I hope everyone survived the Holiday Season. We certainly enjoyed ourselves down in Sebastian.
We left Chicago on the 26th and without looking back we departed for Atlanta to meet up with Dave Schwartz. Dave has been a little bored during some of the weeks so both Dave and Karry were happy to see us. After the hugs were exchanged we headed into town for a quick bite to eat. I got to watch everyone drink a couple margaritas and then we headed off to Sebastian. 
We arrived in Sebastian just after dark and were greeted by some local jumpers who were excited to get the event started. We set up camp and headed over to the Zoo Bar the onsite bar / restaurant. After a few drinks we headed back to camp to get some rest after a long day of traveling.
The next day we woke up to blue skies and temps around the mid 80s. I have to be honest; it was nice to thaw out a little. Most of the SDC jumpers were quick to get registered and on the otter. Sebastian has to be one of the most scenic places to jump in the US. It’s located less then 1 mile from the intercostals. You can also see the NASA complex from altitude. It was a big change in pace from the cornfields that surround SDC. Of course I would rather land out in a cornfield then the ocean!! 
Congratulations to AFP student Steven Oliva. Steve visited us during the invasion and got in 4 AFP jumps! Not a bad way to spend a vacation. Steve also got to fly in the wind tunnel. This is a great tool for learning our sport. We will be returning to Sebastian next year and will offer AFP jumps during the invasion.
Speaking of tunnel trips during the invasion we were able to sneak in a few ourselves. Also, if anyone is interested in doing some tunnel time we have time available at the new Raeford tunnel in North Carolina. This is the biggest tunnel out there at 16.5 feet!! We have hour time slots for sale. You will be training along side Mandrin, the 2008 gold medalists of VRW. Tunnel camp dates are January 24-27, February 13-17, March 27-30, and May 8-11. If you are interested in doing some time please contact me rook@skydivechicago.com
VRW team Mandrin will make Skydive Chicago its training center this summer. What does this mean to you? Guaranteed weekday loads! The otter will fly no matter what! So come out and join us for some weekday loads! Camp dates are July 9-13, August 13-17, and September 3-7. We also have a second VRW team that will be training along side Mandrin. If you are interested in VRW and don’t know where to begin check out http://www.vrw4way.com/SDCMandrin4.doc 
OK, I got a little off subject but I think we all have a little ADD! The weather was great the first weekend of the invasion. Not to say I wasn’t one of them, but I think too many people hoped for a cloudy New Years day, because we got it along with five more days of bad weather! At least I got caught up on the 3rd season of LOST. That show reminds me of a run-on sentence.
SDC did another great job organizing the New Years party. We brought down a killer sound system, lights, and DJ gear. We had a line up of 5 great DJs that kept the music going until the wee hours of the morning. Thanks to Enzo who helped hang most of the lights and projector screen.
Special thanks to Jim, Lyle, Kim, Amanda, John and all the Sebastian staff for having another great event. I hope to get invited back!! 
Great news! While down in Florida I was asked to fly at the Puerto Rico freefall festival!! The boogie is from February 13-17. They have also asked me to fly one weekend before, and one weekend after the boogie!! So that would put the otter there from the 8th until the 25th of February!! In conversation with Jason, the DZO, they already have 90 people registered!! For DZ information check out http://www.xtremedivers.com/boogie.shtml. Here I thought I was going to have a relaxing, unwinding winter season. 
On our way home from the invasion boogie we dropped of N10EA at the paint shop in Mena, AK. Crider has painted all our otters and does a great job. For an interesting read check out http://www.apfn.org/apfn/count.htm and http://mena.pamrotella.com/ (Just a side note: I never want to get political on the updates so take the links as you will. I just get my planes painted there for a great price.) So come this spring we are going to have one fast, good-looking airplane! 
Before Picture I have some job openings at SDC for this upcoming season. We are looking for: grounds crew, marketing, and manifest. If you are interested please contact me to discuss this further.
SDC is reopening on March 15. We will be hosting a safety day on the 14th. It seems like a long time away but it’s really only two months! Make sure you plan your repacks so you are in date for opening day.
Rook |