Here is an update on altitude chamber rides in California. Most of the information applies to other states and military bases as well. Maybe you could post this on your web page for other civilian skydivers wanting to do HALO jumps.
Beale Air Force Base near Sacramento is the only base doing altitude chamber testing in California as of June 2003. Edwards AFB is not doing them any more, so its going to be a long drive for Southern Californians.
It still costs $50 for the class. Sign up early since the classes fill up quickly! Many Air Force bases have stopped testing, forcing everyone - both civilian and military - into a limited number of chambers across the States.
Some advice for civilians going to Beale or probably any other military base for altitude testing:
I found that by calling the base ahead of time, most of them offer lodging for about 1/3 the price of staying downtown. You can drive your own car or rental on base and eat at the fast food restaurants found there. If Burger King is not your thing, then your base visitors pass will allow you to drive downtown to eat and then come back to your on-base motel room at your leisure. Another advantage is that you’ll be right next to where you need to be for training in the morning after an overnight stay. Taxi cabs often are held up by the gate guards for an hour+... with the meter ticking! It’s cheaper in your car, or in a rental.
How to get on-base lodging and a visitors pass:
First get your altitude training paperwork from the FAA. They can fax, email or snailmail it to you. Next, go to the base’s web site (any good web search engine will work) and look up the phone number for the on-base lodging. Give them a call a couple weeks in advance since its likely you’ll be talking to an answering machine. Beale’s motel reservation desk didn’t call me back for a couple days. Make sure you use the civilian phone number - the military has their own phone network with numbers you can’t reach from your home. The web page will list both types of numbers.
Tell person at the motel registration desk that you have FAA orders to report to the high altitude training center on base, and that you need overnight lodging. Make reservations as you would a normal motel - have your credit card ready.
The night before your chamber ride, drive to the main gate of the base and present your FAA altitude training schedule paperwork to the guard. It might be better to show up after normal day shift hours so they don’t have to hassle with calling the school. Tell them you need a visitors pass since you have training the next morning. Give them the name of the FAA person that authorized your training as your “sponsor.” You’ll need to show your drivers license (with picture ID) and proof of car insurance. Tell them you have reservations at the base motel - they can call the motel to verify your story if they want warm feelings about you. Get good directions and a base map. Air Force bases are HUGE, and its really easy to get lost in the dark.
Stuff to ask the guard:
Directions to the motel, directions to any restaurants that un-accompanied civilians can dine at, directions to the altitude chamber, Etc. You might want to ask as to what time the fast food places open for breakfast in the morning or bring some breakfast food with you. Have them mark the map with points of interest for you, since the maps they give out are pretty vague as to street names, building locations, Etc. Remember that stores, bars and non-fast food restaurants on base will need to see a military ID to let you in. Your visitors pass does not count.
When driving on base, stick to the speed limit and follow all traffic signs! The base Security Police don’t have much of a sense of humor.
I stayed in the Visiting Officers Quarters (VOQ) - little bungalows with private rooms with attached bath, mini-bar and fridge. The newer motel on base was much nicer (brand new) but the rooms were filled up at the time. A night at Beal AFB costs around $24.
When I did my chamber ride, I was the first one to class - most of the other students were delayed for an hour or two since the day-shift gate guard would not let them on base without a phone call authorization from the class instructor. 2 or 3 taxi cabs full of students sat in the main gate parking lot waiting, all with the meters running. It was an expensive trip for those guys!
If you want to save some more money, ask your class instructor if he/she will take you to the nearest chowhall for lunch (its an all day class). You can get a nice lunch for about 75 cents, but only if you are accompanied by an active duty military person. Otherwise, its a long drive to Burger King... again. Most of my class went to the chowhall and were not disappointed. Its all-you-can-eat.
Caveat: This was my personal experience, and there were no base security / terrorist alerts going on at the time. You might want to have a fallback plan if you get stopped at the main gate and they won’t let you on.
That’s about it!
Blue Skies,
Kevin McCoy
D-26752