New Dropzone in Alabama!

If a new dz near Montgomery Alabama is of interest to you, please let us know. We have the means to have a turbine full-time if the interest exist.

If you are an instructor or Tandem master, let us know.

Thanks. Montgomery Skydiving Center

Who's in charge? They gonna be another AFF/tandem whore house or teach SL/IAD?

Wondering why they're looking for tandem masters? Could it be because some of theirs have been defecting to other DZ's? With their track record of borderline safe tandem jumping, I wouldn't be surprised.

Blue Skies Billy Vance

Billy, You can say what you want to about the business practices of ASC. I got nothing to do with advertising. I have kept my mouth shut and let you rant and rave and bitch and moan all you wanted to. But when you start talking about the safety of the student program, I got a LOT to say about THAT. I am an Instructor there and I can tell you the safety of the students there is as good as anywhere else. I have worked at Mullin's dz,Tullahoma, and Pell City dz. I think all of those places train their students safely. I also think that ASC does the same thing. I would not work there if it was not so. If you want to talk about the owners and their advertising practices I will not say a word. I got nothing to do with that part of the DZ, so it is not my place to argue with you about it. However, when you start saying the students are not safe, then THAT reflects on my reputation. I take great pains to make sure each and every student I work with is given the best and safest training I can. I think every other Instructor there does the same. If I thought otherwise, I would not work there. So please lay off that kind of talk. I have known you for a long time. I think you are a good person. I know you got a beef with the owners. That is your business, but if you start trying to make me and the other Instructors out as unsafe, you are very wrong. I am not hard to find. If you want to talk about this privately, you know how to find me. Fast Eddie Grantland Tandem Instructor AFF Instructor USPA S&TA

Eddie,

I understand where you're coming from regarding student safety. I did label ASC's tandem business as a whole as borderline safe, without thinking about individual tandem-masters. I know and believe you are one of the best tandem masters I have ever met, and ASC is lucky to have you. I know you would not jeopardize a student's safety by jumping in conditions considered unsafe for tandems - i.e. high winds, fading daylight, cloud cover, etc.

I have talked with a very experienced tandem master who used to jump at ASC, but doesn't anymore because of what he perceives as problems or accidents waiting to happen. He did not elaborate though, other than the size of ASC's landing zone, which is the smallest I have ever seen for a turbine DZ, plus the fact there's relatively few options in off-DZ landings. I've heard of AFF students being put out over cloud cover where the DZ was NOT visible and getting lost, and tandems going up and landing after sunset.

Anyway, back to the point, the ex-ASC tandem-master simply saw things he did not like, even though the money-earning was plentiful, and decided to do his tandems elsewhere where the safety margin is greater in his eyes.

I realize and I hope everyone realizes that most of my rantings have been based on word of mouth from other skydivers, and yes, I do bash ASC whenever I hear something they do that I don't like, mainly because they still have all of their web sites running, at least 2 dozen of them. I hope that some of my rants have at least put the spotlight on ASC to clean up their act somewhat, but there's still a ways to go.

That's all I'm going to say, but I'm sorry that I lumped you in with the rest of the staff because I know you are one of the best there is. I got in trouble last year on a similar rant where I blasted everyone who jumps and works there, and I went over the line then, like I just did again. My apologies.

Blue Skies Billy Vance

Bill come see us again at Skydive Atlanta!!