FrancoR 0 #1 February 19, 2007 Hi, i want to take a little tour of Florida and do some Freeflying. Which DZ in Florida will be busy with Freelflyers during the week? Possibly even with some loadorganizing. I plan on taking the weekend of the Team Dirty Sanchez Come on I want to Lei You Luau boogie and add a few day before and after the weekend. For some wingsuiting i might visit Zephyrhills, is this Zephyrhills busy during the week? Thanks FrancoIf it does not cost anything you are the product. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andybilly 0 #2 February 19, 2007 I hope Z-Hills will be busy, I will be there with 5 others from the UK from 4th March - all Freeflying Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanEHdian 0 #3 February 19, 2007 Can't go wrong with Z-Hills... planes are always flying, you've got Chuck Blue for wingsuits & instruction and there's EC Freefly with John for excellent coaching and his wife Michelle for some fun load organizing - all around good people and none of the elitist/snobby attitude that unfortunately seems to be spreading in the freefly community. Cheers, AlTime's flying, and so am I... (69-way, 108-way and 138/142-way Freefly World Records) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 4 #4 February 20, 2007 QuoteI hope Z-Hills will be busy, I will be there with 5 others from the UK from 4th March - all Freeflying Just make sure you call ahead and tell the stinky freeflyers that you will be there and actually want to skydive with them. They are fantastic, and the organizing is free, but if you do not call ahead it's possible that you will only hear crickets near their team room. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FrancoR 0 #5 February 21, 2007 Ok, thanks for all the tips in here and as pm. Looks like i will start with Deland on Friday, move on to Sebastian for the weekend and then spend a day or two at z-hills. Now lets just hope i can get a brake from work. FrancoIf it does not cost anything you are the product. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chaoskitty 0 #6 February 21, 2007 Good luck with that. Last time I was in Deland I had a hard time finding freeflyers willing to jump with me. I hadn't been there before, so I was introducing myself to people in freefly suits and asking to jump with them.. and people just said no. I wasnt interrupting any team training.. and I dont totally suck either. Norman and Nicole Kent took pity on me (poor me.. ) and we made a kick ass jump.. but other than them, I found the hospitality seriously lacking. Maybe it was just a bad day at Deland but that was my experience. I hope yours is better. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites JGarcia 0 #7 February 22, 2007 QuoteI found the hospitality seriously lacking. I live 35 mins away from Skydive DeLand, but choose to drive 1.5 hrs. to Skydive Palatka, Sebastian, or Z-Hillz for the same reason. --JairoLow Profile, snag free helmet mount for your Sony X3000 action cam! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites FrancoR 0 #8 February 23, 2007 Wow, that's not what i wanted to hear. How is skydive space center in Titusville on a Friday? Busy or rather slow? FrancoIf it does not cost anything you are the product. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Bolas 5 #9 February 27, 2007 Deland's "vibe" get a bad rep sometimes. I used to tell people, "It's a great place for coaching, but your better bring your own people to jump with unless you like solos." The truth is the locals see so many people come for training/coaching and then they leave, never call, never write. Some do not speak English and/or really have no desire to be social so the locals tend to leave them alone. The poor things are just a li'l gun shy now. So if you go to Deland and don't make the initial contact, you're probably going to feel unwanted, but once you make the effort to show you're social and aren't just passing through, they will open up. If you do a coaching dive or two to show your skills and then the coach will hook you up with other jumpers and fun loads. Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites chaoskitty 0 #10 February 27, 2007 Thats a load of crap, Bolas. Its inexcusable for fun jumpers to turn away other fun jumpers because they're visitors and not locals. Nobody should have to pay for coaching to prove that theyre good enough to jump at a drop zone. I'd like for some Deland locals to come to a drop zone in Georgia and see how we treat visitors... with hosptiality. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites RkyMtnHigh 0 #11 February 27, 2007 When I transitioned from Colorado to Florida, I found that all Florida dz's were freefly friendly...I didn't have a problem at Deland, Zhills, Sebastian nor the smaller ones. In fact, I spent most of my time at Deland and Zhills...they referred to me as the girl who was the new "plant"...I loved them both. I honestly think that as far as Deland and Zhills goes that they are both used to such volume of teams and new faces that for them to "bond" with you, you need to stick around and be a consistent face around their dz..otherwise you're just a passerby. _________________________________________ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Bolas 5 #12 February 27, 2007 QuoteThats a load of crap, Bolas. Its inexcusable for fun jumpers to turn away other fun jumpers because they're visitors and not locals. Nobody should have to pay for coaching to prove that theyre good enough to jump at a drop zone. I'd like for some Deland locals to come to a drop zone in Georgia and see how we treat visitors... with hosptiality. The people doing the coaching at Deland are generally professional full time skydivers, not weekend jumpers like most of Georgia. They are not the Deland fun jumpers, but they do occasionally organize for them. It's similar to a tandem factory DZ. The local fun jumpers tend to not bother getting to know a new jumper until they come back once or twice or hang around after dark. I know I'll sometimes talk to tandem students a little and ask if they had fun and if they'll try it again, but unless they stick around after they've gotten their certificate and video it's just pleasantries. You don't have to pay for coaching to jump with the fun jumpers, but you may have to "prove" yourself to get on the bigger organized loads which really isn't that uncommon.Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites RkyMtnHigh 0 #13 February 27, 2007 Luv ya Bolas but I pretty much lived there at Deland for a year or so and the instructors were not transient...they were locals and were really good at whatever discipline you wanted to work on. I was very pleased with the coaching I received there, especially Scott Miller's canopy control course which I had with Jimmy Trantor. When I told jumpers that I was planning to go there and even after I went there and told others that I enjoyed my time there, others thought it was a snobby place...my experience was quite different. They have been very friendly and accomodating with me every time I've been there over the past 3 years. I've never had a problem finding people to jump with no matter how many jumps I had in freeflying or on my belly or tracking or wingsuits, etc...I always found some people to jump with without "having to prove myself". I've heard the complaint that Deland caters to teams but their experience was more than 3 yrs ago..so perhaps they have changed things around there since I started going there. _________________________________________ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Bolas 5 #14 February 27, 2007 QuoteLuv ya Bolas but I pretty much lived there at Deland for a year or so and the instructors were not transient... I totally agree with you: QuoteThe people doing the coaching at Deland are generally professional full time skydivers Oh, and... ditto. Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites chaoskitty 0 #15 February 27, 2007 Hey I'll go back to Deland to jump.. I'll just bring my own people to jump with. And if I ever see any of the fun jumpers (read: NOT staff) who so politely snubbed a visitor, I'll be sure and invite them on a skydive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites skymama 37 #16 February 27, 2007 I'm finding these comments very interesting to read since I've called DeLand my home dz for 6 years now. I can tell you, if it was a snobby, unfriendly place, I certainly wouldn't hang around there. Bolas is right about so many people coming through there that if you don't let people know that you want to jump with the locals, then we won't know. A lot of people come in groups, some come for freefly, Skydive U or canopy coaching, for team training, for tandems, just to hang out, etc., so if you don't say anything we just don't know you are interested in jumping with us. If you want to find the freefliers, look in the packing hangar or out in the packing tent. You also have to remember that there are many dz's within 2 hours of DeLand, so sometimes you might find that there are fun jumpers missing because they've decided to go as a group to visit another dz for the day or for a swoop comp. Finally, it's not just DeLand. I've gone to other dz's in FL where none of the locals approached me and I wouldn't have had anyone to jump with if I hadn't been meeting people there. I'll jump with anyone, dz.commer Lindsey even had me doing belly jumps 2 weeks ago!She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man, because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites FrancoR 0 #17 February 28, 2007 Ok, looks like i will be heading to DeLand. Now all i have to worry about is the weather and work. The weather really doesn't look so good. FrancoIf it does not cost anything you are the product. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites skymama 37 #18 February 28, 2007 Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about an isolated storm of 30%, we get that every day in the summer and it usually doesn't last very long. Rarely does it ever rain all day. I can't get away to jump on a weekday, but I hope you have fun!She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man, because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
JGarcia 0 #7 February 22, 2007 QuoteI found the hospitality seriously lacking. I live 35 mins away from Skydive DeLand, but choose to drive 1.5 hrs. to Skydive Palatka, Sebastian, or Z-Hillz for the same reason. --JairoLow Profile, snag free helmet mount for your Sony X3000 action cam! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FrancoR 0 #8 February 23, 2007 Wow, that's not what i wanted to hear. How is skydive space center in Titusville on a Friday? Busy or rather slow? FrancoIf it does not cost anything you are the product. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bolas 5 #9 February 27, 2007 Deland's "vibe" get a bad rep sometimes. I used to tell people, "It's a great place for coaching, but your better bring your own people to jump with unless you like solos." The truth is the locals see so many people come for training/coaching and then they leave, never call, never write. Some do not speak English and/or really have no desire to be social so the locals tend to leave them alone. The poor things are just a li'l gun shy now. So if you go to Deland and don't make the initial contact, you're probably going to feel unwanted, but once you make the effort to show you're social and aren't just passing through, they will open up. If you do a coaching dive or two to show your skills and then the coach will hook you up with other jumpers and fun loads. Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chaoskitty 0 #10 February 27, 2007 Thats a load of crap, Bolas. Its inexcusable for fun jumpers to turn away other fun jumpers because they're visitors and not locals. Nobody should have to pay for coaching to prove that theyre good enough to jump at a drop zone. I'd like for some Deland locals to come to a drop zone in Georgia and see how we treat visitors... with hosptiality. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RkyMtnHigh 0 #11 February 27, 2007 When I transitioned from Colorado to Florida, I found that all Florida dz's were freefly friendly...I didn't have a problem at Deland, Zhills, Sebastian nor the smaller ones. In fact, I spent most of my time at Deland and Zhills...they referred to me as the girl who was the new "plant"...I loved them both. I honestly think that as far as Deland and Zhills goes that they are both used to such volume of teams and new faces that for them to "bond" with you, you need to stick around and be a consistent face around their dz..otherwise you're just a passerby. _________________________________________ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bolas 5 #12 February 27, 2007 QuoteThats a load of crap, Bolas. Its inexcusable for fun jumpers to turn away other fun jumpers because they're visitors and not locals. Nobody should have to pay for coaching to prove that theyre good enough to jump at a drop zone. I'd like for some Deland locals to come to a drop zone in Georgia and see how we treat visitors... with hosptiality. The people doing the coaching at Deland are generally professional full time skydivers, not weekend jumpers like most of Georgia. They are not the Deland fun jumpers, but they do occasionally organize for them. It's similar to a tandem factory DZ. The local fun jumpers tend to not bother getting to know a new jumper until they come back once or twice or hang around after dark. I know I'll sometimes talk to tandem students a little and ask if they had fun and if they'll try it again, but unless they stick around after they've gotten their certificate and video it's just pleasantries. You don't have to pay for coaching to jump with the fun jumpers, but you may have to "prove" yourself to get on the bigger organized loads which really isn't that uncommon.Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RkyMtnHigh 0 #13 February 27, 2007 Luv ya Bolas but I pretty much lived there at Deland for a year or so and the instructors were not transient...they were locals and were really good at whatever discipline you wanted to work on. I was very pleased with the coaching I received there, especially Scott Miller's canopy control course which I had with Jimmy Trantor. When I told jumpers that I was planning to go there and even after I went there and told others that I enjoyed my time there, others thought it was a snobby place...my experience was quite different. They have been very friendly and accomodating with me every time I've been there over the past 3 years. I've never had a problem finding people to jump with no matter how many jumps I had in freeflying or on my belly or tracking or wingsuits, etc...I always found some people to jump with without "having to prove myself". I've heard the complaint that Deland caters to teams but their experience was more than 3 yrs ago..so perhaps they have changed things around there since I started going there. _________________________________________ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bolas 5 #14 February 27, 2007 QuoteLuv ya Bolas but I pretty much lived there at Deland for a year or so and the instructors were not transient... I totally agree with you: QuoteThe people doing the coaching at Deland are generally professional full time skydivers Oh, and... ditto. Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chaoskitty 0 #15 February 27, 2007 Hey I'll go back to Deland to jump.. I'll just bring my own people to jump with. And if I ever see any of the fun jumpers (read: NOT staff) who so politely snubbed a visitor, I'll be sure and invite them on a skydive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 37 #16 February 27, 2007 I'm finding these comments very interesting to read since I've called DeLand my home dz for 6 years now. I can tell you, if it was a snobby, unfriendly place, I certainly wouldn't hang around there. Bolas is right about so many people coming through there that if you don't let people know that you want to jump with the locals, then we won't know. A lot of people come in groups, some come for freefly, Skydive U or canopy coaching, for team training, for tandems, just to hang out, etc., so if you don't say anything we just don't know you are interested in jumping with us. If you want to find the freefliers, look in the packing hangar or out in the packing tent. You also have to remember that there are many dz's within 2 hours of DeLand, so sometimes you might find that there are fun jumpers missing because they've decided to go as a group to visit another dz for the day or for a swoop comp. Finally, it's not just DeLand. I've gone to other dz's in FL where none of the locals approached me and I wouldn't have had anyone to jump with if I hadn't been meeting people there. I'll jump with anyone, dz.commer Lindsey even had me doing belly jumps 2 weeks ago!She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man, because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FrancoR 0 #17 February 28, 2007 Ok, looks like i will be heading to DeLand. Now all i have to worry about is the weather and work. The weather really doesn't look so good. FrancoIf it does not cost anything you are the product. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 37 #18 February 28, 2007 Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about an isolated storm of 30%, we get that every day in the summer and it usually doesn't last very long. Rarely does it ever rain all day. I can't get away to jump on a weekday, but I hope you have fun!She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man, because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
