Niagara Skydive Center Inc.

I'm still new to the sport but I've been to 4 DZ's so keep that in mind.

I called ahead and made the trip down from Toronto on a Friday with two buddies. The DZ was pretty easy to find even if it is somewhat secluded. I was looking to do a student jump and my friends wanted to do tandems. We showed up and walked through the hanger by accident but we met Slade, Sky and Tim and everyone was super friendly. My friends went and did their paperwork and I talked with the coaches about my jump history etc.

Cut to an hour later and my friends had already paid, watched the tandem video, and were suited up and manifested on the first load of the day (C.182). I went through some basics with my coach, did a dirt dive, familiarized myself with the landing area, looked over the gear and showed my EP's etc. Next thing I know my friends are taxiing out and I relaxed outside until the plane was headed back down.

Everything went smooth for my friends and I had my best jump to date, except I ended up going way long on my landing but their was so much space it didn't really matter. One of the best parts of the whole experience though was the view on the way to altitude of Niagara falls - it blew my mind. I'm not from the area and that was my first time seeing it and it was incredible.

Overall my friends and I had a great time. Everything went smooth, safety felt like a top priority, and the vibe was all about having a great time. It wasn't busy when we went (2 students and some tandems) which I think helped make it more personal. If I had to nitpick and complain about one thing it would be that my coach had to jump on another load before we could review my video and sign my log book (pretty trivial but we had other plans which made it the only blemish on our entire experience). I have no idea what camping is like but if I was from the area (or visiting) I definitely think making a trip once or twice a week would be well worth it. Also, they said the tunnel in Niagara is a joke so if you planned on doing that maybe put the cash towards more jumps or wait till your closer to a better tunnel.

I recently took my girlfriend here for her birthday. We opted for the tandem experience because we didn't have the time to do the training needed for a solo jump. I personally have done solo jump training in another province and saw how quickly the people that were doing tandem jumps were in and out of the facility. We were told over the phone that training for tandem would only take about 15 minutes and that we'd be on a plane quickly after that. We called on route to the facility and discovered that they were running "a bit" behind schedule, so we pushed our appointment half an hour and took our time getting to Dunnville.
After we paid and watched the 5 minute training video we were told to relax and wait for our training, as they were still running behind due to 1 instructor injuring her wrist earlier that day. I asked "are we to wait 10-15 minutes, or like an hour, hour and a half?" The fellow behind the counter, who was either wilfully unaware or reluctant to give an honest answer said "more like an hour, hour and a half". We were both dismayed but decided to wait, since we were already there.
We were introduced to 2 other guys who were waiting to jump as well. They informed us that they had already been waiting 2 hours before we had even gotten there. 1.5 hours later we were told we would still need to wait.
2 hours of waiting later my girlfriend was considering getting refunded and cancelling the whole experience. We had dinner plans for her birthday and at the rate we were going we were not going to make it back for her party. I, however, talked her out of it, assuming that we should be getting to go at any time now. Another hour passed, we were getting hungry, and we were still not getting trained. I asked again how much longer at the front counter, and he said "it'll be this plane load, then the next, THEN you can start getting suited up". I asked if that meant another half hour or what? He responded that it'll be at least half an hour but more like hour. I said we needed to go back into town to get something to eat and another staff member who was standing by the counter smirked, and suggested "take your time". We returned less than an hour later and continued to wait.
After waiting a total of 4 HOURS one of the instructors finally considered us and started to train the 4 of us. 5 minutes of training later we were getting suited up. I wanted to grab a photo of us in our suits and asked one of the instructors if we had time for a photo, as the camera was in the car. He said we still had 2 minutes, so we took a minute to go to the car and take a photo in place. After the photo as I was locking up the car, another instructor (who turned out to be the owner Tim) came around the corner huffing and yelling to hurry up (after we had waited for 4 hours for him!). I dropped my keys off at the front counter for safe keeping and made it back to the group some 30 seconds later to hear Tim loosing his temper, asking a fellow employee "where the hell is the other guy?". "Right here" he said, pointing at me standing right in front of him. Tim then hurriedly introduced himself to me, asking my name, forgetting immediately and just referring to me as "guy" from then on.
Inside the plane the tandem instructors were getting to know their clients a bit better during the 20 minute flight up, lightening the mood and distracting us from building anxiety. Meanwhile I was stuck with a cantankerous buzz kill who didn't want to communicate and had already done enough "customer service" to sour my excitement for the experience.
The jump was great and I although I should have probably focussed more on that, the whole time I was dropping I was thinking that I would have rather been strapped to anyone else at that time.
It took 4.5 hours for the whole experience to happen (6.5 hours for the 2 guys we jumped with) when we anticipated an hour tops. It seems we spent the same amount of time that training for a solo jump would've taken just waiting to go tandem. Had we known it was going to take the whole day we would have gone somewhere else, which is too bad because this place actually came recommended to us. To be fair, it seemed that many of the staff there were great friendly guys who were probably good at their job. I am pleased that my girlfriend was paired up with Chris, a caring guy who looked after her needs well. If she had gotten stuck with Tim I would have been far more disappointed.
TL;DR: Girlfriends birthday jump sullied by an unexpected half day of waiting and poor customer service.

This place has it all, beautiful aircraft, very friendly experienced staff, hugh flat landing area, and all the amenities you could want at a facility. The camp ground has water, and hydro as well.

Also very nice DZO.....

I was out at Niagara Skydive Center this summer in August with my cousin to complete a Tandem jump which was a first for both of us. We had an excellent time! The staff at NSC was very professional and facilitated the whole process from signing in, training to the actual jump. Afterwards it was difficult to think of anything additional that could have been done to enhance the experience. I hope to use their services again in the future and would have no reservations in recommending them to others.

This was me and my friends first jump. Dreamed about doing for a long long time and finally confronted my fears and did it. Glad I chose Niagara Skydive. Dillon was my instructor and he was awesome, friendly and experienced. You must order the video - I'm glad I did, Eric did a great job! Thanks guys!

Stephen

Maintained and modern facilities, but needs NEW management. Had a packer pack badly.

I was a first time jumper and was nervous as expected but the Niagara team make it a easy, fun experience. You get the feeling that this is a professional outfit once you arrive. Great facilities, friendly staff, knowledgable trainers, all in all you know you've come to the right place. Even thought its almost a 2 hour drive, its worth it.

It was an overall sensational experience. We did our first tandem jump with full and complete trust in the competency on which this establishment thrives. The atmosphere that this great group of people created was completely inviting and totally worth the trip from Northern Ontario. Not much else to say due to our skydiving inexperience aside from that we have no regrets and highly recommend this centre to all, especially first-timers!

The best DZ in Canada that I ever visited:)
The people are great, the airplane is great especially if you have Bryce to take the wind from the prop blast:)
Excellent landing area!
Excellent facilities!
Excellent people, all over a great place.
Nice staff and great jumps:)
Thanks for a great time!!!

Hope to be back soon!!!
Ankie

I think Niagara Skydive is the best Dropzone I jumped at in my ten years in the sport and the facilities a A-1. After all who wants to go to a dropzone where the manifest is a rundown shack or trailer and a beat up barn or falling apart building is your packing area. Mordern makes the difference when your paying good money to skydive and Niagara Skydive has it all. I have known Tim Grech the DZO for some years now and he has always been fair and professional. The big plus about meeting Tim when you decide to come to Niagara Skydive is that Tim has been on the C.S.P.A. (Canadian Sport Parachute Association)board for as long as I can remember. I don't you can go wrong with that kind dedication and professionalism when you decide to come to Niagara Skydive.

I just got transfered from an operational unit in Nova Scotia (Was skydiving at the atlantic school of skydiving with Dave and Adrew, awsome team there.) to a research center located in the heart of Toronto Canada; I had the choice in wich Drop Zone I was going to go to on a regular basis, one of the closest was STI(Skydive Toronto) with few cesnas and certainly not too much time for new comers.
So after my only jump there I decided to go to NIAGARA SKYDIVE CENTRE, now what an amazing place, located on the north side of lake Erie with an amazing view of Hamilton, Toronto and many other cities on the US side, the experience was total, fastest ride up ever in a King Air to 13500 ft, awsome coaching and certainly not a money grab, the people is super friendly and always ready to help you with your personal progression.
I highly recomend the place as I made it my home DZ here in Canada, they just ROCK!!!

Located on what is essentially their own airport, this dz combines a "cater to the tandem hoards" buiseness model with a homey "hangin 'round the campfire" senior crowd. The King air provides ample lift capacity for all. Tim, the owner/national coaching committee chairman(CSPA) keeps the fun going with a good atitude towards safety as well as fun. I'll be back.

You would be hard pressed to find another Dropzone anywhere with better facilities , Lots of landing area ,Great people and a King Air !