parabuteo

Im no fan of skyrides practices but htat was obviously a troll. Why do other jumpers get on here and pretend to be students??? That story makes no sense. First of all, why would a student who didnt jump months ago, be looking at this site now and just registered today?? Also that group has been operating at another airport up until the last couple of weeks so there is no way they would tell you to go to cedartown GA. They would have refered you to the new location near clarksville. Seriously guys, this kind of behavior makes us all look bad. You dont have to make up crap about DZ's to make skyride look bad. secondly, there is no way the TI's werent there. I know a couple of them and its ugly and disrespectful to get on here and make it look like they just didnt show up. Those guys are very committed and dependable. The staff travels together from out of state. If the place was open then TI's were on hand.

another piece to this puzzle is teaching them to stop tracking before deployment. If a student deploys while in this T position, then its not a big deal. If they are full out tracking, the student will probably be slightly head low and potentially hauling ass, which we all know could cause a fatally hard opening. I would prefer to teach them the right way, which is a all out track. But if a student gets caught up in it and forgets to stop briefly before deployment, has a hard opening and dies. Will people hold me responsible for that????? I say show them and have them practice it on their own. Just be sure to emphasize the stopping before deployment. have them dirt dive it to build muscle memory. Alot to think about...good question John

actually it looks like it is underneath a rain cloud. the lens is fogging some but you can still see that plane in the camera frame for hundreds of feet. If it was in the cloud you wouldnt be able to see the plane that long after the jumpers left it. but whatever.....just saying

sorry made it click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDPYqSaqCLc I think we should leave this to conversations about skyride.... not DZ antics or policies. Skydivers are the same at every DZ and every DZ has some skeletons and blemishes. I've seen DZ's charge for extra altitude at some other places as well. Ive even seen DZ's charge for people to watch skydivers land.... Skyride sucks......why dont we stick to that issue instead of allowing skyride to drive this sport to even a newer low. We are better than skyride, lets prove it. I think our hatred for skyride has blinded our love for this sport.

not a skyride fan but i have to say that starting a war between jumpers isnt going to help anyone. Posting things like those youtube links are detrimental to the sport and quite frankly extremely hipocritical. I think you could find similar videos from DZ's all over the US. I found one when i searched "skydive the farm tandem". I also found them from other DZ's. I even found one with the golden knights busting clouds. If a jumper miscalculates a hole and hits the edge of a cloud you shouldnt get on here and use it as mud. How does hurting that pilot effect skyride?? I feel people that do this kind of thing should be black balled from the sport. would you want a rat like that jumping at your DZ...would you??? I'm hesitant to post this link, but given the date and the fact that i actually feel a little sorry for the fellow jumpers being attacked in the previous post, I feel like defending them a little. Skyride can go suck it........but starting personal wars between jumpers is just bad karma. Sorry for posting this link but i feel its necessary to show as an example of how ugly this could get for the sport. I think there is little doubt that this is intentional disregard for cloud clearance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDPYqSaqCLc

I agree. It aggrevates me to death for someone to skimp on probably the most important part of your camera system. If you can put a expensive camera on your head then you should put a lens that will get you everything out of that camera. this is similar to what I see with people in the gun store. These people come in and by the most expensive/custom rifles and then turn around and by a cheap scope for it. They will never get the best out of that gun with a cheap scope. I would rather have more scope than rifle. Just like I would rather have more glass than camera.

i think you should write for southpark

I called their number recently and they tried to upsell me on a night tandem for 300 dollars. Can you believe that crap!!

true I havent been around long, and where i started jumping no one talked about skyride. I have researched it though and read through the majority of the stuff on here. I guess i was just really unimpressed with some of the attitudes of the posters. It made me a little skeptical about the reliability of some of the info. And as always there two sides too every story. Usually if you throw out the far left and the far right you will find the truth there in the middle. I think its true here too. I have researched the history of drug trafficing in this sport too. I dont believe I implied that all kinds of DZ's are in the drug business. I guess my answer to you is that I have researched it and why would you think or want my opinion to change? I already said I dont like skyride. People here seem to be looking right past what I write and just seeing what they want. Or is it that you want me to change my mind about the drug trafficing? Maybe thats it. People here seem to be ok with supporting and defending that behavior I just find it interesting that this gets so much attention and so much anger. Especially looking at the ethical past of the sport. Also its ethical present. There are DZ's that lie, steal, and engage in poor ethics every day. There are DZ's that downright endanger the lives of the jumpers! (some were mentioned a few pages back) Yet the skyride issue is the only one with a ongoing thread about it. Everything else wrong with the sport you guys find a way to justify. I just find this system of justification strange. Are you guys really concerned with ethics? Or has this become almost a cult like ban wagon? I dont believe its ethics. Not the way you guys pick and choose. Seems to me to be more of some kind of rivalry between competition And no I dont jump at one of thier dropzones. I have. But NOt regularly. I have also jumped at a drug money DZ. But i'm not the one supporting an initiative to stop either one. If I were on a ethical campaign though, I would have to boycot both. I guess i'm a outcast here because im not a hypocrite?

I second that dave. I enjoyed your participation and ability not too attack in a ignorant way. Lancefrazier....you are quite a card. very fun! as for some others......wellllll.......no comment I guess im going to maintain my position on the fence. When it comes to skydiving immorality...I'd say skyride got it honest. lol

lancefrazier it appears you are right about picking a side. Unfortuneatly I have to quote Val Kilmer. "My hypocrisy only goes so far" Johndh1 has chosen just to start attacking people again and take this thread back to a irrational place. A place where multiple view points cant be discussed. NO! its all satan skyride. If you dont agree 100 percent then you are wrong in every aspect. Very narrow minded johndh1..... I am interested in this beaver creek though? sounds fun. Is that like the bunny ranch? I'd like to shred that!!!

I choose to ingore those rebutals. they make no sense in relation to my comments. and I dont know you, so how can you know more than I think you know, if I've never thought about what you might know?

well in alot of ways i agree with you. I have to ask though. Does skyride owe a debt to society? Does it owe a debt to the sport? I would say its airplanes, new modern student gear, and its real locations are kind of paying the sport back. They have wronged some whuffos. I guess they could pay them back. thats the only debt I see them oweing. In no way should it equal that of drug trafficing. If you lost a loved one or multiple loved ones that got caught up in that lifestyle, you probably wouldnt feel the debt was repaid and it would take alot longer than a decade to blow over. If my loved one was ripped off 200 bucks It would blow over in about two too four weeks. Funny though that you said "a decade to blow over" was that meant as a pun? if you bring over blow for a decade then you have to give it a decade to blow over. lol peace, love, and herpes everyone

I have to say. This is one of the best discussions I've seen on this topic yet. Its actually addressing the real nature of the skyride issue, not just blasting attacks at individuals involved. Now as i've stated i'm not a advocate of the skyride system. But I side with lance on the issue of condeming the jumpers and staff at the skyride DZ's. Would you say that anyone that works at the "drug money" funded DZ's are accomplices to selling drugs or murder, or any violent crime that the drug business spawns. Believe me the drug business kills alot of people. Alot more than nonrefundable gift certificates. So I ask. Are the jumpers and staff members at those DZ's scum bags as well? There have been some awesome points from both sides made in the last couple of pages though. Like I said, i'm finally impressed with the quality of conversation in this thread. ( with exception of a few) Now i would like to address a previous post. Someone said that the difference in skyride and past criminal activity in this sport is the fact that skyride hurts skydivers and the previous activities did not. How in the world can you qualify this statement? Please explain how skyride is hurting skydivers and the sport of skydiving but illegally transporting drugs did not. I would love to hear a good answer for that. I would have to argue it the opposite way. The negative publicity of a skydiving operation being used to support a trade that promotes death and violence is way worse than the publicity of a fraudulent system of skydiving websites. You actually made the point yourself. Only skydivers know about skyride. Therefore its a internal conflict. Not a issue that the mass population of this country would give a shit about. However......drug trafficing thrust the world of skydiving head on into the headlights of the government, media, and general public. Skyride is an internal issue. It is confined within the walls of the sport. Its blemishes are only noticed by skydivers and a few ripped off whuffos. Drug trafficing is a blemish seen by the entire world especially the government. which I think we all agree is the biggest threat to our sport. Dont believe me????????? try this........ask any whuffo or government official what they think of when they think about skydiving and I guarantee you a high percentage will mention transporting drugs. Very few will say bogus gift certificates. Just think about it. Also, if you think skyride does more damage to our sport than drug trafficing. Then think about this......How many ripped off whuffos does it take to equal the price of one human life that was taken as a result of those drugs that were brought here by skydivers? Bogus gift certificates are worse than the lives torn apart and all the violent crime spawned from the effects of those drugs???? YOu cant seriously believe that? As a matter of fact the hell with this sport. Lets look beyond that. So what if skyride hurts the sport. Drug trafficing hurts our society, lives, and families. i would love to hear some other thoughts on how these two skydiving black eyes compare. The moderator was right. You cant compare child sex slave to gift certificates. Just like you cant compare gift certificates to drug trafficing. I think if you are going to boycott skyride DZ's and start huge threads on the internet about them on the basis of ethics..............Well hell, its only fair to boycott some other DZ's as well. will your ethics inspire a thread titled "what can we do about dirty bloodmoney DZ's" Now like I said I'm not supporting skyride. I dont like it. But I can not find enough hipocracy in my being to justify crucifying them and sparing others

well im not a skyride fan by any means, but this sport is and always has been rich in moraly questionable behavior. I found those hypothetical DZ scenarios kind of funny. I dont want to name names but I know that at least two of the biggest DZ's in this country got their start from example number 2. Which is ethically and legally way worse than what skyride does. Skyride is just the most current mass scandal going on in our sport. By no means is it the worst thing ever though. And those DZ's that got thier start with example 2......well look at them now. And nobody cares about thier past. The precedent has been set in this sport that crime does pay. It seems to me that skyride is just a product of its environment and is simply following a already proven plan for success in this sport. Dont get this confused as a skyride support post because it isnt. They are WRONG. Just be careful of the things you compare them too because you might be talking about your own DZ. There is a old saying I believe everyone has heard. If you live in a glass house.....buy alot of windex!