Planning to go skydiving for my birthday

[Poison]

Need advice from the great CP oracle.

Planning on doing my first skydiving experience in late July for my birthday and need advice on which one near Calgary is the best.

I know of one that doesnt have the greatest track record and one thats pretty good but have no idea which is which.

Any suggestions? Also is there a course or anything i need to take ahead of time? Any websites i could be directed to?

Thanks all.

[CaptainCrunch]

I think going from memory that it was the skydiving ranch that had a terrible safety record and tried to cover up one death. But I don't think its even in business anymore.

You really want to check the safety records of both the schools and instructors if you can. You can even ask the schools for references if your unsure.

Are you planning on solo or tandom?

Personally, I learned to jump out of planes in the military, then after searching far and wide I found a really good school in Medicine Hat. As a side note, I've heard good things about Vertical Extreme, but have never used them as I had to stop jumping about 5 years ago.

If you're doing a tandem jump, you get about a half hour briefing, when you jump you go from about 10,000 feet.

If you want to do a single jump, usually its a 2 to 3 hour ground school, your first jump is from about 10,000 feet and the instructor pulls your chute for you as you leave the plane so there's no free fall.

I do have a great video of my first civilian jump where I totally mis judged my turn into the wind and end up eating about 20 feet of dirt.

[Poison]

Thanks CC, is this Vertical Extreme place youve heard of near Calgary?

Tandem jump is when youre hooked onto someone else is it now? Im assuming your intructor?

Really new to all this, so if the questions are dumb, my bad.

[REDVAN]

Originally Posted by Poison

Need advice from the great CP oracle.

Planning on doing my first skydiving experience in late July for my birthday and need advice on which one near Calgary is the best.

I know of one that doesnt have the greatest track record and one thats pretty good but have no idea which is which.

Any suggestions? Also is there a course or anything i need to take ahead of time? Any websites i could be directed to?

Thanks all.

Don't forget to pull the chute.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Poison

Thanks CC, is this Vertical Extreme place youve heard of near Calgary?

Tandem jump is when youre hooked onto someone else is it now? Im assuming your intructor?

Really new to all this, so if the questions are dumb, my bad.

Vertical extreme is in Calgary, but they do jump tours of all of the major southern alberta cities.

Yes, a Tandem jump is when your strapped to the instructor. For first time instructors the advantage is that there is about 6000 feet of free fall before he deploys the chute. Then they let you use the chute toggles to steer yourself to the ground.

the advantage for a first timer is that you get a feel for skydiving with an expert right with you. And you get the free fall time which is very cool.

The disadvantage is that your strapped ass to groin to a dude usually, so if he gets excited by the jump if can be awkward.

If you skip the tandem jump and go solo, you won't get the free fall on the first few jumps. The instructor basically grabs your pilot chute and when you jump or let go of the plane the chute deploys right away. Its a longer experience and your instructed through radio on your landing. Its more independant and to me a little more calm.

You also if your jumping from a small plane get to climb out on the strut which really tests your bravery.

No questions are dumb questions.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by REDVAN

Don't forget to pull the chute.

First time out whether its tandem or solo, you really don't need to worry about that unless your primary fails. However if your falling from 10,000 feet its unlikely that you'll really have a chance to deploy the secondary chute, and if you do, it just covers up the splatter.

[Regulator75]

Try to get a hot chick as your tandem jumper.

[Bigtime]

Is the Skydiving Ranch still open in Beiseker?

That was always a fun mix, me sending students on their first solo flights and novice jumpers floating down towards the airport! Throw the jump plane into the mix, practically nosediving from 10,000' to get on the ground ASAP and it was never a dull moment out there.

[CaptainCrunch]

I think their open, but they've had a questionable track record. they had at least two pretty high profile f%%k ups.

They might have changed, but I'd definately investigate them and their certifications before I would use them.

[Bigtime]

If I'd ever consider jumping out of a perfectly good airplane the Beiseker place is the last spot I would go to.

I'm just glad I wasn't flying around there when they had their fatalities, would not have been a pretty site.

[moncton golden flames]

i went with the canadian skydiving centre about 8 years ago, great experience.

http://maps.google.ca/maps/place?hl=...29505663913783

[Northendzone]

i have never jumped, but does guys really pull wood when jumping?

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

i have never jumped, but does guys really pull wood when jumping?

Man, the first time you jump, you don't even really remember the first part of it until your chute opens, you pull the toggles and count the cells on the chute. Then things slow down.

If your going to pop wood, its going to happen once your allowed to do free fall.

[VladtheImpaler]

For what it's worth, one of my better friends is former airborne (maybe knows CC?), has done many jumps before butchering his knees, and he says that you should stay away from Beiseker unless you have a death-wish. He reports that they are quite shoddy when it comes to detail...

[Ozy_Flame]

I don't think you can jump solo your first time, can you? I know in New Zealand you have to have at least 12 jumps (I think) with an instructor before you can go solo. Canada might be differnet though.

[Poison]

Reading on it it seems you can jump solo but they pull your chute for you right away, so no free falling.
Ill go tandem anyway, who knows how im going to react with my b**ls in my throat.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

For what it's worth, one of my better friends is former airborne (maybe knows CC?), has done many jumps before butchering his knees, and he says that you should stay away from Beiseker unless you have a death-wish. He reports that they are quite shoddy when it comes to detail...

Yeah, my knee's are pretty much gone, and the landing impact got to be extremely painful after a while which took the fun out of it. There's a real science to landing. All it takes is one really wrong landing where you mis judge the wind direction that can completely mess you up.

Beiseker had a really bad reputation I was invited out there once and I refused. I didn't trust them to pack cutes, and they wouldn't allow me to pack my own. Plus their attempt to cover up one death gave me the wiggins.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

I don't think you can jump solo your first time, can you? I know in New Zealand you have to have at least 12 jumps (I think) with an instructor before you can go solo. Canada might be differnet though.

It used to be that you could go and take solo ground school and not do tandem jumping. The solo ground school was much more indepth, and they covered everything from leaving the plane (Crawling onto the strut), to controlling the shoot to landing. You were always in radio contact with a ground guide. The first dozen jumps were usually from 10 thousand feet. Your first long free fall jump was usually tandem so you would know where the deployment limitations were, and how to use your altimeter.

I've never done a tandem jump in my life and I wasn't really interested in doing one.

When I was in the military we usually just walked off of the plane and let the line deploy the chute. There was something about in civillian jumping about the instructor laying across the strut with a handfull of shoot while you grabbed the wing strut, stepped on the landing wheel, and hand over hand crawled away from the body of the plane. Waited for the instructors signal and let go.

Plus as a larger guy, I was usually the one that had to lean out of the plane to check the wind, and I would be the first one out the door.

I remember the first time I went to Med Hat, and I hit the ground and dragged and heard screaming over the radio. One girl had crawled out on the wong and wanted to be let back in the plane, which they don't allow. She refused to let go. The instructor held a conversation with her for about 5 minutes and she finally let go and missed the drop zone by a good 10 kms and landed in a farmers field.

It was her last jump.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Poison

Reading on it it seems you can jump solo but they pull your chute for you right away, so no free falling.
Ill go tandem anyway, who knows how im going to react with my b**ls in my throat.

If you have any fear of the process, then by all means your first jump should be tandem.

Once you get used to what happens, you can go back and do a solo if they allow it.

[stang]

On average how much does it cost?