As I mentioned last week, all my posts from July have gone bye bye. So I’m working on getting these back up – stat. Though, they’re going to be slightly different, as I’m having to re-write most of them, but for those of you that have kept up, it’ll give you a little bit of a different flavor!
Recently we took an impromptu trip out to Chicago to jump at Chicagoland Skydiving Center (CSC). The idea was sparked by a couple of aspects. 1) It had been a while since we traveled (more than a month…that’s way too long in my book) so the itch was coming on bad, and 2) to visit with Ms. Sydney!
Needless to say, the trip was more than a huge hit!
Upon arrival at the DZ, we were welcomed with open arms. Within the first 5 minutes in the hangar, the DZO approached us, let us know where we could stash our stuff for the weekend, gave us a tour of the facilities, and when we ended up in the North hanger, he even showed us his Velo that just about exploded the day before…14 broken likes, yikes!
Not only that, he organized our first couple freefly jumps together! Hello – a little sitfly action with not only the DZO, but an incredible freeflyer at that! Nice! (Too bad I didn’t realize my memory card was full, otherwise I’d have proof of these first couple jumps…oopsie)!
The hospitality didn’t stop there, we were treated to privelages that you just don’t come across when visiting most dropzones. It definitely left an impression on us.
What else we noticed was that the staff there is huge! They have plenty of people working the desks and enough tandem instructors to give students the ultimate experience – a personal one they will remember! We were even reognized by name, as Lisa at manifest knew ours before we knew hers! Good stuff.
We finished out the first day of jumping with an incredible sitfly with Carolyn, the DZOs wife. She’s got great energy in the sky – check out that smile plastered on her face! How can you not have fun with company like that?!
Sunday we were able to finish out the day with a fun freefly with a badass belly flyer chick. Yes, you heard that right! We sat her upright and threw her out of the plane 
.
The rolling train ended quick, but as you can see, this girl got skills, especially considering she hasn’t done a freefly in 3 years!
Beyond all that, everyone is just so nice. There are significantly more female jumpers than in the NE Ohio area, and the best part is that all of them are so friendly. The chicks stick together there, support one another – just as it should be!
And you can bet, if you’re just hanging around, someone is bound to come up and chat with you between loads…that’s just the atmosphere there. Very Midwest.
As you can tell, I have nothing but good things to say about this dropzone. They busted out more than 150 tandems in one day, flying only the otter, and they made it look easy. And though it’s a busy dropzone, it has the feel of a small community. Good stuff.
I can’t recommend this dropzone enough if you’re in the Chicago area! Hell, even if you’re not, jump in your car and take a road trip. You won’t be disappointed.
Blue ones!
Ashley
