The United States of America is the global powerhouse when it comes to skydiving, with over 300 dropzones in the country you are provided with more choices when skydiving in the United States than you are if you were to visit the entire African, Asian and South American continents combined. With 49 of the 50 states either having a dropzone or a wind tunnel, it's easy to see how the USA has earned it's reputation as one of the world leaders in skydiving. Whether you're looking at tandem skydiving for the first time or whether you're a long time local or foreign jumper with thousands of jumps under your belt, you're bound to enjoy some excellent dropzones around America, and that's without even touching on the boogies.
According to the United States Parachute Association, over the past 10 years the demographics for skydiving in the United States have remained somewhat steady with an average of 84% male and 15% female. As of 2010 the western states were home to the majority of members within the United States, with California in particular hosting a significant portion of USPA members, the southern and south eastern states, namely Texas and Florida also holding high percentages of USPA members, the latter of the two following just being California. The careers of USPA members were primarily military, with work in the computer industry following closely behind. An apparent 3% of USPA members worked within the skydiving industry.
Dropzones
With nine of our ten user rated top dropzones being located within the United States it becomes difficult to select just which dropzones to highlight, though if you're looking to tandem skydive in the US or are already a licensed skydiver and looking to extend further than your home dz, the following states offer some top quality dropzones...
If you're looking to skydive in the west, California is the place to be! With both Skydive Elsinore and Skydive Perris located within 75 miles of Los Angeles, you're spoilt for choice when looking to skydive in LA. Both these dropzones are known around the world and both offer quality skydiving for fun jumpers and tandem skydives in California. Though there is definitely more to choose from in other areas around Cali, as a total of 26 dropzones means you're never going to be far from one.
When skydiving in the Midwest you're also spoiled for choice with at least 3 of our top 10 user rated dropzones spread out in this area. Start Skydiving may only have been in operation now for a few years but they've established themselves as a leading dropzone in that time and have become the place for skydiving in Ohio. CSC - Chicagoland Skydiving Center is another top rated dropzone which have established themselves as the leaders of the Illinois skydiving scene, though Illinois plays host to various other excellent dropzones too. The place to go in Indiana would definitely be Jerry's Skydiving Circus, where they are known for their professionalism and awesome vibe around the dropzone.
The south east United States boasts some of it's own iconic and well recognized names in skydiving. Florida has a total of 21 dropzones, including Skydive Sebastian, Skydive City - Z Hills and Skydive DeLand. In Georgia we have the ever popular Skydive The Farm, a dropzone that offers excellent prices, 14 000 feet and the perfect combination of professionalism and fun - offering both AFF training and tandem skydiving too. West Tennessee Skydiving is another dropzone in the south east that offers skydivers an unbelievable time when looking to skydive in Tennessee. They run a Super King Air, Super Cessna 450 HP 195 and a Super Twin Beech 18, with great facilities. Skydive Kentucky - Elizabethtown is another excellent dropzone in the south east, running a Cessna 206, 2 Cessna 182s and a Cessna 180. They offer tandem skydiving, AFF training as well as static line.
These are just a few dropzones in the United States, there are plenty more though, so be sure to look through the state categories and get an idea of what you're in for.
Climate
Weather plays a large role in skydiving, and the best way to avoid disappointment when booking a tandem skydive in the United States is to make sure you're aware of the likely conditions. Many dropzones require deposits and some are non-refundable if you are unable to jump on the day of your booking due to weather delays, each dropzone will have different policies on what happens when there are rain postponements, so be sure to speak to the dropzones about this.
The weather in the south west is probably the most conductive all year 'round to skydiving with parts of California receiving just a mere couple of inches rain a year. In the tropical areas you can expect some possible afternoon thundershowers during the summer months, but these are often short lived and result in just temporary rain delays. Further north jumping is often more restricted to the summer months as winter storms can result in rain for days or even weeks.
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