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Dropzone: North America: United States: California: Bay Area Skydiving

Bay Area Skydiving

Average Rating: 4.50 4.50 out of 5 based on 18 user reviews

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Dropzone Summary | Reviews

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Location:
(C83)
Lat: 37.8284525
Lng: -121.6258219

Address:
3000 Armstrong Road
Byron, California 94514
United States

Contact:
925-634-7575
skydvbyron@aol.com
http://www.bayareaskydiving.com  (12897 Hits)

Last Updated: 2007-05-31
Aircraft:
King Air and a Cessna-206

Training: AFF, Tandem

AAD: Not Required

Hook Turns: Allowed

USPA Membership: Required

Rates:




Description:




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Location Map -

Facilities:

  • Gear Rentals
  • Gear Sales
  • Rigging Services
  • Covered Packing Area
  • Creeping Area
  • Coaches
  • Load Organizers

Upcoming Events:

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weee Cheezin! Compass Ugh... need a new rig! Rock on

18 Reviews Written

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Great Vibe and friendly staff and fun jumpers


Bay Area Skydiving Rated 4 by: flea_bateman on 2012-02-14

Pros: Great Atmosphere
Cons: Bathrooms could be better
  Professionalism
  Vibe
  Aircraft
  Facilities
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  Location
I had a spare weekend while working in the states. Being from the UK with about 100 jumps and never visited another drop zone, I was a little daunted turning up by myself but thought I'd go down anyway.

However, rocked up with my gear first thing in the morning, greeted by welcoming staff and every fun jumper said hi. Gear check, paperwork and DZ brief, I was on lift two!

Lift five I was doing 4 ways with Mad Jon and lift 7 was a 9 way for a birthday celebration. Then we ordered in Tacos for lunch, jumped all afternoon and then had a great party once the jumping stopped. (free beer - result!)

Literally, one of the best skydiving weekends ever and that was a quiet weekend for the Byron crew.

I sat down with Clay the DZ Owner, he has a great outlook on how a drop zone should be run and I recommend anyone to pop in and experience the 'Byron Love'

Thanks guys, I hope to return

Paul from the UK
The one with the bright yellow trainers!

9 of 31 people found this review helpful:
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(Review ID:7016)

Rebuttal to recent negative comments


Bay Area Skydiving Rated 4 by: Krusin on 2009-09-17

Pros: Close to Bay Area, Impecable Safety Record
Cons: Windy, no running water
  Professionalism
  Vibe
  Aircraft
  Facilities
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  Location
My name is Vic Krusi, and I'm the general manager here at Bay Area Skydiving. Anyone who knows me well, will be surprised that I'm responding to anything on a public forum, as I feel it's unfortunate that a couple of disgruntled people can have such a loud voice.

That said, I have filled out the ratings in what I feel to be a fair manner. I'd like to take a couple of the negative comments at their face value and try to explain the circumstances behind them.

Bay Area Skydiving is a USPA group member drop zone, and therefore, as you know, bound by the group member rules. We are required to follow the FARs and BSRs, so when we ask for certain things, like packing data cards, membership cards, and logbooks, or follow stringent recurrency requirements, it's not that we're trying to single anyone out, it's what we're required to do. Additionally, as I stated before, we have what we feel to be an exemplary safety record, which we guard with pride and without prejudice. If we don't feel what you want to do is safe, we will discourage it and try to give you the reasons why.

Finally, it's unfortunate, but even in the most professional environment, you reap what you sew. If you have an attitude that says 'I don't have to listen to you because I was doing this when you were still wearing diapers', you may not get the professionalism you desire.

All that said, we are aware that the actions of a few reflect unfavorably on the whole, and we are working hard to change that. However, we will continue to guide new and visiting jumpers in the manner we feel is the safest for all concerned, and we will strive, to be friendly and professional when we do it.

Vic Krusi
General Manager
Bay Area Skydiving
(925)634-7575

25 of 88 people found this review helpful:
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(Review ID:5380)

Not bad...mostly would recommend


Bay Area Skydiving Rated 3 by: Pegandmeg on 2008-11-18

Pros: Aircraft, huge packing area, mostly nice people
Cons: No running water, winds, some jerks
  Professionalism
  Vibe
  Aircraft
  Facilities
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When there are this many people at a dropzone, there's bound to be a few unfriendlies. Once you know who they are and avoid them, the place is ok. Avoid Gareth, Ego Mike, the older rigger, and one of the owners, Vic. They don't try to be unprofessional, they just can't help letting their natural personalities shine through. Let's just say that if you have questions, ask someone else to avoid a smart-aleck or unhelpful answer. They have a knack of treating a new person like an outsider. Don't worry, there are others that will be helpful.

The hangar is big and really close to the plane. The landing area is a decent size with places for the sky god or the newbie to land. The aircraft is decent, they're using a Pac750XL and I think they have a Cessna.

There's no running water, so port-a-potties are there. Bring your hand sanitizer. The winds during the summer are pretty brutal. Newbies beware there.

Can you imagine being a new dzo and saying, "Hey, I'll put a drop zone near a bunch of windmills and near protected land that won't allow plumbing"?

At least it's sunny there most of the time.

Note: One of the staff members listed above just contacted me with a very nice private message apologizing and explaining things. He made no excuses for the others and took ownership for himself. It was really a stand-up thing to do.

36 of 86 people found this review helpful:
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(Review ID:4890)

Bay Area Skydiving is the closes dropzone to the San Francisco/Oakland/Berkely area. It is located


Bay Area Skydiving Rated 4 by: sdtyner on 2008-05-15

Pros: Great vibe, nice wide open landing area, great instructors
Cons: Windy so be sure th check on that before you go and no running water so if you are afraid of port-a-jons then not the DZ
  Professionalism
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I went there to begin my AFF last Saturday. I had read and heard great things about this DZ and everything was true. Great, friendly atmosphere with lots of people. All of the regulars are outgoing and no one was a skygod. People want to help you and actually enjoy it. I was there on an extremely busy day, one of the busiest ever I believe, and it was very nice. There are lots of instructors and all of them are great. My ground school instructor was very knowledgeable and wanted to be sure that the class understood. One of my JMs was 23 years old and had just gotten his AFFI rating two weeks prior but I was very comfortable and he did a great job. The other JM was a world class skydiver (was on the 2006 400-way) so it was training for both of us. I really like this dropzone and I am glad it is close by so I can come often. There are a few things people should be aware of. The airport is on "protected wetlands" so there is no running water and there will be none coming in the future. There are port-a-jons so if you are a germaphobe then deal with it or go somewhere else. Also, Byron is in the middle of the middle of nowhere so bring a lunch if you are coming for the day. They do have snacks and drinks available for purchase though. The main problem that I have and it is completely out of control of the DZ is the wind. Byron is located right in the middle of windmill country so wind is very common. Since students have to adhere to the 14 mph windhold, this can present a problem. Don't assume that you are guaranteed a jump when you come, and this is the case with any DZ if you are in AFF. If you show up and you can't jump then try to learn something while you are there. Enjoy hanging out and meeting other skydivers or learn to pack or something. Byron is a great place to be regardless if you can jump or not. You can call ahead to check on the winds but remember they could change and there are windows where you can jump during the day. Overall, this is a great DZ and I would recommend it to anyone no matter what your interests are.

11 of 63 people found this review helpful:
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(Review ID:4513)

If you want to feel like part of the family at the dz and have great, helpful people to jump with


Bay Area Skydiving Rated 5 by: wonderwoman07 on 2006-06-12

Pros: the people and the attitude!
Cons: a little breezy....
  Professionalism
  Vibe
  Aircraft
  Facilities
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  Location
Not long after arriving at the dropzone I had people coming up to me and introducing themselves. Everyone had a great attitude and created a fun atmosphere that I was readily welcomed into.

As I was gearing up for my first jump of the day a couple of people i had met just moments ago invited me on a jump with them. Even though i had little freefly experience they were happy to have me along. I had someone to jump with all day and lots of great help.

It is pretty windy most of the time, but doable, and there are no real bathrooms. But if you can deal with that, Bay Area Skydiving is amazing!

I highly recommend it.

4 of 51 people found this review helpful:
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(Review ID:3158)

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