‘Blue Sky Debentures’ Are Ideal for Those Who Like to Take a Plunge

When the Perris Valley Airport shut down its sky-diving operation in early June because of insurance problems, a band of parachuting enthusiasts jumped on an unusual idea to reopen the popular drop zone.

They decided to raise the capital needed to revive the Perris Valley Paracenter by selling $102,000 worth of “Blue Sky Debentures,” that are redeemable for altitude only.

This is the way it works: A qualified sky-diver who buys a $100 debenture from Perris Valley Skydiving Society Inc. will be able to redeem the security for $110 worth of parachuting, said Ralph Greer, a lawyer and member of the society, which is seeking nonprofit status. Sky-divers must also join the Perris Valley Skydiving Society, whose motto is “The Timorous May Stay At Home.”

The offbeat debenture idea took several weeks to win approval from the state Commissioner of Corporations. But in the meantime, society memberships sold so briskly (at $50 per year plus a $25 application fee) that the group thinks it won’t need to sell the debentures immediately, Greer said.

Funds from the nearly 500 members gave the group enough money to reopen the Perris Valley Paracenter on Aug. 3, and a survey of jumpers required by the Commissioner of Corporations has led the society to project that parachutists will spend $700,000 at the center in the next year, Greer said.

Greer said the group--through its structure as a mutual benefit association plus a system of “heavy-duty waivers”--is working to overcome the liability insurance problem, “which is really killing the sport.”

“Statistically, parachuting isn’t that dangerous,” he said. “It’s just spectacular when something does happen.”

When the Perris Valley Paracenter closed June 2, “you saw all these people walking around town going through withdrawal,” Greer said. “The thing is there aren’t that many places to jump and Perris was kind of a Mecca.”

But now, he added, “Perris Valley will fly again.”