Florida Skydiving Center/Skydive Lake Wales

I guess it's all in the marketing. That's why Deland and Zhills are what they are. But after my first two visits to Lake Wales, I'm sold!

They're just the right balance of big-DZ offerings and small-DZ vibe. They are as welcoming to strangers as they are to old friends.

The service is more than what you'd expect. They made efforts to get a friend in the air, when other DZs left him on the ground (he's an experienced, nonlicensed jumper). I was there once on a Wednesday when the only jumping was had by sharing the plane with some people testing foreign military equipment. It was fine to share the plane except for the hours-long shutdowns between loads. They didn't want us sitting around for so long, so they fired up the Cessna just to get us in the air.

Even though they're operating everything out of trailers (thank you Charlie, Frances, and Jeanne), they still have everything you'd need. Good food, indoor bathrooms and shower, gear store, and student area.

They're as close to Orlando as another more well-known dropzone, but their airspace is practically skydiver-owned (no flight schools here!), they have a colossal landing area, and tons of 'outs' available.

Bring your friends and family! Their tandem and video rates are the lowest in central Florida.

Lake Wales - I love it!

Hands down was my favorite of the Florida DZs I visited. Their super otter was great, everybody was friendly, and we had no shortage of people offering to help us out and get us oriented to the DZ. The best staff I met at a DZ. They are still rebuilding from the hurricane, so be patient, but they offer all the same services and do so with pride and excellence. Huge landing area too.

For what Wales has been through it is coming along nicely... I based my review on how things are now but in a year from now this will probably be different. The ratings will be higher for sure. They work really hard right now to make things seem normal which is great!

Lake Wales really is great. Firstly it is spacious, laid back but efficient and populated by the knowledgeable end of the skydiving community rather than the alter Mitty brigade. People like Steve Blincoe are on hand for freeflying lessons and a lot of very good 4 way teams and fun jumpers make it their own jump mecca. The facilities are great too and the new bunk house is simple but comfortable with everything you need. An hour up the road and you can spend a lot of money at Sky Ventures wind tunnel but remember to take lots of cash. It ain't cheap. Lake Wales suffers from humid and sometimes unpredictable weather during the summer, but still count on 10 jumps a day at least. This place rocks, check it out if you haven't been already.

I've had two wonderful experiences at Lake Wales. The staff is awesome and provide a great intro. to the place if you have not visited before. Safety is a main concern as I saw during collegiate nations. There were some problems with landing patters on several loads; everyone was gathered and reinformed of policies and how things should be done. This was very impressive as planes and competetion were stopped. I commend Betty for her commitment to safety.

The freefly coaching from Blincoe and MacCormac is top notch. I did tunnel time with Blincoe and loved every second of it. Saw an instant improvement in my sit flying. I also worked on my sit with MacCormac and had a blast jumpin with him. Both provide great feed back and tips for improvement.

Betty is just the sweetest lady around. She's runs an emaculate dz which I would highly recommend. Try the food, I suggest the pizza!

Just been to lake wales in january to do a training camp with Max Cohn,did about 170 jumps over 13 days{ did 19 in one day}!!
What can I say, this place is seriously dedicated to getting you in the air!!!! The staff were helpfull, the turn around is fast, they've got basicaly everything from the bar to the rigging room in the same place{in the hangar}. If your intention is to go to DZ that can support a pretty hard core training camp then look no further...
It's also a great place to fun jump and there is a dedicated freefly school there run by Sean McCormac and Steve Blinko, if you require any advice or training in the dicipline.
and on top of all that those dudes get some wicked sunsets!!!!!

Lake Wales is an exceptional skydiving center whether you're a student or a "skygod". The friendly, inviting people parallel the inviting Florida weather! Betty (1 of the DZOs) is extremely safety-oriented & it is reflected in her personal interactions with all of the jumpers. The landing area is huge & overall, everything runs smoothly. My only hesitation is that they constantly run the CASAs over the otters. Yes, it accommodates more people but the climb to altitude is hellacious!

When I first arrived at Lake Wales, it reminded me of my DZ back home, only on a larger scale! The people were very inviting and friendly. We got ready for our first jump there and found a big smiley face painted on the floor...they said that if we stood on that we would be load organised. I thought this was great! So we met some great people, did some fun jumps with them and generally had a very pleasant time. I think this place is great if you like a relaxed environment and are just on a fun jumping holiday. I am not sure how it would be for team training camps etc as I haven't done that at Lake Wales. Also there didn't seem to be much to do away from the DZ, but I was only there for a couple of nights.
I would definitely like to visit again.

Well, this is my place in Florida!

They have the weather!
They have the Otter!
They have the CASA!
They have the staff!
They have people coming from everywhere on the planet!
They have the best packing area!
They have the best landing area!
Great Freefly! (Thanks Max Cohn and Steve Blincoe)
Great RW! (Thanks Bruce Robertson)

Need I say more?

...started AFF course in November, couldn't wait went back to finish in December. I attribute that the professional and fun staff at Lake Wales.

Of course I will have to talk them over my future bankrupcy.

I went to Lake Wales for a skydiving vacation, (during mid December). I found jumpers from all over the world and experience levels. The warm welcome and smiles of the staff gave a family dropzone feel with big airplanes and a huge landing area. The facilities are spacious, clean and well organized. I'll be back in the spring. :-)

I went to lake Wales as a one day visitor and was positively impressed by:
1. the very professional staff
2. the King air airplane
3. the instalations
4. you only get beer after the jumps are over (yeah, some places don´t do it!!)