Atlanta Skydiving Center

ASC is an ok place to jump,but some of the other jumpers and friends seem like they are far better than anyone else.If you have your doubts about the riggers,there is only one I trust.MIKE GRUWELL.I had my first cutaway and with a beautiful opening reserve.Can't say much for my main.The landing area is small,but with paying attention to other jumpers,you can fly right in.Just wish the price of jumps would go down.Guys be honest,you'll make more friends if you just tell the truth.

I did my first tandem, all of my AFF training, all of my A license proficiency card, and every coach and fun jump to this date at ASC. I think that this is an incredible DZ, and that I am truly spoiled to have the opportunity to jump there every weekend.
The instructors are so friendly, safe, and informative for all students at all levels. I have seen nothing but smiles on every student, whether it be a tandem or an AFF jump.(Including myself not to long ago) Any jumper who has to rent gear will also be absolutely pleased about ASC. All rentals are mostly brand new top notch Mirages. There is lots of rigs with different canopy sizes to rent. Most of the canopys that are available to rent are mostly newer PD's. I even bought my gear through them.(Which was planned on going in to rotation for rental) The rigging loft is unbelievable with customer courtesy, and very very professional.
The packing area is all indoor and climate controlled. The facilities are pretty amazing. I have only had to jump out of the cessna once, and it was on a weekday with bad weather. The rest of the time it has always been out of the otter at 14K. Jump run is always on target. The landing area is smaller than most DZ's. The upside to that is that everywhere else seems huge!! It does have lots of outs and there is a really nice swoop pond right next to the landing area.
I have read alot of complaints about the aggressiveness of some of the canopy pilots at ASC and there abilities. There is a lot of high performance landings that occur at ASC. In my opinion I see nothing unsafe about anything that I have witnessed. It is always entertaining and exciting to watch.
The freefly scene is amazing here. The coaching is world class and inexpensive. Everyone is incredibly friendly and it is always fun hanging out after the sunset load. All-in-all, I love this place and could never imagine making any other DZ my home.

About six years ago i jumped out of a plane for the first time, a tandem, and it was a wonderful experience. However, the DZ, in west Tennessee, was nothing compared to this.

After a few days of researching on the 'net about AFF programs, it was down to two DZs - Skydive Smoky Mountains or ASC - I chose ASC on the assumption that it might be just a little bit warmer further south. Well, it las a "little" bit warmer. When I got there at 9 am for my ground school the temp was a balmy 37 degrees! Fortunately by time to jump it had broken 50.

I was pleased with my decision for many reasons other than the weather. First off, my ground school intructor, Stewart was excellent. He made me feel confident not only in his qualifications and capabilities, but also my own. Stewart's friendliness was indicative of everyone I encountered at the DZ, from the manifest to the guys who were just hanging out waiting to jump, everyone was friendly and seemed happy to welcome a new devotee to the sport. Even though I was the only one in the mood for food, Mike had no qualms about firing up a pre-jump burger for me at the cafe, and let me just say it was among the best burgers I've ever had. The facilities were great (we got to chill out and watch the Transporter in heated comfort while waiting for the clouds to break).

Man, I'm babbling. What more can I say, I love this place. I'm planning on doing my AFF II there sometime within the next week and a half. I'll definitely stay there for the AFF and look forward to jumping with these guys for years to come. Thanks again to Stewart and Johann, you guys rock!

This is the DZ I did my first jump at and a year later I'm still jumping at. I've jumped at quite a few DZ's in the past year and I have found that the packing area is something to be thankful for(all indoors and air conditioned), and manifest is run the smoothest I've ever experienced. They really know what they're doing. It's the most organized drop zone I've been to.
The staff is more than willing to help anybody with any questions. And if you're looking for great coaching for belly skills or freeflying, they have some awsome coaches!!
This is my home DZ and I would bring anyone out to experience the wonderful people that are now like my family!!

I was in memphis for a trip and wanted to jump. Looking up Memphis Skydive under Yahoo I found theses jerks. So like an idiot, I started driving after I asked how long it would take to get there. Two hours? that's not bad I thought. after 7 hours of driving ( then missing the sunset load ) I found Adventure Skydiving Center had been changed from Atlanta Skydiving Center on the Waiver header. Smart management. Jerks. I rescedueled my AFF class to a later date. Months later I went back. I made my last AFF jumps there and found the jerk club only contained the management and not the entire staff. I did have a good time there and probably will go back, in spite of the people that run the place. I almost don't want to go back, but lucky for them the class of the staff outway the downfall of the owners.

When I first visited this DZ as an up jumper, I did not feel very welcomed. I had to ask to see an aireal photo and it was not easy getting sugestions from fellow jumpers about the small landing area. After making a few more trips there with a part time staff member, I came to know many of the up jumpers and staff which made all the difference in the world. Once you get to know the people and they get to know you, it's a great DZ. The facility is great. The staff is very experienced and the Rigger Loft is top notch. On the other hand, if you go there by yourself and don't know anyone there, you will more than likely be jumping by yourself unless you want to pay a coach. There are some aggressive swoopers who will swoop the observation area which makes myself and others feel very uncomfortable. What really turns me off to this DZ is the way they do business and advertise. Advertising on the internet as Skydive Nashville, Skydive Birmingham, Skydive Montgomery, etc and tampering with other DZs websites is not a good practice. We should, in our community work together because we are brothers and sisters in this sport. I have also witnessed students who were told they were a 2hr drive away and spent 5hrs driving to the DZ, which was on a weather hold, and were not refunded their $75 deposit because they did not want to return to the DZ. It is a place where I feel love and hate and I will jump somewhere else.

After reading some of the older reviews I had to ask myself if I had been jumping at the same place...or maybe things have changed dramatically. I did my first tandem here...got hooked and went on to complete my AFF and A license @ ASC. The main reasons for doing so were the people and their safety record. My wife, who also did her first tandem here, but now just comes out to watch, stated, "it's like a family here"...I couldn't agree more. The big negative is the landing area...it's pretty small...but as it was explained to me, "getting proficient at landing here makes any other DZ seem ridiculously large". They were right. I know I can land exactly where I want. I would rather have that knowledge in advance, for when I need it the most. Like I said in the beginning...maybe things have changed. I've had nothing but really positive experiences at ASC, learned a lot, and made some good friends. I've brought quite a few people up there...all with a mutual feeling. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.

Blue Skies

Great Dz all the staff was helpful and I will return again when in the area
thanks for the fun
Blue Skies

I started by skydiving habit at ASC with a tandem. To put it mildly it was the thrill of my life. So much so that I came back and went through my AFF. After AFF I immediately started Freefly Coaching, few places give the opportunity to learn with not one but three world champion freeflyers one of whom is an Atmosphere Dolphin D holder (there are only three in the world)and of all the drop zones in the world, they chose ASC. The atmosphere is friendly and family like, and only the finest instructors and videographers are permitted on staff. I have logged 85 jumps in the last six months at ASC and have never needed to complain. Scotty Carbone and Tammy are now here with the cutaway cafe (yes one that serves food), and the food is delicious. There is a defined swooping area,as well as a swooping pond, and pets and children are always welcome. Add to all of this daily organizing for freeflying, belly flying, and tracking as well as second to none tandem masters you can't go wrong. Give 'em a try you won't be disappointed. As a note, ASC is the busiest dropzone in Georgia, and the some of the other near-by Georgia drop zones, not liking the competition, sometimes write reviews and complaints they hope will damage a well deserved reputation in an effort to court potential customers. I hope you will not fall into this trap, I am not an employee of ASC, I spend my hard earned money there every chance I can because I choose to, and the people there keep me coming back for more.

I just took my first tandem jump at ASC in cedartown, and I cant wait to go back and go through the AFF course.
I had a very professional TM who took time with me and made me feel very comfortable with my first jump (your thee bomb Mike) True that I haven't been to any other DZ's to compare this one to, but they have an excellent student safty record. I can't wait to go back!!!!!!!

I was one of the idiots that got suckered into driving 3 hours to Cedartown Alabama to jump from the only DZ in Alabama. Well come to find out it is really in Cedartown GA and there are many other DZ's located in Alabama. Well just like all the others that get had, I had no choice but to jump here since they would not refund my money after lying to me. I think I had the equivalent of about 20 minutes max of personal attention during my AFF course and level 1 skydive which scared me to death. While I was there for my aff training I saw many other people that were upset from different lies they told, to name a few that I "KNOW" of:

1) They say it is one price to jump and then add charges to it after the students show up stating "it cost more to jump out of the big plane"
2) They say that there are no skydiving places in Alabama, I have also herd that they own all the skydiving places in Alabama.
3) With gift certificates that say Tandem skydive to 14,000 they charge the user more money to make that jump out of the big plane (Of course the person has no idea)
4) They ALWAYS lie about the weather, you call them and it is nice weather just so they can get you there. As another person stated during 9/11 they stated they were jumping even though they were not jumping
5) They state they have more experienced instructors and that is why they can jump heavier people, when the fact is the gear can only legally hold 500lbs total. They overload the gear whenever they have to so they can profit, who cares for the safety
6) They even tell people they are located in Alabama. That is what they told me
7) They tell people that video is $50 then they say once the people show up that they only do Video and Stills that day so it will be $70
8) They say (As they do on this site) that jump tickets are $18 when they are really $19-$20 and they even tack on a fee for credit cards on top of that
9) They say on this site that they offer static line, when they don't
10) They say they have a restaurant and they don't
11) They say they have a pool and they don't
12) they say they have RV hookups, of course they don't
13) They say you can skydive out of the point break plane, another LIE...
14) A lot of the people on the Staff page no longer work there cause they do not like the management

As someone suggested before, if you want to call and make an appointment make sure and call the Alabama number, they quote you a different price at that number. It is cheaper. As well make sure you tape your conversation with them so you get what you were promised. As the title says, give me a break.

Dear fellow skydivers, I have spent the last hour reviewing the comments of skydivers of all experience levels about the Cedertown dropzone. I was introduced to the ASC in June of 2001. It was a birthday gift from my wife. I was very excited about jumping tandem and arrived with enthusiasm. After being greeted by a friendly staff, which walked me through my check-in procedures, I was informed of the events that would lead to my jump and given an estimated time. I did not get the feeling of an "Arab market" that so many other reviews have mentioned. I felt that my jump instructor was knowledgeable and his professionalism made me feel comfortable and safe. I did not have to wait long before I was on manifest. My jump and video were excellent. In fact, I was so pleased with my tandem instructor and videographer, that I tipped them afterwards. The whole process from check-in to viewing my video was approximately three hours.

I have since been back to ASC for my AFF Level 1 and Level 2 jumps. My instructors are very patient with me and explain in detail the instructions and emergency procedures. Both of my AFF jumps went extremely well with passing grades. I would also like to note that all three of my jumps were at altitudes of 14,000 or just above. The King Air plane was great, but I understand that it has moved to Arizona as of November 25th. I plan on completing my AFF training with the ASC. I have not visited another drop zone, so I don't have another experience to do a fair comparison. After the completion of my AFF Certification, I plan on visiting other Drop Zones.

Skydivers tend to be a “tight group” or "click", and most of us can be “pretentious” or “cocky”. Maybe the experienced divers who wrote of their unpleasant experience at ASC are use to being a "Sky God" at their home DZ. Your “cater to me” attitude may have offset the whole experience of being in a new environment and not being "noticed". I have the feeling that the negative reviews might have been written by “holier than thou” experienced jumpers or the staff/owners of other Georgia Drop Zones, in an effort to sway customers to their the business.

As a student I feel completely safe and well trained plus informed about the extreme sport of skydiving. I have had an overall positive experience and enjoy my time spent at the Cedertown Drop Zone. I would recommend the instructors and this Drop Zone to anyone who is considering skydiving.

Sincerely,
Eddie Vegas

Here is version 2.0 of a review I submitted a few days ago.

Practically everyone, even friends of the DZ, comes away from ASC feeling like a tourist in an Arab street market (no ethnic slur intended). The gripes about business practices are on target. I saw one group from Nashville call the police (to no avail) after traveling to the DZ while the skies were closed following the WTC catastrophe. They had called several times prior to the trip and were never informed of the flight restrictions. They were not able to jump and received only a raincheck. I traveled from Huntsville, AL the same weekend and had a similar experience, although I knew better what to expect, having visited the DZ before. A friend of mine called Saturday morning, the same weekend, to be told "we're flying", then traveled three hours for nothing. The receptionist "thought" they would fly. Unfortunately, dissembling is a habit at ASC.

Two weeks earlier, I traveled to the DZ, after calling for confirmation, only to find diving restricted for the entire weekend by inclement weather. God controls the weather, and I sympathized with the DZ when flying was restricted, but the truth is: the management is a little unscrupulous. The DZ sponsors a series of websites (skydivehuntsville.com, skydivenashville.com, skydivebirmingham.com, etc.) which paint a misleading picture about the proximity of the DZ and competing options. Cedartown is just over the Alabama border with Georgia, so the Alabama marketing isn't so misleading, but Nashville is a stretch. The place isn't grotesquely fraudulent, but it is definitely Clintonesque.

O.K. That's the downside. Basically, the owner is a no-holds-barred small businessman. Otherwise, he seems like a nice guy. The upside is a very comfortable facility, good equipment, excellent staff (distinguished from management) and the King Air. Students seem to like the place better than experienced skydivers. Possibly, students are first in line for the better plane. They are paying $150 a jump after all. I've heard other complaints about altitudes lower than advertised, but I've always jumped from 14,000 feet. I drive to Georgia, despite closer DZs, primarily for that reason. Especially on AFF dives, the extra altitude is worth the trouble. Also, I've been very satisfied with the competence of my jumpmasters, and that competence, more than anything else, is the value in a training dive.

Another downside is an unprofessional atmosphere which sometimes pervades the place, due largely to managerial neglect. I've also seen repeated, reckless swooping over the observing deck. Sure, it's thrilling, but it's also an accident waiting to happen. Tolerating this practice is is bad business, because many observers are not skydivers and have signed no waiver. Furthermore, I doubt the waiver legally covers injury to an observer. If a skydiver kicked me in the head while I stood in the observing area, after establishing a pattern of pulling the stunt, I would not hesitate to sue.

The bunkroom and shower facilities are nice, if you like the rustic feel, but teenage (and some older) pack-rats freely (and loudly) party to all hours of the night on weekends, making the experience less than suitable for students wishing to risk life and limb with a clear head.

I punched a cloud on level IV (third and final attempt). Truly, I'd love to do it again, but if I had done it on the first, much scarier attempt, I might not have enjoyed it so much. On the other hand, ASC has a good safety record (by its account), no fatalities and nearly 50,000 tandems without a serious injury. I saw a minor injury (chipped tooth) when a loose radio hit a woman in the jaw after a hard opening. The landing area isn't huge, and it is surrounded by trees, but I've never had a problem with it.

Basically, I like the place, but what do I know? It is like an Arab market, but you learn to deal in an Arab market. Don't take anything for granted. Don't buy a dive in advance unless you're buying a package and plan return trips. No refunds, only rainchecks, no exceptions. That's the deal. I prepaid my AFF dives, because I wanted the extra incentive to see it through. A reservation doesn't help much, and the DZ requires a $75 deposit which you forfeit if you don't show. If you wait all day and the DZ doesn't provide a dive, they don't charge your card, but that's the closest thing to generosity you'll find at ASC. Caveat emptor.

With a more customer-friendly management style and a tighter reign on the daredevils and party animals, ASC could be a much nicer place to skydive. In the long run, I think more candid marketing and a more lenient refund policy is better business, but I'm not the one paying the mortgage on the DZ. Hopefully, management will get the message someday and reorganize a bit. ASC has everything else going for it and doesn't need tactics which risk alienating customers to attract them.

Addendum: I called the DZ last Saturday morning and received a very candid description of the cloud cover from the owner. I drove down anyway hoping for clear skies in the afternoon. The skies did clear, but the center did not permit AFF students to jump in moderate but gusting winds. I appreciated the precaution. On Sunday, I completed my AFF training and left on the top of the world.

In the immortal words of the Horse on Ren and Stimpy "No sir....Didnt llike it..."
Bad things= Dangerous swooping of spectators...general unsafe attitude. Good luck finding an out unless you are WAAAYY out. Tax on lift prices??? Who are you kidding??? Landing area is the top of a hill. I never saw manifest go get anyone who landed out unless it was staff. Didnt see staff helping anyone that had a cutaway find their main or free bag. I never saw staff outside accounting for jumpers on the load. I felt like I could have burned in and no one would notice. Just didnt have a very friendly atmosphere. WTFO with the 27 listings on the internet under different names? Businesses with practices like this usually dont stay around long. You never know what plane will be there this week???? A bit of a walk to the plane.
Good things= Nice AC packing area. I saw a lot of new Mirage rental rigs. Jumped one of their old Dolphin rigs when I was waiting for mine to come in...What a rag!!!! I think those have been retired though, hopefully.
Spool riding events are a great spectator sport. Thats all I can think of. I would rather drive twice as far to go to Thamaston and I do every weekend.

Okay, I've only got one jump under my belt. However, I'm ready to go AFFing as soon as I get the money. I have read several less-than-favorable reviews of ASC, and I don't know what they are talking about. The only bad thing that I have to say is that we were told to be there at 4:15 and didn't get to jump until 7:15. The staff was excellent. My tandem master couldn't have been better. He kept me well informed and did a superb job of keeping my mind off of falling out of a plane and on skydiving. My girlfriend even got a free jump after her jump went a little sour. Jumping out of Mike Mullin's King Air is half of the experience too. Imagine, 14 people to 14,500 ft. in 7 minutes. Now I'm spoiled. I don't want to jump out of anything else now. I would recommend it to any first time jumper. As I understand it, most of the bad reviews come from the experienced guys. Maybe in a few hundred jumps I'll change my tune.

This is a nice Drop Zone. I am currently on student status. And I have to say. The instructors there are the best. They really take the time with each student before and after their skydive. They make it easy to learn.
They only thing I have against them is the time you spend waiting on your load. But I think they do a good job with the amount of skydivers that they have each day.
Another reason that I like this DZ. is because it is only 5 minutes for the house.

I moved to Atlanta shortly after completing my AFF course in Z-hills. ASC was the shortest drive, so I headed out there for a checkout dive -- a repeat of AFF Level IV. I arrived at about 1100, and the DZ was pretty busy; they were having a 4-way competition. After a long wait at the check in window, I paid them $150 cash for my jump, and headed to the manifest window, where I was told I'd be on load 25...problem was, they were only on load 15 or 16...no problem, I understand things get busy. By about 3 pm, (4 hours after I arrived), I was getting tired of waiting, and doing some math, figured out that my load wouldn't get called before sunset, so I went to the window to get my cash back. I was told that they didn't give refunds, even though they couldn't get me on a load that day, they would only give me a raincheck. After I vehemently expressed my displeasure, they magically found a spot on the next load for me.

Since this first jump, I've jumped there about 15 times, simply because of the convenience, but after recent trips back to Z-Hills, Deland, and Eloy, I'm pretty sure I'll never jump there again. The whole atmosphere is one of disorganization -- I watched one of the regulars swoop the spectator area and scare the shit out of some people not once, but twice. Oh, yeah, and the pilot ran their C-182 out of gas on a ferry flight and had to put it in a field...I'm a pilot myself, and that's inexcusable, but he still works there...

I think my wife had the right idea -- she refused to jump there within 10 minutes of walking in the door.

On the plus side, there are some genuinely nice people that work there, but until they get things wired a little better, I'd give it a pass.

I went to this DZ to see what it was about.
Unfortunately I must concur with several points previously posted above by Dutchboy. This DZ was friendly but all the while they seemed to say or do anything to get your money. It is kind of like one hand around your neck and the other on your wallet. This gave me a bad vibe about the whole situation. You also will find many inconsistancies regarding the aspects of what was advertised at this DZ once you arrive. My experience overall was fair but I don't think I would return right now.

Most of my friends won't jump at this DZ. I decided to give them a try myself, and to make my own decision. I was hoping that this was a good DZ since it is only 30 miles from my house, and my home DZ is 98 miles. They were advertising $19 to 14k in a skyvan so I thought it would be a good time to try them out.

When I got there I noticed they didn't really have a sign up. The reason for this is that they are doing business under several different names. They have different phone lines for the different names and even have different prices depending on which number you call (hint call the Alabama number). So I got there, standard story fill out a waiver. Then it was cash in advance or letting them physically hold your credit card. I thought this was a bit odd, but gave them a credit card anyway.

I made a few jumps. In each case I noticed everybody was starting to get ready at 9k. I asked one person what was up with this, we still had lots of time. They said that the skyvan climbs fast (which it really doesn't). I found out why they were getting ready so soon. We didn't exit at 14k EVER! We always got out at only 10-11k. It seems that when the pilot got to where he thought he should start jump run he turned on the light and out you went.

So naturally you would expect to be charged less when they screw you out of 3-4k in altitude. When it came time for me to go I went to settle up at manifest. First off, there was only one person working there and she spent 22 minutes talking to some chick who just had her first tandem about buying a logbook, and some other random BS. When I finally got to settle up I found that not only had they charged me $19 for these low jumps, but actually charged me $19.95. Oh yeah, we don't tell you that credit cards are extra.

Neither my home DZ, nor the other one I occassionally jump at charge extra, certainly not 5% when they are only paying 1-2%. The landing area is tiny, not flat, has trees on three sides and a road on the other. The trees are also the right height so you hit turbulence from the rotors coming off the treetops at about 3-5 feet AGL.

I think just the following points from my narative above should be sufficient for anyone deciding if they want to jump here: they don't give you what they promise, they charge more than advertised, and the landing area is far from ideal.

So all of my friends were right about this place. Now 98 miles doesn't seem so far to go to a first class HONEST DZ.

Incidently, if you live in this area and don't want to drive to another big DZ (Thomaston, Monroe) you might consider Air Ventures in Rome. They are not a big DZ, but they are honest and friendly one.

WOW... what a thrill. I had heard that the staff of ATLANTA SKYDIVING CENTER is the best and this was the truth. My instructors Charlie and Cary were incredible. If you are going to make a skydive this is the place. I can not say enough about how friendly and professional everyone is at Atlanta Skydiving Center. I have since visited another, smaller drop place that was close to my home but after seeing first hand the difference in their operation I deceided to go back to Atlanta Skydiving Center. Now I know why they are the best. You can call them at 770-614-3483 and I highly recommend that you do