What can we do about Skyride?

[jlmiracle 7]

Its funny how all those that have defended or found no problems the practices of skyride/asc/ben/cary, have gone silent.

Beezy, I'm sorry you have to deal with all this but Chris is smiling down on you for doing all the right things!
Judy

Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

[jlmiracle 7]

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Chutingstar does run the student/coaching programs at ASC

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run the student/coaching school (through Chutingstar

really? I'm guessing you work for free then because all the credit card charges for the student reflect ASC and not Chutingstar. Why do you suppose that is? I dont expect you to answer since you have already posted publicly that you support everything Ben and Cary do. Pity.


J

Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

[chaoskitty 0]

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I guess what really kills me is the way that everyone band wagons on issues like this what I'd like is to hear from someone that actually got screwed by Skyride.

Well, Dan, there you have it. One guy from the boogie to raise funds for Chris's daughter, and six people last weekend.
Or would you like to hear directly from Chris's 2 yr old daughter? Shes talking quite a bit now.

Dan, youre my friend and I'm not upset with you, but you asked for proof of what you are supporting, and there you have it.

[Hooknswoop 19]

You cannot say you are not a part of ASC.

You cannot say you do not know what ASC is all about.

You are a part of it.

You know it.

You can try and justify anything to yourself, but if you are honest with yourself, you know what you should do.

You are a victim of ASC, just like all the others. It sucks to find out you are a part of something so awful. I’ve been there and walked away. Do the right thing.

Derek

[dbattman 0]

[kallend 2,026]

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I've got eye drops for you Mike if your vision is clouded. Maybe you need glasses. Don't worry the weather is supposed to clear up this weekend so your vision shouldn't be cloudy any more.

I guess what really kills me is the way that everyone band wagons on issues like this what I'd like is to hear from someone that actually got screwed by Skyride.

Everywhere I go people talk about the big evil ASC/ Skyride and the when I ask, the majority of those people have never been to the DZ, granted it's not 20 minutes from everwhere, but it ain't all that hard to find. Or the story was an "I heard yadda yadda yadda about yadda".

I can't say nuch for skyrides business practices/ethics, but I can say that ASC does run smoothly, and safely and I wouldn't trust anyone else with my rig beside Mike and his staff. It is my home DZ and I've been their for over 2 years. What I can say is that indoor, air conditioned packing kicks ass when it's 100 degrees out. The fact that they will fly the Otter with 6 or 7 people kicks ass. The parties kick ass, the people kick ass, the staff kicks ass. The owners let us do our thing and help out with bail. I'll say it again, SKYRIDE IS SEPARATE FROM ASC, SKYRIDE IS A BOOKING AGENCY, ASC IS A DROPZONE.

Even the Mafia runs some legitimate businesses. Your point is absurd.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[popsjumper 2]

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You cannot say you are not a part of ASC.

You cannot say you do not know what ASC is all about.

You are a part of it.

You know it.

You can try and justify anything to yourself, but if you are honest with yourself, you know what you should do.

You are a participant of ASC, just like all the others. It sucks to find out you are a part of something so awful. I’ve been there and walked away. Do the right thing.

Derek

Fixed it for you.

Give it up people, ASC supporters are not going to change anything....they LOVE THE MONEY and as long as there is AC'd packing they will stay and turn the blind eye....how can anyone who supports this BS be "cool"?

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[Greene 0]

The "chirping cricket" will soon be turned into a big bitting "pit bull"!

Just hoping the pit bites really hard !!!!

[shortyj 0]

I've made 1 jump so far and it was through them, I had a good experience. I went to a dz that was referred to me though. Why r they bad? Should I buy my next jump directly thru the dz?

Playtime is essential.

[sundevil777 102]

How much did you pay, were there extra 'fees', where did you jump?

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[winsor 236]

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Chutting Star....You know that I like you personally Mike...But how do you stand if this is true?

well mike just heard of this recently i think, past few days or so.

he also has a group membership at asc for chuting starr rigging loft. and i beleive he got that for advertising purposes. i dont think it was so that they have a "piggy back membership". although maybee group memberships should be reserved for dropzone's and not a rigging loft. but who knows, mike maybee wanted to show that he is part of uspa and supports them by being a group member. but i also think that asc should not be able to use it in any way.

i like mike personally too, he has clouded vision though, i would love to see him get out of there. then i could have my favorite rigger back. but untill then i will use other riggers.

Ron and Mark,

My primary focus is on providing high-quality rigging services to my customers and the customers of the ASC group of drop zones. I also manage the staff at Atlanta Skydiving Center and run the student/coaching school (through Chutingstar). It is my intention that everyone who walks through ASC's doors has the best experience of their lives...be it a first-time student, a whuffo just watching, a rigging customer, a visiting jumper or an everyday regular skydiver.

ASC is my skydiving home. It may be dysfunctional on several levels, but I'm not leaving all of my skydiving and work friends because of what Ben/Cary may/may not have done. My job is to make ASC's skydiving operation run smoothly and safely...and it does.

As for Chutingstar's USPA Group Membership, I have been told by my regional director that it is no longer valid (although he doesn't agree with that decision). Ed Scott and Glenn Bangs have not returned my phone calls all week to verify this or explain my options. I applied and was approved a group membership in April as Chutingstar does run the student/coaching programs at ASC...I am also the S&TA and wanted easy access to rating checks for our visiting jumpers and staff. The possiblility of ASC losing its group membership was discussed with Glenn Bangs beforehand as one of many reasons for Chutingstar to become a group member. I wanted to keep an established link between USPA and ASC's jumpers. We religously follow the ISP, membership and licensing of our jumpers. I don't see how taking that away from Chutingstar helps USPA (in its issues with Ben/Cary) in any manner.

I really hate posting here...so you may not hear from me for awhile. But I just wanted to reiterate why I do what I do since I've been slammed again...see you all in the gear and rigging forum.

Mike

From Tony Ross at rec.skydiving:

Actually, there was some more writing on the wall today, and I find that the
original rumour was somewhat in error, as well as incomplete.

"Ben Butler and Cary Quattrocchi had their individual USPA memberships
revoked effective immediately, as of 17 July 2005. In addition, the Chuting
Star Rigging Loft training facility, because of its association with ASC,
will also lose its GM effective 16 August 2005."

[bct110 0]

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ITS NOT MY JOB TO.

Im make the reservations( manager of reservations office) and work checkin window thats all.

So are you the one who tried to tell me "Skydive Nashville" was "just a bit down I-24"?

Bottom line: if you know what they do, and you still work for them, accept their certificates, or give them your money (yes funjumpers you)... then you support them and what they stand for. Take that away and there's no business and no issue.

[namgrunt 0]

got a question

putting aside the good and bad in this case
now that the owners have been kicked out of the uspa how will this effect the situation?
not throwing gas on the fire but if ben and carry just ignore uspa and carry on business how will this effect ASC .and the rigging loft .seams like the rigging loft is suffering the sins of the father type thing.

will this cure anything? help the sport?
I am only wanting info as this seams like a strange cure to a problem ,now uspa can do nothing else .


..

59 YEARS,OVERWEIGHT,BALDIND,X-GRUNT
LAST MIL. JUMP VIET-NAM(QUAN-TRI)
www.dzmemories.com

[marks 0]

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I am only wanting info as this seams like a strange cure to a problem ,now uspa can do nothing else .

i dont really think it is a cure. but it is uspa showing that they,"US" are not going to have this type of buissness associated with them/US.

i would like to hear from anyone who wants to be associated with a buissness that steals money from a dead mans fundraiser for his family and children.

and if everyone thinks that it is the "buissness practices" is why uspa pulled out, then you are blind to the many other things. and im sure more will be made public in the future just as the stealing of chris martins phone number, and the stealing of money from there family.

[nate_1979 9]

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.seams like the rigging loft is suffering the sins of the father type thing.
..

The rigging loft seems to be a big part of the operations at that dropzone according to posts above.. And it's the riggers choice to associate with "the father"

FGF #???
I miss the sky...
There are 10 types of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't.

[marks 0]

correct me if im wrong, but the FAA requires riggers to "conduct themselves ethically" i know the rigging loft is run on the up and up, but it is obvious that other things are not.

[namgrunt 0]

but now they cannot do anything(uspa) else.
its up to the courts .and the court knows little about skydiveing.
doen't get me wrong I an not defentind them but seams uspa used the nuclear option and now cannot do anything else,is this correct?

what can be done?
we the consumer has the final option to take our $$$ elsewhare.

..

59 YEARS,OVERWEIGHT,BALDIND,X-GRUNT
LAST MIL. JUMP VIET-NAM(QUAN-TRI)
www.dzmemories.com

[Hooknswoop 19]

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but now they cannot do anything(uspa) else.

They couldn't do anything before. This is the strongest action they could take. USPA has no authority.

Derek

[Sen.Blutarsky 0]

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USPA has no authority.

Well more significantly, USPA has both standing and funding.



Blutarsky 2008. No Prisoners!

[Hooknswoop 19]

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Well more significantly, USPA has both standing and funding.

Which will do nothing against Skyride. Revoking the GM was the strongest thing they could do. What else could they do if they were still a USPA GM DZ?

Derek

[Jimbo 0]

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its up to the courts .and the court knows little about skydiveing.

That's OK, this isn't a skydiving issue, it's a business issue.

-
Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

[bct110 0]

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correct me if im wrong, but the FAA requires riggers to "conduct themselves ethically" i know the rigging loft is run on the up and up, but it is obvious that other things are not.

Yes but they still profit off of the unethical and criminal business practices. Last I checked that was not legal.

It's a shame, I have heard he is a great rigger. Too bad his judgment is skewed by his friendships. But my parents always told me that the company you keep reflects on you. This is more than him suffering from ASC... he is PART of ASC. He might as well have just reached in the Martin families pockets himself. Just like I (and many others I know) have taken our business elsewhere... he could have too. But he chooses to stay. Until he wakes up and stops sticking his head in the sand, he won't get a penny of my money or a smidgen of my respect.

edit to say that the only real thing we can do is stop giving them our money. DZOs need to stop accepting certificates and upjumpers need to jump elsewhere. Geez the farm is right down the road and is a good DZ (and they would be a better DZ if Ben and Cary didn't try to screw with them every chance they get).

[chuckakers 425]

I've been watching all the hype over these SkyRide folks with much amusement. I too had contact with them when I owned a DZ. My response to them was the same as my advise to DZ's now.

The answer is as simple now as it was then - don't do business with them! As I understand it, SkyRide just markets tandem jumps performed by "partner DZ's" across the country via internet marketing.

If SkyRide has no DZ's to perform the jumps they sell, the problem goes away. SkyRide has no operational capabilities, so all the control rests with OUR industry operators.

I agree with most everyone that has posted here that SkyRide is not good for the sport or for the businesses that rely on us (skydivers) to make a profit.

If DZ's will simply stop honoring their certifictates, this issue becomes nothing more than a learning tool for DZO's who - like small business owners everywhere - are just trying to carve out a living in their respective industies.

my 2 cents,

Chuck

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Is there anything we, as a community, can do to shut this down before they cause lasting damage to the industry? Before the find a way to steal student business from the real dropzones and cause them to eventually shut down?

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[LoudDan 0]

So what about all the people that worked for Ben and Carey while this monster was being built? What do we do about them? I mean as independant contractors, by choosing to sork for ASC doesn't that implement them in this mess? I mean if you're gonna go, go all the way right.........

Just wondering about the popular opinion on this matter........I think it sucks about the whole phone number thing, and I think it sucks that people get charged fraudulently on their credit cards, I think a lot of things suck about the whole thing.

Coming soon to a bowl of Wheaties near you!!

[ChasingBlueSky 0]

And what of all the workers that lost money because of the practices of Skyride? Or how much money did the Martin Memorial Fund lose out on because of the phone number scam?

If you knew what was going on, as you now do, would you continue to work there? If anything they should be upset that the owners of Skyride have but their well-being and paycheck on the line so they can do what? Make a few bucks more? The workers at Enron or MCI didn't know what was going on, but the actions of those that ran the company had a negative effect by all working there.

_________________________________________
you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me....
I WILL fly again.....