I know that ASC has been under the gun in the past because of some questionable business practices...that was then, this is now…get over it and move on. After leaving the active duty Air Force, I moved to Atlanta in November 05 and decided to get my AFF done. I researched other DZ’s in the area and decided on ASC simply because they had the most competitive price…bar-none. That also goes for tandem prices by the way. I couldn’t have made a better decision. I received top-notch instruction in every aspect…pre-jump and post-jump briefs…briefs after hours over a couple beers…simply excellent. As for sky-gods as somebody previously stated…I think you are bit mixed up, or maybe just intimated...may I suggest growing a sack? Yes, the dropzone is full of well-experienced, some professionally-rated skydivers but that in no way is apparent in their attitude. I never received the impression that anyone was better than me, or anyone else. On the contrary, everyone was willing to give advice and instruction if one was inquisitive enough. After AFF, I received awesome coaching, sometimes at no cost, from extremely talented individuals in belly and eventually freefly.
As for safety…the entire staff takes the safety of every individual skydiver (tandem, AFF and fun-jumper alike) as their #1 priority. If you are waiting around a while because they say the weather is not safe to jump, then you can rest assured that you will have operational arms and legs after you do your jump…plain and simple. Waiting is apart of skydiving…we all find it frustrating. Someone previous mentioned fatalities as an indicator of the DZ’s safety…I would suggest that person go and investigate those fatalities on this very website and find that the DZ was at no fault. There is only so much a DZ can do in the avenue of safety…it all our responsibility.
The fact that ASC is a busy dropzone on the weekends, especially in the summer months, is only a testament to how great a dropzone it absolutely is. The manifest runs like a well-oiled machine…you jump, get packed, get on the next load with ease. In spite of so many tandems, the manifest still makes the effort to look after their fun-jumpers and manages to fit them in a load even in the busiest of conditions. I’ve been living in England for the past 4 months and have jumped at various dropzones, to include Skydive Empuriabrava in Spain, arguably the best DZ in Europe. The ASC manifest, staff in general, aircraft, and facilities are of pristine quality. Quite frankly, I feel ASC is an amazing dropzone with an over abundance of highly motivated and talented skydivers who have managed to put the past behind them and continue to move forward professionally. It is easy to lash out at the best and try to discredit them and attack their integrity. What is not easy is to go through extreme hardship, rely on the friends around you, move on and continue to be the best at what you do and not lash back. That is the true definition of one’s character. I guess in laymen terms, don’t hate the playa, hate the game folks.
Can’t wait to come home and jump at ASC
