Skydive Santa Barbara

I went to Skydive Santa Barbara twice in 2016 with only 50-100 jumps at the time and they were super friendly and more than welcoming. The 900hp Caravan climbs like a rocket in the cool southern California air and it gets you to the jump run in 10 minutes, after a scenic loop around the California coast. The view from altitude is tremendous, and there are two landing areas, one for B-licensed and above near the hangar and the other for A-licensed a short walk to a dry creekbed.

I had the chance to chat with the owner and asked him about the negative reviews, and complimented his DZ for getting me on so many loads. He explained that they only have a few tandem masters, and therefore they try to arrange the loads that there will always be a mix of fun jumpers and tandems on every load, and he worked hard to make sure that fun jumpers would always have places available in that way.

They have rental gear and packers as well for out-of-towners like myself. So while it is clearly tandem-oriented business judging by the small space available to wait between loads, they worked hard on both my visits to make me feel welcome there. Also I was able to find a few other jumpers to fly with on both visits so it is definitely worth it for the view and to do something different.

This DZ although nice is not a good place to visit if your a fun jumper. I called ahead one day in advance to verify they would have room for me which they confirmed it "shouldnt be a problem".

I went onsite at 9am sat morning expecting to turn loads as fast as possible. Packed and ready, i was continuously bumped from every load due to Tandems. I was there from 9am- 4PM before I finally had enough of their BS. They put me on multiple loads and waited until i was nearly walking to the plane before bumping me.

I wasted an entire day sitting around waiting for a lift and got nothing. The staff seemed to not care i was upset. I would not recommend this DZ to anyone that is a fun jumper. Tandems are their first priority and they will bump you all day long. Check out the Google reviews as well.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#safe=off&q=skydive%20santa%20barbara%20reviews&lrd=lrd

They are riddled with reports of poor customer service.
Save your self some headache and go somewhere else.

I figure the listing for SDSB needs an update. Notable changes as of 1/2011:

-AADs are required for jumpers with less then 1000 jumps
-Jump price is $26 to 13k
-They're flying a Pac 750 now instead of the Caravan.

The staff were all very friendly. I got wavered early and then hung around talking with instructors and staff for a couple hours waiting for the weather to clear. I watched a load go up and I checked out the landing area. The experienced landing area is small and mostly pea gravel; but it's surrounded by trees. The student landing area is in a (mostly) dry river bed. Trees line both sides of the river bed, and there's a few bits of debris laying around. It's worth checking out before you make your first jump here. Both landing areas are about 1/4 mile from the hanger, and a van provides transport.

The view was AWESOME once the clouds cleared. The winds were light and the Pac turned loads until about 2pm when the clouds came back in...

Don't come expecting to find load organizers and a ton of people to jump with; even on a weekend. This is most decidedly a tandem factory but that's OK; the folks who are there are totally stoked to be jumping. They accommodate fun jumpers just fine and they're happy to do so. No attitude from anyone. Come early though because when the tandems stop coming in, there probably won't be enough fun jumpers to keep the plane flying.

I'll be back for sure!

The office staff at this location is not up to par. They had us wait all day, screwed up the flight so our 2 members were not even able to fly together. Still do not have our video after hours of waiting. Will be lucky if we get it at all after being treated horribly by a rude staff.

There are too many places out there to choose from, so pick a better place than this one. I wish I had heeded the warnings that I had read, and now have learned a hard lesson. Just don't want anyone to have an experience like this when this should be a complete day of exhilaration and fun!

This is one nice little DZ. It seem that there are a lot of tandems, but they also cater to individuals doing fun jumps. After looking around for a few minutes Dave (the DZO) came over and asked if he could help me, though the winds weren't really cooperating (from the North, bad for their two LZs), he said I could jump but suggested watching a load first, to see the pattern, get an idea, and decide if I wanted to try with the odd winds. I watched two loads and gave it a try. No problems, but landing is interesting... Both of their landing areas rund E-W and are not very tall (N-S), making landings difficult for a noob. I only made one jump, but decided to come back the next day and try again. Again I was greeted with smiling faces, but today the winds were calm and the sky was completely clear! I was hoping for an 18k load, but the demand just wasn't there. Dave used the Caravan every load he could until the jumpers just weren't there anymore, but I don't think it was ever full, most dzs qould require a full load before going up...I'd like to thank Dave, Chris, Eric, Angela, Billy, and the lady behind the counter (never caught her name)for making my visit to Skydive SB a great one!

Like many skydivers I did my first tandem and got hooked! I had a couple weeks free so I immediately got setup with my AFF training at this place. The staff were great, professional and incredibly friendly. The only downside is the unpredictability of the weather... (Hence why I've haven't given location a '5') Winds tend to pick up most days by the afternoon and marine layer can take a fair amount of time to clear in the mornings, sometimes by 7, sometimes not at all. Although this gives plenty of time to chat to staff and waiting jumpers, made some life long friends there!

For A licence and above there is a nice gravelly soft landing area, and for sub A-license students like me there is a HUGE sandy river bed where we can do plenty of PLFs :) ('parachute landing falls' for those not in the know!)

There are usually 3 or so full time jump masters and photographer on weekdays, and double/triple that on the weekends. I've hung around there long enough during my training to see that weekends need to be booked! Solo jumpers (like me now :-D ) tend to be fine as you can essentially just hop onto any load with space... On the weekends usually the 208 Cessna is running which will hold well over a dozen people.

As a last word of advice if you are there on a busy day and get pictures/videos, they have the option to get it SENT to you. Use it! Despite how good modern technology is, processing huge batches of videos takes time and the last thing you want to do after such a good time is sit around and wait. Go enjoy the high! Take it from me it lasts for days!

Overall: BIG THUMBS UP!

Hope you enjoy this place as much as I am!

I have never been treated so poorly before. Upon arriving at the hanger it was clear that the office staff was overwhelmed by the number of people there, although everyone was there by appointment. Waivers were out on a table, so my husband grabbed two and we began filling them out. As I read through the waiver I came to a place about being given opportunity to assess the equipment. Since we had yet to speak with anyone that worked there, I was uncertain whether we were to have already looked at the equipment, or if that opportunity would come later. So before signing, I decided to ask. My inquiry was not met with a helping hand. Rather, the manager mumbled about how long it would take and then in a very demeaning tone asked me, "Would you even understand it all anyway?" I was so shocked. I stood there dumbfounded and then when she went back to her work I just returned to filling out the waiver. I could go on and on about how rude they were to us. But I will just shorten it and say, we stood around for 5 hours in a hanger with very limited seating never once having been approached by the staff there. The only time we were helped was when we sought them out and every time they sent us away saying we would need to wait another hour. We had an appointment at 1pm and finally at 6 the manager called us over to tell us that they would not be able to get us up. After a myriad of excuses and even trying to blame us for the mishap, we went home with nothing but cash back in our pockets. In the end it was clear that they had simply forgotten about us and let those scheduled after us jump instead. I would not recommend this place to anyone.

I embarked on my first tandem jump on the day I turned 18. That experience was phenomenal. Within 20 minutes I was on a load on their Convoy with the incredibly hilarious and engaging Mauro, a veteran jumper and instructor from Italy. My experience was so incredibly that exactly one month later I decided to start my progression towards my A license and complete my AFF training before heading off to college. I walked in on a Monday, told Grey (the only staffer representing the female gender at SSB) my intentions, and was on another load in a matter of minutes to complete my Tandem level 2.
That afternoon Grey decided to teach my my FJC and even stayed past closing to complete it with me. That Wednesday I began my AFF and now(Thursday night) I have complete levels 1-4. Mauro and DZO Dave even volunteered to come in an hour early tomorrow morning to make sure I got my jumps in before the wind picks up around mid day.

Overall this is a fantastic place to jump, learn to jump, or watch your friends revolutionize their lives. The scenery is unparalleled and though the DZ isn't exceptionally furnished, it doesn't exude a sense of dilapidation, but rather an appropriate air of spartanism and austerity--for those who feel like being pampered isn't appropriate during an activity as adventurous as skydiving. I cannot recommend this DZ with any less enthusiasm.

I learned to skydive at Skydive Santa Barbara and loved every moment, they are willing to take the extra time to answer any questions.
The ocean views are gorgeous!
I loved the large landing areas that helped the new canopy pilot in me.
The DZO (Dave Hughes) is a former champion Skydiver who can be a wealth of knowledge to learn from.

If there are no tandems, you can just about forget getting on a load. The staff can be friendly but unless you are female they almost exclusively focus their attention on tandems. It's really a no frills DZ with very basic facilities. The Caravan gets to altitude very quickly and the views are the most gorgeous of any DZ I've been at. Professionalism can definetly use some work. Screw up once and the tandem masters will think you are worthless for months. No one will help (except if you're female) unless you ask for it. Staff can be pushy at times if they feel you are in the way of their tandems.

My first time coming here to jump. I filled out the waiver and was on a load within 15 minutes. It was nice being in the caravan with only 5 people. Kind of a tandem factory but they had time when the instructors got off at the end of work for some upjumper loads. The landing area was hard dirt and gusty at times but thats the only thing I can complain about.

Beware, it is actually 45 minutes from Santa Barbara. It is in Lompoc, within Santa Barbara County. However the drive from Santa Barbara is quite nice. Half is along the coast on the 101, then rolling hills along highway 1 to Lompoc. There is no traffic to worry about.

They have a 206 and 208.

This place bangs out tandems. Some of the staff have not been to a real DZ where two otters are turning with fun jumpers. Their mission is geared towards keeping tandems and instructors happy.


When the fog retreats completely, the view is spectacular. There is pacific ocean to the west and south. To the south the Channel Islands are often visible. Usually we fly out over Surf Beach on the way to altitude.

Lompoc is know for it's flower farming - summer times is especially colorful from the air. I also keep an eye out for soaring red tail hawks over the groves.

The landing area is beside the airport. There is an experienced area which is a pea pit in hard packed dirt or the dry river bed which is wide, sandy, and forgiving. The winds are usually strong, but very uniform in direction- straight off the ocean (from the west).

It can be challenging place to learn because of morning fog. There is a often only a narrow window of time before the winds pick up and the students are "winded". It is highly encouraged that you knock off as many student jumps as you can, when the conditions are suitable. Persistence pays off. I don't mean to imply it is always windy, often conditions are ideal, I guess I just empathize with the poor students that spend time on the ground, I try to give them a SIM to study, but a DZ can be a hard place to study.

Several people on the staff are riggers so it is quite easy to stay in date.

There is great Thai, Mongolian BBQ, Mexican, and pizza nearby. In town there are lots of wall murals/paintings. There is a mission with long windy hiking trails. Access to the beach is limited certain times of year because of a endangered bird (snowy plover).

Summer time temperatures are actually quite nice, similar to Santa Barbara, because of the influence of a marine layer. Often this can be noticed on canopy at about 1500ft, you feel the air get cooler and moist.

Winter is chilly, but worth it for the view. The ocean, green hills, clouds, and snowy mountains on the horizon.

Have been there in August 2004 for the first time. People gave me a warm welcome and helped with everything I needed. Immediately found people to jump with.
Nice little dropzone! Try it out when you are there.

Thanks again ... I'll be back :o)

Blue Sky
Karsten

I just started jumping at Sky Dive Santa Barbara(5 weeks ago)I dont know how it is any place else but the people here are the greatest.From the tandem masters to the ground school and AFF instructors everyone is treated like family.Ive been jumping five weeks and have 22 jumps with everything but my oral exam done for my A licence!if you want to learn this is the place to do it!

Great dropzone, awesome staff. The best people you will ever meet; no matter if you are a student or experienced jumper. You'll get an awesome ocean view on the way down and land in the softest landing area. Totally reccomend checking this dropzone out. C206 will get you to altitude and if your lucky enough to get Dave as the pilot...hang on. Thanks to everyone at Skydive Santa Barbara for getting me hooked! See you next weekend!

This is a great litte drop zone without all of the trappings of a stereotypical California Drop Zone. The staff is friendly and the local area draws beautiful women. It is a friendly local DZ that is perfect to call home. Yeah, and don't forget the Fantastic Ocean Views.