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It’s the Final countdown (insert cheese 80s music theme). No really it’s the final countdown. We are less then one month away from opening day!
Don’t forget to dig your rigs out of the closet and get them over to Para-Concepts for a repack. March 19th around 6:00pm we will host Safety Day in the VIP Room. We are taking a slightly different approach this year and plan on making the seminar a little more interactive. Eat Up will be serving food and drinks so come out and blow some rust off.
Some of you have heard about the Haiti relief trips that we have been doing. I got a call from an old pilot of ours asking if I would be willing to donate the Otter. Having one Otter free I volunteered and off across the pond I was headed. We did a total of three flights carrying around 2 tons of goods. We carried everything from water, food, tents, tools, and medical supplies.
The first leg was a 350-mile hop to Exuma Bahamas and took around 2 hours depending on winds. After a short fuel stop in Exuma we departed for the 400-mile leg to Port-Au-Prince. There was a bit of traffic flying into Haiti and ATC had their hands full! The military had taken over the ATC for the airport so things ran smoothly into and out of the airport. With one runway and no taxiways this was quite a challenge with planes landing and departing every 2 minutes.
I was asked a few times what it was like flying into Port-au-Prince. The best answer I could give was, “It’s like watching a movie, a long movie, and then for 30 minutes you become part of the movie; a very surreal experience then you’re back on the couch for the flight home”.
Thanks to all the volunteers that helped load the Otter for the trips down and to AGAPA flights and Sunshine missionaries for the goods.
On the last trip to Haiti we hopped across to Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rico Boogie. Arriving a few days early Erin and I did the tourist thing for a few days including a tour of the Bacardi factory! Dave Schwartz met us there a few days later in 30EA. We settled in for what was going to be an exciting and fun-filled boogie.
Jason and Viviana had some difficulties with the local government when it came to hosting the boogie and were forced to move the location twice. They did a good job creating a DZ from an old overgrown airport. The best part was the location of the beach jumps! Unlike previous years where the beach was a 20-minute drive away and there was no transportation the new beach location was only 2 miles away from the DZ! The city arranged a trolley (a real trolley!) to bring people back to the DZ in a timely manner. It was cool because you could land on the beach, hang out, and when you were ready head back to the DZ to jump again.
Last year we ran short of aircraft and they brought in a 3rd Otter to handle the work. No calls were longer then 30 minutes and plenty of LO’s were on hand to get you in the air. They had free beer almost every night and the famous Rum night was a huge party. Thanks to Jason and Viviana for all there hard work and I look forward to next year.
We have been keeping Jerry and the Caravan busy while we were down in Puerto Rico with the Otters. Before that we had a month long contract at Skydive Temple. Now we are finishing up a 3-D IMAX skydiving movie in Sebastian. After seeing Avatar I can’t wait to see what a skydiving movie will look like. Next, we are sending him over to South Padre for a month long spring break tandem operation. I almost need more airplanes!
We are only a short week away from starting a DZ in South Padre. The DZ will offer beach landings on every skydive with a shuttle to the airport. Its primary target is Spring break tandems but experience jumpers are welcome anytime. Check out www.skydivespi.com for updates, directions, and more.
We have an exciting year planned and can’t wait to get started. If you have stored a vehicle or boat in the hangar they will need to be moved out by March 14th.
This year comes with new campground rules. If you are a campground resident or haven’t received a copy of the new guidelines please download the 2010 Campground Agreement and send it back before March 31st, 2010. You can scan and email it to Erin@skydivechicago.com; fax to 815-433-6806; mail it to: Ottawa Airport, Inc., 3215 E 1969th Rd, Ottawa, IL 61350; or drop it off in the office.
Rook Nelson
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