I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend! It turned out to be a great one here at Skydive Chicago. Three new students started AFP on Friday, two of which are getting their license in a week. Friday also marked the opening day of the Tiki hut and plenty of people were out and ready for the three-day weekend! The campground was packed with campers who were out for canoeing and skydiving.
I would like to remind people that ALL campers must register either with River Adventures or Skydive Chicago manifest. It is a private campground intended only for those who are out here to skydive or canoe. In addition, each camper is only allowed to have 3 guests. Every camper must fill out a waiver and be wearing a wristband during their entire stay.
I would also like to remind people that if they must bring their dogs on the property they are required to be on a leash! Furthermore, no dogs are allowed at the hangar or in the pond. We have a beach and bathing license for the pond area and if dogs are found in the pond it jeopardizes that license. Please respect the no dog requirement so that everyone can continue to enjoy the pond area.
Although it stormed all day Saturday, the weather broke late in the day, just in time for the Team Funnel fundraiser dinner (which was a great feast)! As the weather broke everyone had the pleasure of seeing a beautiful rainbow. For a while it was even a double rainbow.
Sunday and Monday turned out to be beautiful days, which more than made up for the gloomy weather on Saturday. We would like to thank Casey Wiggins for organizing the 16-way team that was training here this weekend!
I would like to congratulate Rick and Jeremy who both did their 100th jump this weekend! With both Otters back at home jumpers were able to enjoy short calls and stay in the air. We flew almost 40 loads on Sunday!
I would also like to remind everyone that when both Otters are flying there are no hop and pops and no high pulls, due to increased air traffic. There is also a higher volume of canopies in the air so it is important to be aware and use a left hand pattern. Be aware of other canopies on all sides of you: above, below, to the side, and behind! Also, lower canopies have the right away and it is important to observe the predetermined landing direction. If you are unsure which direction everyone is landing, ask before boarding the plane.
Monday turned out to be another gorgeous day and loads were going up until late in the day! The drawing for the Make-A-Wish raffle also happened on Monday. Thanks to everyone who bought tickets, placed bids in the silent auction, and otherwise helped out with the fundraiser.
The raffle included cash prizes of $250, $250, and $100, pack jobs from our local packers, and items from Q101. Team Funnel wants to thank Rook and Skydive Chicago for the generous donation of 10, 15, and 25 jump packages and a day of coaching with Rook for the auction. Thanks to everyone a total of $3,000 was raised to help fulfill a child’s wish!
Some of you know that we are taking steps towards becoming more energy efficient. The campground uses more energy than the rest of the property. I would like to ask those of you who have trailers out here to help us out too. Anything you can do to help will be much appreciated (and reflected in the campground rent prices). Simple things like keeping AC units on low when away for the day, opening windows on cool nights, and turning off lights that aren’t being used can greatly reduce energy usage! Thanks for your help in not only keeping the energy bills down, but also keeping the Earth’s resources around a little longer!
Don’t forget that every Wednesday around 6:30pm we will be grilling and playing Volleyball by the Tiki Hut. This past Wednesday was a blast!
This weekend, June 2nd-3rd, we will have one Otter at Skydive Chicago and will be sending the other to Sky Knights in East Troy, Wisconsin for the NSL meet, but we will have a Pac 750 here in its place.
Saturday we will also be doing night jumps! Signup early in manifest so we can get enough people together to send a load! Don’t forget that two night jumps are required to qualify for a “D” License.
June is going to be an exciting month with plenty going on for everyone! Thursday, June 7th – Sunday, June 10th is Project Horizon. There will be some cool sequential head down jumps going on. That same weekend, on Saturday, June 9th, there will be a VRW skills camp and the biannual New Wave Boogie. The New Wave Boogie will be hosted by SDC’s Chasing Amy and is for those with less than 300 jumps. Also, the next Swoop Club will take place on Sunday, June 10th. It’s going to be a great weekend, so don’t miss it!
Other upcoming events in June include organizing by Roger Ponce, high altitude jumps, water training (a “B” License requirement), and the 10-Way Iron Man meet! Check the calendar for details.
That’s all for now….
Erin |