“So I tried to book you into the “nice” hotel in town but… I ended up getting you a room in the local Knights Inn which I guess isn’t that bad, but it is where they house the recently released inmates from the Ohio State Correctional Facility.” The best part about this comment is that it was delivered with a completely straight face!

As it turns out, the State of Ohio hasn’t, as of yet, released any inmates that consider me the flavor of the week, but it is only Saturday… I’ve been coming to Ohio quite often over the last fourteen years, although it’s been to see my Daughter, not to fly skydivers. I can’t say that I’m much of a fan of the State per say, but I am quite a big fan of the DZ’s and the jumpers that can be found here.

Skydive Warren County is the third DZ that I’ve been to in Ohio, and like the two before it, it’s filled with a great group of people with a fun vibe. It’s the smallest of the operations I’ve flown for here, which from my standpoint is a good thing, for a very simple reason. Smaller Cessna DZ’s are always stoked when a turbine shows up, especially when it’s one of the newest PAC’s in the country, and I as the pilot am the ROCKSTAR that delivered the cool toys!

Not to say that I didn’t have a great time flying for Start Skydiving in Middletown Ohio, which is a turbine DZ. They have a great group of jumpers as well, both fun jumpers and staff alike, but its a group that is very use to their turbines, and even though the PAC is cool, it’s not a big change.

Regardless, if you find yourself in Ohio and have the itch to catch some air, there’s more than enough to choose from!

Kudos to all the drop zones that have donated their planes, time and efforts to Haiti relief work, and to USPA for initiating the effort.

From PR Newswire:

Skydiving centers across the country have found an unusual way to contribute to the Haiti relief effort – by using skydiving aircraft to transport food and medical supplies to the island.

“Jump aircraft are especially well-suited for these missions,” said Ed Scott, executive director of the U.S. Parachute Association (USPA). “Most have large cargo doors and are easily converted to carry cargo. Most can also take off and land on short and sometimes rough landing strips.”

Shortly after the earthquake, USPA e-mailed its affiliated skydiving centers that relief organizations and the U.S. government needed aircraft to bring supplies and personnel from around the U.S. to Florida for staging, as well as directly to Haiti.