Skydive Palatka

From the moment we arrived until the moment we left we felt like we had always jumped there. Made almost every load I wanted to be on, and had plenty of talented jumpers to learn from.

We showed up randomly (on our way to another DZ) and couldn't have been happier that we did. We camped for the weekend and left with many new friends. I would recommend this DZ to anyone.

Can't wait to go back.

Super awesome dz. Art the dzo sets the atmosphere. This place is home away from home. The poster child for what a dz should be. Perfect spot to learn and grow in our sport. My wife and have been to every dz in Florida. Palatka is the spot to be. Thanx art, Shane, tommy, Gary, Juan and the rest of you. The past ten years have been awesome.

I was referred here by a friend that had done her AFF at this DZ. She was right about this DZ they are very friendly, professional, serious about safety, priced reasonably, and are always having fun! If you're in the area this is the place to be for skydiving. They are open Saturday and Sundays, and then open during the week by appointment only and sometimes open up on holidays during the week.

I started my AFF here the weekend of Jan. 19-20, and I was able to get through 2 levels. Looking forward to jumping more and making some good friends here. Their tandems (at this time) are 185, and that's a pretty good price when comparing it to other DZs. If you ever wanted to jump don't hesitate and don't psych yourself out about it; head to Skydive Palatka and take the plunge!

I just started jumping a few months ago an recently got my A license. From start to current, this DZ has been given me the most incredible experience. Though it is a smaller DZ, the people here are incredible. From tandem to student to fun jumper or swooper - everyone is welcomed with open arms. I was made to feel a part of the family since back when I started AFF, and I have only become closer to the people here since then. Art is the DZO and is one of the coolest and most genuine guys around. His love for the sport is obvious, and overrides all other worries. If you are having fun, then he is too. I am grateful to have such an amazing home away from home on the weekends during the rest of my time at UF. The loads go quick, the facilities are minimal but have everything you could need, and the view is gorgeous. So if you are ever in town, please come visit our Skydive Palatka family!

I'm an old (64) jumper that has been out of the sport since 1995 that wanted to make a jump on my 65th birthday. I drove over to Palatka nervous that I would be shunned because of my age and lack of jumping. I couldn't have been more mistaken. I found that I was almost a youngster there.I ran across jumpers that I was jumping with in the 70s. Pop Poppenhager D-47 77 years old was there plus several others. Three days later I was in the hospital having two stents being put in. Returning to the dz to get my aff course money back figuring that was the end everybody rallied around me offering suggestions and encouragement about returning. I was GIVEN a rig by an old jumper Jack LaLonde D-4865 72 yo (thanks Jack) and was offered by many to teach me the new ways of packing. All of my previous fears of being shunned by the jumpers dissappeared. It was awesome, it was like a return to family. Young dudes and dudettes came up encouraging me and offering support.I'm now trying to find a doctor to give me a pass to continue jumping ( say skydiving to a doctor and watch a freakout)and everyone is behind me.Even if I can't jump again ( that ain't going to happen) I will continue going to the dz because of the people and the awesome atmosphere. I HIGHLY recommend the dz to experenced jumpers and those wanting to make their first.....I'll be there when you do!

I dropped by Palatka a while back for the Falling Gators Collegiate boogie. If you are arriving at this DZ after dark, call before hand and let them know you're coming! There is a gate at the airport that closes after dark.

Had an awesome weekend hanging out with a bunch of the UF Falling Gators and Art, the DZO is one of the most down to earth people I've met. It's nice to see a DZO actively involved in all aspects of his DZ. During the weekend I saw him rig, pack when needed and take tandems.

They had the Skyvan from Deland for the weekend, so I didn't get a chance to jump the Caravan, but from takeoff to exit it seemed pretty fast from the ground. The main landing area is somewhat tight for newer jumpers, but they do have a very large open alternate landing area with pickup.

Overall an awesome experience and will definitely be back to this DZ whenever I am in FL.

the people at palatka make the dropzone. we were only down there for the weekend and from the first time we met them they all remembered are names, 8 of us. the DZO art is the nicest guy ever, on are second day we wanted to get in one more jump but no one but us wanted on it at first so he was about to send the caravan with just 5 of us but by the time the load left there was 17 of us on board and it was a great jump. even on are last day he did 2 8-ways with us. the airplane there is also great it only took 14 min to get a full load to 13.500 and its really nice looking to. to me palatka is the best and most friendly drop zone i have been to yet.

I just came back from Palatka after doing 7 fun jumps for the weekend and it was great...Their staff is awesome and the facilities great...Also the prices for jumps and gear rental are great and unbeatable....Thanks Jeff, Shane, J Michael, Julia, Jairo, Chuck, Juan, Chip and all the great, friendly staff and fun jumpers out there...YOU GUYS ROCK!...I highly recommend this dz to anyone who wants to get away for a weekend and hang out in a nice facility with great people. Give it up for Skydive Palatka!

I spent a year in this area and spent almost every weekend at Skydive Palatka. Everyone is very friendly, the staff has plenty of AFF instructors, coaches, videographers, TMs. Awesome atmosphere. If you want to do big way RW's, there's always a crew there welcoming all experience levels. Same goes with freeflyers and they have a lot of wingsuiters. There is always a boogie coming up or some event. Definitely worth checking out!

Left NYC to go down to Palatka, Florida to get my AFF. The staff were awesome and very professional. Even with two days of bad weather I completed my AFF and were jumping with the local falling gators. Art the owner and his staff made me feel right at home. I always had my rig packed, gear available, & coaches willing to assist me on free fall & tricks. Eveyone was great locals giving me tips on freestyle exits and offering to take me to the Orlando wind tunnel to work on my stability. Overall I had the time of my life. I even had my own call sign one of the pilots used to shout over the air "Yankee in the air" everytime I exited the plane. Overall great staff & great times at Palatka I will make the trip again with friends that what to do AFF! The prices were also great for AFF, and jump tickets.

I made the 10 hour trip down to Skydive Palatka completely alone. I was scared the trip could turn out to be a total bust since I didn't know anyone at all at the DZ. However, I was wrong! Upon getting out of my car and walking towards the packing area I was told to get my rig out and get on a load! I literally got straight out of my car and into the plane!

The people at Skydive Palatka are awesome. In my few days on the DZ I met tons of cool people, made some really fun jumps, and found a DZ I would love to visit again and again. I met people of all backgrounds and ages, including those barely old enough to jump to those with triple digit D-numbers.

There was all sorts of jumping going on-- bigways, RW, freeflying, wingsuiting, etc. Everyone was super friendly and willing to jump with me. A jumper of any discipline could find someone to jump with.

The facilities are great, especially the shower. The Caravan holds a good number of jumpers, and gets to 13.5 pretty quick. I have absolutely no complaints, and I'm positive that I would be a much better skydiver if I jumped here all the time.

I came to Palatka for the first time in January. After having jumped there for several months and a couple times at a few other Florida DZ's, I can say I'm much happier jumping at Palatka than anywhere else. No matter what your discipline of choice, there is always someone to jump with. Facilities include HOT showers, camping areas, and plenty of dining options within a 5 minute drive. For those interested in flying instead of falling, there is also a growing wingsuit following at Palatka.
Art definitely takes care of anyone jumping at his DZ, student or fun-jumper. Very safety-minded. The main landing area is a little tight, but there is a much larger landing area a short walk away. If you're a UF student and want to learn to skydive, coming to Palatka is a no-brainer as members of the UF skydive club get all sorts of benefits. Makes me wish I were back in college again...

Just off my AFF training and this DZ has been great. I haven't once felt uncomfortable while jumping here. The people are always friendly and welcome new faces at any time. The DZ just makes you feel like your at a second home and part of the family all around. This is a DZ that you can goto and have fun both on the ground and in the air even after the sun goes down.

During my Thanksgiving weekend, I was able to squeeze in a couple of jumps and chose Skydive Palatka. These people were fantastic! I was manifested quickly, the provided a rig immediately (they had plenty to rent) and I was off! The prices were also very low, too. I can't wait to go back!

Skydive Palatka is an excellent DZ! Everyone is extremely nice, and they are always getting loads up, at least 15 or so a day, even during the summer season.

There are no cliques and you are always invited into organized jumps, no matter what your experience level. Whether you want to do RW, freefly, wingsuit, and anything in between, it's all there!

The only downside is on really busy days it's sometimes difficult to find some space to pack. You'll have to wait till someone is done. Also when the wind is from the west, it's a bitch to pack: although the packing area is roofed, it is not enclosed on 3 sides, so excessive wind can be aggravating while packing.

Art, the DZO, is a great skydiver, rigger, and overall just a cool guy. He is the type of guy that runs the DZ, not for profit, but for the love of skydiving.

Had a cutaway? Don't worry, because unless he's up to his neck with tandems, Art will have your reserve repacked by the end of the day.

If your a University of Florida student, you receive great benefits! Discounted tandems, plus free coaching (you don't even have to pay the coach's slot!) and free gear use, courtesy of the Falling Gators!

Art will sometimes even buy pizza for everyone for dinner. And at night, the beer flows generously: usually someone owes beer for something!

Oh, and did I mention the newly repainted, sexy Grand Caravan...?

I started my AFF here yesterday and not once did i feel uncomfortable all day while familurizing myself with the dz and the people. The instructors were very informative and made it easy for me to understand the FJC material! This is my new "home" dz and i would reccomend it to anyone that might be in the area!

Palatka is a great place to jump....nuff said. The staff is great. There is no attitude at all and no cliques. They have a lot of outs with almost no air traffic. So take a break from the numerous Mega DZ's in Florida and check em out.

I have been around the Drop Zones (yes plural) in Palatka for around 23 years now. Considering I am only 26 this is a good majority of my life. I was there when Skydive Palatka was started. I helped chop up bits of the taxiway that the foundation of the building sits on. The drop zone that started as a table under the trees with a couple of folding chairs has come a long way since then. The staff are a good group of people to work with. I am one of the packers for the Drop Zone as well as helping to hot fuel the Aircraft so we can keep it flying. I made my first Tandem during the 2005 Hog Flop boogie with Art the new owner and had a blast. I continued on to do AFF with Art, Keith and John. Reciently graduating I have done a couple 2 ways with various people around the Drop Zone. There is always someone to get advice about anything you could want to learn about skydiving. The airport is about 10 mins. from any fast food you could want. There's a few nice sit down places to eat nearby as well. We have plenty of place to set up a trailor or pitch a tent for the weekend. Or if you want to spend a little money there are a couple of nice hotels also within about 10 mins. drive. The large landing area is tucked in the corner of the airport, but we also have an alternate landing area towards the middle of the airport for the more turbulant days with winds out of the north. We usually have someone organizing RW loads, and always have a few Free Flyers and bird "people" that are always willing to jump with whoever they can. We normally don't slow down much over the "off" season normally because we have the same jumpers here to support us throughout the year. We have two 182's year round, and hopefully the caravan we have here this winter will become part of the full time fleet. The Hog Flops are a blast every year, and lots of fun skydives are made every weekend!!!

I have 3 tandems and 2 AFF jumps under my belt (what little I can see under my belt) - All at Skydive Palatka. I ended up there simply because I called a random Tandem Master out of the yellow pages to arrange one tandem jump - to overcome a lifelong fear.
My intent was to jump one tandem and never go back. The tandem master was a super gentleman who made the experience safe,calm and enjoyable. 15 seconds into my first freefall and I was addicted. After 2 more tandems, and a 4th aborted due to clouds-with the aircraft door already open- I decided to start the AFF program. During the transition, my jump master purchased the Drop ZOne and it is, as of this week, under new ownership - I have shown up twice and been unable to jump due to safety reasons (clouds and high winds), but the new owner, knowing my extreme desire to jump and my inability to jump weekends, arranged to teach me the AFF class alone on a weekday and get a second instructor and pilot just so I could make that first AFF jump. He was much too busy to do this, but didn't put me off - he made it happen. I did very poorly but landed safe and recieved the feedback I needed to improve on my second jump.
Everyone that jumps there is friendly, cooperative, and eager to help newbies such as myself. I have yet to meet anyone there who has any ego issues.
I was extremely impressed when I asked a question to a very experienced jumper while packing his chute and the reply was, "listen to your instructor - don't listen to me."
The greatest thing about learning to jump here (aside from the top notch staff) is that air traffic is very limited and there are plenty of good landing spots even if you are spotted poorly or the winds change.
The down side is the current difficulty in arranging jumps on weekdays - but under the new ownership - and more planes - that will change.
Williston is much closer for me, and easier to get a weekday ride- but Art, Jeff, Jessica, Tammy and the other regulars make it worth the wait and the extra gas.
It may take me 100 jumps to get a class A, but with Arts patience and Jeffs honesty, I will get there. Safely.
Oh, yeah- you have to go off site to get hot food (unless you bring something to cook) but its only a few blocks.

I made my first tandem in 2002. I finally got off my butt this year (2005) and completed AFF. Now I am at my home away from home EVERY weekend. SKYDIVE PALATKA.
Everyone is super friendly, and safety is always priority number one. Well, right along with HAVING FUN. Wanna jump, come on down.
Thanks ART, Jeff, Jessica, Miss Winnie, Stacey, Tammie and the rest of the Skydive Palatka family for all your help and making me feel welcome.

My girlfriend and I were just in Palatka for the Hog Flop Boogie and had a blast. The people were really nice, the food was great, and we made some nice skydives. I really liked the nice, close, flat landing area. The place seemed like a nice "home" DZ with no weird political vibe. Can't wait to come back next year and defend my Hog Flop title!

Chuck Blue
D-12501
AFF/SL/TM/BM-I, S&TA, PRO

It's good to hear that Skydive Palatka is still a great place to jump. I started there in '92 when Jerry and "Z" Hoekstra were running it and Skydive Waycross AS well.

Blue Skies!
Al

I just started Skydiving and have been to a couple DZ in Central Florida, and I like this place the Best. Lots of fun, great ride up in the King Air. Good people, helpful. This is the place to Skydive.

This is where I learned to skydive, and I'm glad I chose them. Everyone is really cool, the instruction is excellent. They got me right through my student program, but failed me on the levels where they needed to. (Read: very customer oriented, but they aren't going to let you kill yourself). The King Air is awesome! Everyone from guys with C licenses to some real sky-gods with tens of thousands of jumps offered to start doing RW with me the day I got off student status. There is no "no time for you newbie" attitude here. I'm still kind of a klutz when it comes to packing my chute -- and nobody is too busy to come over and help me out. That isn't to say that they don't have more fun things to do, but everyone from the staff to the other skydivers really care about helping newbies get into the game.

Also, they have a really cool petting zoo here. Come and see the Northeastern Slice (raised in captivity, but still has its natural plumage). They have complete terrarium built for him including a big brown panel van. Watch him at feeding time as the tourists throw oyster after oyster at him.

There are also two Hungarians (barbarians). Where else do Europeans go for vacation but sunny Palatka! They keep them in a trailer when they are not cage dancing. Watch out for them. They are prone to random acts of hairy-ass exposure when taken out in public. I guess you have to be crazy to jump Russian gear.

Most of the jumpmasters have been shaven down and taught to speak. However, Ralphie is still not housebroken completely.

Another great thing about this DZ is that when you have to buy beer, everyone here likes cheap beer. I bought a case of Newcastle one time and they didn't even run out. The shame the shame! Well, at least "firsts" don't cost you a lot!

I started skydiving on feb 6th 2000 and now have 225 jumps. Almost all of which were here! I'm into RW and have had no trouble finding people to jump with. The knowledgable and courtious staff is a refreshing change of pace from the impersonal big Dzs. It's big enough to jump without waiting for long but not too big to care. To me this is home and home is where the heart is.