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Dropzone Database: North America: United States: Florida : Skydive Palatka : Reviews

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has contributed 17 reviews

Review Summary: Average Rating: Total Reviews: 17 Write a Review Show: All Ratings 5 Star Rated 4 Star Rated 3 Star Rated 2 Star Rated 1 Star Rated Sort by: Newest First Highest Rating First Most Useful First Display: 10 25 50 100

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(Review ID:5146)

2 of 18 people found the following review helpful: Best DZ around! Rated by: jpw2o05 on 2009-05-31 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Skydive Palatka   Pros: The jumpers, the staff, everything. Cons: Nothing.

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

I spent a year in this area and spent almost every weekend at Skydive Palatka. Everyone is very friendly, the staff has plenty of AFF instructors, coaches, videographers, TMs. Awesome atmosphere. If you want to do big way RW's, there's always a crew there welcoming all experience levels. Same goes with freeflyers and they have a lot of wingsuiters. There is always a boogie coming up or some event. Definitely worth checking out!

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(Review ID:4990)

0 of 12 people found the following review helpful: Thumbs up to Skydive Palatka Rated by: JarheadNYC on 2009-02-28 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Skydive Palatka   Pros: Friendly staff & great people Cons: Wish they had a more items to sell

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

Left NYC to go down to Palatka, Florida to get my AFF. The staff were awesome and very professional. Even with two days of bad weather I completed my AFF and were jumping with the local falling gators. Art the owner and his staff made me feel right at home. I always had my rig packed, gear available, & coaches willing to assist me on free fall & tricks. Eveyone was great locals giving me tips on freestyle exits and offering to take me to the Orlando wind tunnel to work on my stability. Overall I had the time of my life. I even had my own call sign one of the pilots used to shout over the air "Yankee in the air" everytime I exited the plane. Overall great staff & great times at Palatka I will make the trip again with friends that what to do AFF! The prices were also great for AFF, and jump tickets.

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(Review ID:4983)

6 of 16 people found the following review helpful: A fun turbine DZ with a friendly crowd Rated by: ryan_d_sucks on 2009-02-19 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Skydive Palatka   Pros: Awesome people, nice plane, great facilities, tons of open space on the airport Cons: Its 10 hours away from me.

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

I made the 10 hour trip down to Skydive Palatka completely alone. I was scared the trip could turn out to be a total bust since I didn't know anyone at all at the DZ. However, I was wrong! Upon getting out of my car and walking towards the packing area I was told to get my rig out and get on a load! I literally got straight out of my car and into the plane!

The people at Skydive Palatka are awesome. In my few days on the DZ I met tons of cool people, made some really fun jumps, and found a DZ I would love to visit again and again. I met people of all backgrounds and ages, including those barely old enough to jump to those with triple digit D-numbers.

There was all sorts of jumping going on-- bigways, RW, freeflying, wingsuiting, etc. Everyone was super friendly and willing to jump with me. A jumper of any discipline could find someone to jump with.

The facilities are great, especially the shower. The Caravan holds a good number of jumpers, and gets to 13.5 pretty quick. I have absolutely no complaints, and I'm positive that I would be a much better skydiver if I jumped here all the time.

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(Review ID:4554)

0 of 12 people found the following review helpful: Great DZ! Rated by: millertimeunc on 2008-06-03 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Skydive Palatka   Pros: Too many to list Cons: Packing area gets crowded sometimes

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

I came to Palatka for the first time in January. After having jumped there for several months and a couple times at a few other Florida DZ's, I can say I'm much happier jumping at Palatka than anywhere else. No matter what your discipline of choice, there is always someone to jump with. Facilities include HOT showers, camping areas, and plenty of dining options within a 5 minute drive. For those interested in flying instead of falling, there is also a growing wingsuit following at Palatka.
Art definitely takes care of anyone jumping at his DZ, student or fun-jumper. Very safety-minded. The main landing area is a little tight, but there is a much larger landing area a short walk away. If you're a UF student and want to learn to skydive, coming to Palatka is a no-brainer as members of the UF skydive club get all sorts of benefits. Makes me wish I were back in college again...

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(Review ID:4249)

2 of 12 people found the following review helpful: Awsom DZ with great attitude. Rated by: RedSyphon on 2007-11-27 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Skydive Palatka   Pros: Great place to jump! Cons: Almost none

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

Just off my AFF training and this DZ has been great. I haven't once felt uncomfortable while jumping here. The people are always friendly and welcome new faces at any time. The DZ just makes you feel like your at a second home and part of the family all around. This is a DZ that you can goto and have fun both on the ground and in the air even after the sun goes down.

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(Review ID:4247)

2 of 12 people found the following review helpful: These people are fantastic! Rated by: wordstunne on 2007-11-26 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Skydive Palatka   Pros: Great vibe, nice people, professional, superb service Cons: None

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

During my Thanksgiving weekend, I was able to squeeze in a couple of jumps and chose Skydive Palatka. These people were fantastic! I was manifested quickly, the provided a rig immediately (they had plenty to rent) and I was off! The prices were also very low, too. I can't wait to go back!

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(Review ID:3420)

0 of 8 people found the following review helpful: Best DZ In Florida! Rated by: camgon on 2007-03-05 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Skydive Palatka   Pros: Great people and plenty of loads year round Cons: Sometimes not enough packing area

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

Skydive Palatka is an excellent DZ! Everyone is extremely nice, and they are always getting loads up, at least 15 or so a day, even during the summer season.

There are no cliques and you are always invited into organized jumps, no matter what your experience level. Whether you want to do RW, freefly, wingsuit, and anything in between, it's all there!

The only downside is on really busy days it's sometimes difficult to find some space to pack. You'll have to wait till someone is done. Also when the wind is from the west, it's a bitch to pack: although the packing area is roofed, it is not enclosed on 3 sides, so excessive wind can be aggravating while packing.

Art, the DZO, is a great skydiver, rigger, and overall just a cool guy. He is the type of guy that runs the DZ, not for profit, but for the love of skydiving.

Had a cutaway? Don't worry, because unless he's up to his neck with tandems, Art will have your reserve repacked by the end of the day.

If your a University of Florida student, you receive great benefits! Discounted tandems, plus free coaching (you don't even have to pay the coach's slot!) and free gear use, courtesy of the Falling Gators!

Art will sometimes even buy pizza for everyone for dinner. And at night, the beer flows generously: usually someone owes beer for something!

Oh, and did I mention the newly repainted, sexy Grand Caravan...?



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(Review ID:3620)

0 of 9 people found the following review helpful: Big airport..minimal air traffic. Rated by: floridadiver81 on 2007-01-07 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Skydive Palatka   Pros: Extremely friendly and outgoing staff! Cons: I couldn't even find any if I were looking for one!

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

I started my AFF here yesterday and not once did i feel uncomfortable all day while familurizing myself with the dz and the people. The instructors were very informative and made it easy for me to understand the FJC material! This is my new "home" dz and i would reccomend it to anyone that might be in the area!

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(Review ID:2948)

6 of 18 people found the following review helpful: Nice little place Rated by: rjoseph14k on 2006-03-29 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Skydive Palatka   Pros: Nice plane, great staff Cons: zip zero zilch

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

Palatka is a great place to jump....nuff said. The staff is great. There is no attitude at all and no cliques. They have a lot of outs with almost no air traffic. So take a break from the numerous Mega DZ's in Florida and check em out.

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(Review ID:2899)

3 of 12 people found the following review helpful: Overall just a fun place to jump. Rated by: TMPattersonJr on 2006-03-02 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Skydive Palatka   Pros: Great Staff, No to small, huge airport, not alot of conflicting air traffic Cons: None...

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

I have been around the Drop Zones (yes plural) in Palatka for around 23 years now. Considering I am only 26 this is a good majority of my life. I was there when Skydive Palatka was started. I helped chop up bits of the taxiway that the foundation of the building sits on. The drop zone that started as a table under the trees with a couple of folding chairs has come a long way since then. The staff are a good group of people to work with. I am one of the packers for the Drop Zone as well as helping to hot fuel the Aircraft so we can keep it flying. I made my first Tandem during the 2005 Hog Flop boogie with Art the new owner and had a blast. I continued on to do AFF with Art, Keith and John. Reciently graduating I have done a couple 2 ways with various people around the Drop Zone. There is always someone to get advice about anything you could want to learn about skydiving. The airport is about 10 mins. from any fast food you could want. There's a few nice sit down places to eat nearby as well. We have plenty of place to set up a trailor or pitch a tent for the weekend. Or if you want to spend a little money there are a couple of nice hotels also within about 10 mins. drive. The large landing area is tucked in the corner of the airport, but we also have an alternate landing area towards the middle of the airport for the more turbulant days with winds out of the north. We usually have someone organizing RW loads, and always have a few Free Flyers and bird "people" that are always willing to jump with whoever they can. We normally don't slow down much over the "off" season normally because we have the same jumpers here to support us throughout the year. We have two 182's year round, and hopefully the caravan we have here this winter will become part of the full time fleet. The Hog Flops are a blast every year, and lots of fun skydives are made every weekend!!!

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