Skydivers can now fly to Busselton from either Perth or Albany!

Currently there is a twice weekly passenger service available through Skywest on Fridays and Sundays. Information about this service is available at www.skywest.com.au or by contacting 1300 660 088.

In a nutshell, the answer is that it doesn’t really matter – just make sure you get at least one or the other!

For the few passengers that come and do a Tandem with us, and then decide against a DVD package of their jump, they almost always regret it! There is nothing quite like your first jump, and it’s a memory you are going to want to re-live again and again!

So here are the differences:

Handcam

Your Handcam DVD is filmed by your Tandem Master. While the two of you are sitting in the plane together, all hooked up and ready to go, your Tandem Master is getting ready to record the whole experience! We capture those great facial expressions as you are sitting in the door of the plane, as well as the entire freefall, parachute ride, and landing.

Freefall DVD

Your very own skydiving cameraman is given the job of recording your Freefall DVD. He will jump in the plane together with you and your Tandem Master and film the skydive from an external perspective. Your exit and freefall are all caught on film, and then your cameraman will fall away and open his own parachute, and be on the ground just in time to film your landing. No parachute footage is captured in this option.

Just pick whichever option suits your budget better! They are both awesome

Some level one AFF…

After another AFF course on Friday; Rob, Josh, Alex and Julian (one of our talented pilots!) completed their first jumps.  There were plenty of nervous faces on the ground, but everyone knew their training back-to-front, and were excited to get off the ground.

Alex was up first at 8:30am, and set the standard for the rest of the boys.

Julian was last to jump on the Sunday morning, and finished up with a very nice (unassisted) landing. We put the awesome canopy skills down to his experience in flying.

A few tandems…

Glenn, Kev and Rossco had some great fun with the tandems this weekend.  One standout was Allison, whose son’s bought her a gift voucher for her 60^th birthday.

Allison called us during the week wanting to ‘discuss the voucher,’ and ‘decide if she wanted to use it or not.’ Needless to say she was VERY nervous.

The funniest part was that the week leading up to the jump was probably the most nerve wracking for her, as she tried to overcome her fears, and get a good nights’ sleep!

When Allison arrived on Saturday morning she was amped up for the jump and ready to go! The jump was so much fun, and Glenn took the canopy ride down really easy so she could recover from the freefall and enjoy the ride.

A sunset 10 way attempt…

We were lucky enough to have a lot of experienced jumpers hanging out at the DZ over the weekend, and when Tony (our local LDO,) showed up, it was a great opportunity to attempt our first 10 way since Glenn and I took over Southern Skydivers last year.

After a briefing from Tony, the crew took off in our 2 aircraft and headed to altitude over Geographe Bay and Cape Naturaliste.

Right on sunset, Richard and Mal flew our aircraft in formation right over the DZ and released the 10 jumpers at 14,000ft.

Aussie, Tooky, Rossco and Swingles made up the base in no time. Then Andy, Glenn, Tony, Kevin, Scotty and Lushy swooped down to attempt the 10 way, but the base was falling too slow and just when the formation was almost complete it was time to track off.

A good excuse to do it all again another day

Southern Skydivers dedicated fun jump day was long overdue by the time it came around last month. Since Glenn and Amy took over the DZ 6 months ago, it has always been the plan to change the focus from a tandem DZ, to a fun jumping DZ. We invited all the local crew, our new students, and anyone from Perth who was keen to check out what’s been going on.

It was a huge turn out, and a full days jumping. There were also some huge achievements by a few students.
Rob finished his B license with a nice 5way with Tony, Tooky, Adam and Rossco. Angelica finished her A license (which she started in The Netherlands,) with a hop-and-pop. Adam also finished his B license, with a few nominated landings.

At the end of the day, over a few beers, we made a DVD of all of the jumps and had a bit of a laugh, but the funniest part was when we started getting calls from worried girlfriends / wives / mothers saying “is he STILL there? Tell that boy to come home right now!”

A special mention to Swingles, who couldn’t make it. We missed your spiderman underwear – sorry you weren’t there ☹

December 2010, Margaret River, South West WA – Southwest TripleXXXTreme brings together three local adventure tour operators, Dirty Detours Mountain Bike Adventures, Southern Skydivers and the Margaret River Climbing Co. in an ambitious collaboration which aims to increase the profile of adventure sports in the Margaret River region. Showcasing the Boranup forest, Wilyabrup sea-cliffs and a thrilling aerial overview of Geographe Bay this package of three activities rolled into one is a thrill seekers antidote to wine fatigue.

Traditionally famed as a wine producing region, Margaret River and its surrounds need to look further afield if the area is to continue to attract the tourist dollar. The people from Southwest TripleXXXTreme hope to help raise the profile of the area and to encourage people to stay longer and spend a little more time and money locally. By helping to expand tourism they also hope to shore up the argument against mining in the local area.

The three experiences on offer are Mountain Biking in the Boranup or Carters Road forests, Rock Climbing on the Wilyabrup Sea Cliffs and Skydiving over Geographe Bay / Busselton. These locations are all pristine examples of the variety and diversity to be found in the South West.

Mountain Biking: www.dirtydetours.com

Our half day XXXTreme mountain bike tour. The beauty of the south west is no secret but our routes and trail destinations are. Ride through Margaret River’s awesome forest scenery (if you want to stop for a look) – this tour is for experienced riders and those who prefer their scenery to be blurry. This is 90% technical single track mountain bike riding. Purpose built as a challenge for advanced riders. Steep, winding and technical, a frenzy of adrenaline and thrashing pedals.

Rock Climbing: www.margaretriverclimbingco.com.au

Do the half day XXXTreme rock climbing session and you will see why Rock Climbing is our real passion. There’s nothing we love more than sharing our local crag with adventures designed to challenge and exhilarate. Tackle vertical limestone cliffs of up to 40m, hug the rock and hang on by your fingertips… marvel at the dolphins frolicking in the waves below – there’s no way not to look down!

Skydiving: www.southernskydivers.com.au

Your XXXTreme experience will begin with a 20 minute scenic flight over Busselton and the spectacular Margaret River Region. From altitude you will have amazing views of Geographe Bay, the famous Busselton Jetty, Cape Naturaliste and the wineries beyond. Then it’s time for the door to open, and ready… set… GO! The biggest rush comes during freefall where you and your instructor will plummet toward the earth at 200km/hour. Spread your wings and do ‘the Superman’ and feel the adrenalin pumping!

Each of these activities is available separately, and more information (including pricing and online booking) is available through the margaretriver.com website, or the individual business websites above. However, when booked directly and taken as a bundle, you will also receive your exclusive, limited edition souvenir t-shirt. More info, pictures and feedback can be found at www.facebook.com/ridejumpclimb

Last weekend, Jake Bacchus (www.wisewine.com.au) arrived at the DZ totally pumped for his first ever jump. That kind of excitement is infectious.
I think it’s pretty much a given that every sane person who plans on jumping out of a perfectly good aeroplane will be feeling nervous. Jake was no exception, but we still couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.

Student Jake Bacchus

The weather decided that it didn’t want to play on Saturday, so on Sunday morning we were keen to get him off the ground.

Jake went over a final run through with Glenn, and then they were ready to go!

The ride to altitude was pretty nerve wracking, Jake said; “I think I went over the dive plan about 6 or 8 times!”

Once the door was open, and the Silver Bullet powered down, it was time for Jake to jump. Check in, check out, up, down, ARCH!

Everything went exactly to plan. Jake followed all of his instructions perfectly, pulled his own ripcord, and had a nice soft landing. He’s a natural ☺

Nice soft landing back at the DZ

Back at the hangar, there was a lot of back-slapping and high-fiving. Then it was time to train for Level 2… I can see an addiction forming already. Nice work Jake!

Michelle had absolutely no clue of the plans Adam had made for her, except that they were coming back to Southern Skydivers for another jump because she loved it the last time.

We had a huge crew of both Adam and Michelle’s family at the Drop Zone, and everyone had a hard time keeping the news to themselves.

After take-off, we lay out a huge banner on the landing area that said ‘MICHELLE WILL YOU MARRY ME?’ and waited until the Cessna 206 reached 10,000ft. Adam jumped first, followed by his daughter Jayme-Ellen and then Michelle.

We all had to try and calm Adam down as he paced around the landing area nervously waiting for Michelle’s turn to land. Michelle had already spotted the sign from 1,000ft, and was crying her eyes out when she landed. Adam got down on one knee – and she said “Yes!!”

Back at the hangar it was time for a few champas, and we watched the 3 video’s back on the big screen.

All the best in your future together – from The Crew at Southern Skydivers!

Last weekend we took the back-roads out to Wilyabrup for a climb, and bump into Mick from Margaret River Climbing Co (www.margaretriverclimbingco.com.au,) and he shows us the ropes (no pun intended!) For those who haven’t taken the plunge you should totally check it out. We saw Whales!

The Boys climbing at Wilyabrup

Since then we’ve joined forces with the crew at Dirty Detours (www.dirtydetours.com,) who know how to combine wine and adventure in a cocktail of good times and hard riding.

South West WA – the new capital of Adventure Touring in Aus!

She has graced the skies above Busselton Airfield for many many years, and flown our jump run 100’s of times, but all good things must come to an end. So naturally the boys decided that a ‘Farewell Sortie’ was in order.

Sunday was the day and we all made our way to the DZ for one last load. Is that a tear in Kevin’s eye?
Aussie was pilot, Amy in observation and Kevin, Glenn and Tooky jumping.

When she kicked into life, the drone of the engine could be heard from Bunbury (hmmm, maybe we won’t miss that part!) We reached 10k in record time, and the boys off-loaded for 1 last jump.

The last load on the Islander

A special mention to one of our Jump Pilots Wayno-O, who was devastated he missed the load. You snooze you lose Wayne!

With new management and ownership it’s been a case of in with the old, and in with the new. Taking a peice of WA Skydiving history, and smashing it together with brand new gear, some new crew and a lick of paint.

Glenn and Amy joined the team in September, together with long-time CI Aussie Power, and Tandem Masters Kev and Rossco. Robbie joined the team this week, giving us a combined total of over 25,000 skydives between us!

Here’s to Blue Skies over Busso!