the money directly."

"Well, in San Diego I get $25 a jump, but - are you going to be at the Lang demo?"

"Yeah."

"OK. I'm jumping in. Get me a beer and meet me in the landing area with it and we'll call it even."

"Really?"

"Yep, as long as you can get me that beer when I land."

So we did a 20 way over the Lang that evening, opened up and landed in the lower field. Just as we landed a woman came running down with a beer, handed it to me, said "thanks" and ran back up the hill. Mad John looked at me and said "OK von Novak, how the hell did you pull that one off?"