Atlanta Skydiving Center

If you are an experienced jumper, than it's a great place to jump. Most of the people are nice and the facilities are decent, not if you are a student..Two girls work manifest - the one is nice and the other on many occasions offers tandem students "extra altitude" for $10. When one student accepted and walked away and I called her out on it, she just started laughing. Almost every load exits below 12,000' because the dz is right in the flight path of Hartsfield-Jackson International in Atlanta. This isn't the dz's or the pilot's fault, but it seems sneaky and shady to offer this to a tandem student, who doesn't read an altimeter, and who almost always accepts. One of my friends had an appointment with Hans at The Farm(2 miles away) to make his first tandem jump. Seeing ASC's sign on Highway 278 reading "Skydive-turn here," he did so. When he asked manifest for Hans, they told him that Hans has gone to lunch, but go ahead and sign this wavier, and we'll get you geared up.

If you jump there, work there, or even recommend it, you are taking away from our sport. Skydive The Farm is 2 miles away. DZOs Hans and Sandy Pulsen are two of the nicest people I've ever met. Plus the best rigger in the nation, Mike Gruwell, is on site for all your rigging needs. It is a safe place to swoop, because the jumpers have strict rules when it comes to landing patters. Unlike at ASC, everybody sticks to them. For more in depth info about ASC's nasty trail of deception check out www.funjumper.com/skyride

I decided to give ASC a second try a few weeks ago after my first trip there which did not end well. They sell tickets to 14.5 but they jump at 11k, thats the first problem. Second if something happens where you cant go up you don't get your money back, even if it is something thats their fault. Be very wary of this place, it is well known in the skydiving community as one of the worst.

I went to ASC for my first tandem jump. Jumped had a great time, however I waited for 8 hours. They gave the "weather hold" excuse, which is a legitimate excuse sometimes except the skies were completely clear for over half of this 8 hour period. About 8 other tandem jumpers came and left in that time, without a refund of their money. I paid for "extra altitude", 14.5k feet, but got thrown out with everyone else... at 11k. If I had known that they and their parent company both owned by the same guys had been investigated twice by a fox5 news out of Atlanta for deceptive business practices I would looked for different dropzones.
As for the landing area, I know lots of people who have sustained major bone breaks in their rocky sink hole ridden landing area which happens to be more of a slope, and the swoop pond is more like a swoop puddle. Save yourself the time and frustration and look elsewhere.

The Atlanta Skydiving Center (ASC) is a great place for experienced jumpers and for those who are just beginning their experience with the skydiving sport. I made 15 jumps during this trip and someone from the ASC staff was there after every one asking how everything went. Even though they had a number of Tandem students the staff always had a smile and I felt welcomed to be there.

There are actually 3 of us who made the trip down from Ohio and want to make this an annual trip to ASC to escape the weird Ohio weather.

Thanks ASC!!!

The Ohio Guys, Michael, Daniel, and Harry.

I know that ASC has been under the gun in the past because of some questionable business practices...that was then, this is now…get over it and move on. After leaving the active duty Air Force, I moved to Atlanta in November 05 and decided to get my AFF done. I researched other DZ’s in the area and decided on ASC simply because they had the most competitive price…bar-none. That also goes for tandem prices by the way. I couldn’t have made a better decision. I received top-notch instruction in every aspect…pre-jump and post-jump briefs…briefs after hours over a couple beers…simply excellent. As for sky-gods as somebody previously stated…I think you are bit mixed up, or maybe just intimated...may I suggest growing a sack? Yes, the dropzone is full of well-experienced, some professionally-rated skydivers but that in no way is apparent in their attitude. I never received the impression that anyone was better than me, or anyone else. On the contrary, everyone was willing to give advice and instruction if one was inquisitive enough. After AFF, I received awesome coaching, sometimes at no cost, from extremely talented individuals in belly and eventually freefly.
As for safety…the entire staff takes the safety of every individual skydiver (tandem, AFF and fun-jumper alike) as their #1 priority. If you are waiting around a while because they say the weather is not safe to jump, then you can rest assured that you will have operational arms and legs after you do your jump…plain and simple. Waiting is apart of skydiving…we all find it frustrating. Someone previous mentioned fatalities as an indicator of the DZ’s safety…I would suggest that person go and investigate those fatalities on this very website and find that the DZ was at no fault. There is only so much a DZ can do in the avenue of safety…it all our responsibility.
The fact that ASC is a busy dropzone on the weekends, especially in the summer months, is only a testament to how great a dropzone it absolutely is. The manifest runs like a well-oiled machine…you jump, get packed, get on the next load with ease. In spite of so many tandems, the manifest still makes the effort to look after their fun-jumpers and manages to fit them in a load even in the busiest of conditions. I’ve been living in England for the past 4 months and have jumped at various dropzones, to include Skydive Empuriabrava in Spain, arguably the best DZ in Europe. The ASC manifest, staff in general, aircraft, and facilities are of pristine quality. Quite frankly, I feel ASC is an amazing dropzone with an over abundance of highly motivated and talented skydivers who have managed to put the past behind them and continue to move forward professionally. It is easy to lash out at the best and try to discredit them and attack their integrity. What is not easy is to go through extreme hardship, rely on the friends around you, move on and continue to be the best at what you do and not lash back. That is the true definition of one’s character. I guess in laymen terms, don’t hate the playa, hate the game folks.

Can’t wait to come home and jump at ASC

Peeps need to drop the attitudes around the DZ and quit running off fun jumpers. They leave a bad taste in your mouth. The DZ needs to organize some better boogies for the amount of money they rip off. I've even seen tandems come in from all over the country, never get to do their tandem, and never get their money back. All done intentionally by the DZ. I'm goin to the Farm and if you're smart, you will too (or better yet, Skydive Arizona).

The only thing I can say that might be negative is the landing area is small and sometimes has a high amount of incoming traffic. But there's plenty of grass on the north side of the runway as well that can be used as an alternative landing area.

I went straight into AFF, no tandem, and the price on the package deal I got was less than the other 2 schools that are near by.

The main plane they use is the Otter, sometimes the King Air. Either plane is fine by me. And the pilot is a skydiver himself so the drops are on the money.

I've read a lot of crap about ASC that I just haven't seen personally myself.

I've been at ASC every weekend since July 7th except 2. Completed my AFF in 9 jumps and stood my landing on my 1st solo jump yesterday.

I jumped with a total of 5 different instructors during my AFF. Everyone of them are very professional and have spent extra time with me on exits, postion, flight patterns, landings, etc... I definitely get my money's worth everytime I go to ASC

As far as the management goes. Hey everyone I know has a bad day or makes a mistake at work. And sometimes they might be short an employee or two as well. When you get 70 people trying to do tandems and you throw in a few AFF students and some fun jumpers it can get hectic. Add a weather hold or two and it can turn into pure madness. I would rather wait out the weather than jump if it isn't safe. I have actaully seen a group of jumpers go up from another school when no one should have been in the air. At ASC if it isn't safe you're not going up period. That's just part of skydiving.

And when it comes to safety I have never heard safety preached anywhere as much as it is at ASC.

The staff there does everything possible to make things go as smooth as they can. If you continue to go to ASC you'll end up on a first name basis with everyone and some pretty cool friendships will develop as well.

If you go to ASC's web site you don't see any bad mouthing of their competitors. But go to a competitors web site and you just might see them bad mouthing ASC. That in of itself should tell you something about ASC being a class act.

Go to this url for Skydive Alabama
http://www.skydiveal.com/

These folks have a java based pop up window that pops up on their main page telling you about how bad ASC is. They're so concerned with ASC that instead of using their web site to entice you to come to their dropzone the first thing you see is how much they dislike their competitor. Makes we want to business with them, not. Also they are located in Cullman, AL. I live in Alabama and Cullman is not known for the intelligence of their residents.

And Skydive Smoky Mountains

http://www.skydivesmokymountains.com/

dedicates the 2nd paragraph on the main page of their website to badmouthing ASC as well. Their tandem price is higher than ASC as well.

I have my own business and I don't worry about my competitors. Won't even talk about them casually. Apparently ASC has taken that same policy, good for them! Definitely a class act operation.

Once I finally got in the air, my experience was fantastic. I had my first tandem jump from 16,000 ft, and it was the most exciting 6 minutes of my life! The tandem master and videographer were fabulous, very professional, put me at ease, and provided me with memories (and a video souvenir) to last a lifetime.

The BAD side: ASC gave me a reservation time of 11:15. I rushed the 1.25 hours from ATL without breakfast or even coffee, afraid of being late and either missing some very important instruction or being charged for a late or no show fee. To my surprise, I had an hour of paperwork to fill out, then another three plus hours to sit around and WAIT. I asked the mgmt countless times when they anticipated I would be called, whether I had time to go get food, etc. They kept saying either they didn't know, or it would be 20 minutes. Finally, there was a weather delay and they told us we had enough time to drive the 7 miles to the nearest sandwich shop and back. Just as we arrived there, they called to say we were up and so we rushed back w/out any food. Then I was even more surprised that my tandem jump went off with little more than about a 2 minute briefing on what was going to happen. I've heard of other DZs providing at least 1-2 hours of instruction and safety briefing for tandem jumps. This didn't instill much faith in the process. Fortunately, it went off without a hitch (though I was so dizzy and lightheaded from not eating all day long, that I was too weak to help control the chute when my TM offered the pulls to me). But what if it didn't? What if something happened to my TM and I had to deploy the chute and land myself? I wouldn't have the FIRST idea what to do. NOT GOOD, and NOT SAFE!!

As for deceptive charges, we were told that they wouldn't refund our money if the weather prevented us from jumping (they will offer a rain check, but what if you're just visiting and won't be able to get back?). THEN they add a 5% surcharge for using a credit card, which they conveniently failed to tell me when I was grilling them about the pricing details the previous day, and of course now you're at least a 30 min drive from the nearest ATM, so you have no choice but to pay it. When I complained about the 4 hour wait (what's the point of the reservation?), they told me the res time was just the time for you to show up and get your name on the list. They know exactly how many people are ahead of you. They know how many people are going on the plane (THE plane. Only one plane). They know how long the plane takes to go up and come back. So why is it that they can't tell you roughly how much longer you're going to have to wait to go? What's the point of keeping us there, bored, tired and starving? And when I complained about this, their answer was that it's always busier on the weekends, and I should come during the week. Sure, take a day off work, no problem. Whatever.

They claim that they use such ultra safe equipment that they can take people heavier than the recommended 225 pounds, but I think that's a deceptive statement and to me it says they're blatantly flaunting safety regulations. Also not good. They've had a few fatalities in the last few years, so obviously, they're not quite as safe as they claim to be. And that should be your biggest concern when selecting your DZ.

I finished up my AFF at this DZ and have started regularly jumping here. The staff are seriously amazing, especially AFF jumpmasters. On several occasions, I had staff stay late to give me some additional pointers. The ground instructor is an extremely qualified and great guy. As a student, the DZ does push you a little more, I think. I found myself flustered on a few dives when I was rushed out and taught 2 new maneuvers in less than a minute. But the staff was always there to help me out with something I was having difficulty with.

There are some drawbacks. I've often been unable to dive due to high winds. Additionally, the landing area is quite small and landing off zone is frequent. I actually preferred this landing area as a student. If you can learn to land safely in a difficult landing area, you should definitely be able to handle landing in a larger area. I found this to be an asset for a student to learn more difficult landing patterns early.

Things do get a bit chaotic at times at this DZ. Sometimes I think they take on more than they can handle, but they pull it off. This makes the DZ look a bit disorganized, but if you go out late in the afternoon when things are settling down the staff are very laid back and they'll give you lots of individual attention if you ask for it.

All in all, I'm glad I chose this DZ for my AFF and I highly recommend it to others.

Great place to go skydiving. Although I haven't been anywhere else I feel perfectly safe there and it's just as good during the night as it is in the daytime. I didn't start with tandem I went straight for the AFF course I finished in 2 weeks (4 days total). I didn't repeat any levels because I had great instructors that take time explaining from the ground all the way untill jump time. I have no complaints at all. AWESOME CASA BOOGIE and the food hit the spot THANKS SCOTTY!

I heard about this DZ from a friend who totally reccomended ASC, and i called and asked about staying on for an extended jumping holiday from Australia. I found Tyler, the DZ manager, and BJ, manifest lady, to be friendly and helpful and they gave me all the information i asked for.

When I arrived at Hartsfield, i called the DZ to let them know i was here, and the best way to get to the DZ. They sent someone out immediately to pick me up (which was AWESOME, because after about 20 hours on a plane i was ready to cry or scream at someone)

i have been here for 2 weeks so far, and despite the standard weather holds for most dropzones, have done a few jumps, been to some GREAT places around cedartown, hiram and Atlanta, and have been engulfed by a brand new family.

the Staff have been looking after me, picking me up after a very bad decision i made with my landing pattern, laughing at my accent (which i heartily return, y'all) and giving me great advice with regard to my skydiving skills.

I have 3 months in the states, and i'll be visiting other places while i'm here. The staff and fun jumpers have already organised lifts to and from the airport, and great weekday activities in between.

I've been to 3 DZ's in the states, but i think that ASC will always be my "home" DZ, whenever i'm in America
thanks guys, you rock.

Try Skydive The Farm instead.

I bought tandem jumps for my girlfriend and myself for her birthday. We had a 1:15 appointment but the weather put us back until 6. No problems as there were couches, TV, a nice deck, food fresh off the grill, equipment to check out, and a variety of cool guys willing to tell me about different gear and how they got started. Pricy on the multi-media but it was excellently done. Thanks to all the guys and gals there for showing us a good time. I'll definitely be back.

This was my first jump as a Tandem student. A group of five of us jumped Sunday (7/31/05). The staff did very well in calming us down, it was a very friendly and laid-back atmosphere which really made you feel comfortable. Being a heavier guy at 275 lbs... I know I was a little more nervous than the rest of my group but my instructor had no fear. It was the greatest thrill ever and I can't thank Mike S. enough for jumping with me, I think he enjoyed the challenge, haha. The only cons with this place is that we had to wait around so long for the weather to clear up. That's not their fault, but it made the rest of the day a "rush" to get everyone out, which took away from the quality. But who cares, I jumped out of a F'n airplane and lived. WOOOHOOO!! By the way, the food is great. I forget the name of the cook, but he is a great guy. I would recommend ASC to everyone, but try to find a nice clear day and reserve EARLY in the morning.

I have changed my perception of this place completely in the last yr. Last time I was there I saw them psyching up tandem students saying "are you ready to skydive!" then taking their money... when it had been raining straight for 3 days and the forcast was just as bleak for the next 2. They were just on a slight weather hold (something not mentioned until AFTER they had your money) Of course no refunds is a strict policy. This is only the tip of the iceberg for how low ASC will stoop to scam your money. I won't post them here, but I'm sure you can find the stories in DZ.com somewhere. The sad thing is most non-skydivers don't even know they are getting screwed. Another thing I saw that turned me away from this place was that they advertised one price on the webiste then charged me more when I got there... claiming not to know anything about the website claim. My recommendation is to boycott this place, skyride and all DZs that do business with them. It is sad that a DZ with such great facilities could have a closet overflowing with heinous skeletons. The problem is the more skeletons they try to cram in there, the harder it is to keep the door closed...

Me and my buddy stopped in on a Sunday, passing through, and did several jumps. The staff was friendly and helpful and the spots were right on. There were alot of tamdems but it didn't affect our funjumping at all. I must say that ASC has a female staff that is very easy on the eyes....oh yea and they are nice to talk to also...There was a good fun vibe and we were very glad that we stopped in for the day. The landing area is not as flat as I'm use to (in IL) but I had no trouble landing where I wanted to. Excellent facilities with lots of couches, TVs, and did I mention the female staff...

I drive 3.5 hours to get to this DZ as often as I can (which is about every other week) even though there are a couple within an hour of where I live. My first visit I had a wopping 1 tandem jump and my first AFF under my belt. My first time at ASC, I walked in about as new as you can be- very nervous and intimidated by the experience level of the staff. The wind shut everyone down by 2PM, by 2:30 I was out to lunch with some of my instructors. I spent the rest of the day and most of the night with a bunch of the staff. They were all extremely friendly and welcoming. Basically the staff is about as good as you can find anywhere. They have some of the best swoopers in the country as well. The twin otter runs 95% of the time, people actually complain when the king air runs which is beyond me, a king air is a bentley compared to cessnas. There are a lot of tandems, but it doesnt matter much because the otter fills loads of 23 and is still comfortable. On nice days they get 15+ loads easily when running just one of their planes with no back to backs, this means 15 or more jumps in a day is VERY doable, the only restriction is the wallet. The LZ is kind of small for the amount of jumpers, it does have trees around it, but it is very manageable. If AFF 1's can land there daily with a load of 23, anyone can. The equipment is in perfect condition whether it is the rental stuff, the multitude of planes, or the packing room(s). The climate controlled packing area is awesome. In regards to the negative reviews I've seen, most of the people have other area home DZs (even if they claim to be from elsewhere, check their profiles) that get chewed up by ASC. That safety post is bogus, everytime i've jumped there I usually get two gear checks from the staff without even saying anything, and always by someone behind me in the plane. This may be because I am a regular, but it's been like that from day one for me there. Aside from that, if you want/need a gear check, all you have to do is ask! AND, I always here the clacking of sealtbelts coming undone at 1000' ALWAYS. The negative vibe that has been described I have never personally experienced. The place is BUSY, there are a lot of jumpers there all day every day which may be part of the reason, because the staff can't physically pamper 50 upjumpers and X number of tandems students all day long, but they try their hardest. Since day one I have always gotten personal attention from the staff, and I always go there by myself, not many people where I live are skydivers. They are always welcoming to tandem students, show them a great time as well as the family members that come to watch the exciting first jump! If you watch a video, you know and can easily tell they make the tandem student feel great and accepted to the community, even though they are just along for the ride. If you have any social skills whatsoever or a passion for jumping, you'll fit right in. My best friends in the skydiving community are the ASC staff, and they always watch out for me, and we have some seriously great times after the beer light is on. Everytime I go I am greeted with smiles and usually crash on a couch or in the bunkhouse for FREE. The first time I was ever there, they were upset that I wasn't staying at the DZ, and spending more money by putting myself up at a motel, since then I'll never miss a night at ASC! They are real cool and real open to everyone. Now that I have more experience, I've been to several other DZs that were not nearly as professional, fun, experienced and welcoming as ASC is. I would recommend this place to anyone and everyone. This place is loaded: landing area next to the packing room, runway next to the packing room, swoop pond, observation deck, quality eqiupment and staff, the list goes on. And by the way, the riggers/rigging loft are absolutely top notch and extremely experienced, they have recorded an enormous number of saves. TWO THUMBS UP ASC, CANT WAIT TO BLOW THE REST OF MY CASH WITH YOU GUYS, SEE YOU IN AUGUST!!!!!

I bought skydiving for myself (this was my second time, so I had another dz to compare) and my husband as a birthday present to him. When we arrived at the dropzone at our 1:00 check-in time, nobody gave us any instruction or barely even spoke to us. We kept getting bumped off our loads, and we still sitting there at 6:30 that evening. We eventually had to leave, with no apology and no refund. So, I rescheduled our jump (major inconvienence) and my husband got food poisoning. I called to reschedule and the only way they would reschedule was to charge me a $75 cancellation fee per person (in addition to the nearly $450 I had already paid!) Please note this situation wouldn't have even existed if they were better organized and let us jump on our first trip there. I ended up having to find someone else to go that day so that I would get an extra charge! When we got there, we were told we would be in the same plane, but at last minute I was bumped off (AGAIN), so we had to go separately. Then, my tandem master tells me he "has somewhere to be" so he hopes I don't mind if we come down quickly. We were the last off the plane and one of the first to land. We landed so hard (which I understand sometimes cannot be avoided) that I scraped the skin off my legs and I was so disoriented and naseous I couldn't even stand! I heard him tell some guy to unhook me and by the time I got my bearings- he was nowhere to be found. Not one person spoke to me or asked how my skydive went. I just got up off the field, and went to my car. I ended up puking the whole way home and couldn't even drive. This was not my first time (and won't be my last), and my previous experience was nothing like this! The staff were extremely rude when you asked them a question, did not seem to really care about your experience, and thier business practices are shady at best! I would not recommend this place!

So I'm on leave from Germany and a buddy of mine, we'll call Billy, says meet me at this DZ. I wind up here. I ask if this is The Farm. I must have looked like a tandem student or out of towner cause I got, "Yeah". So I tell her I'm an up jumper and show my card and reserve repack and ask if anyone has seen Billy (last name). "I'm sure he's around". Problem was I hadn't seen him and no one was up yet, so I figured I'd call. "Can I borrow the phone," I ask. "Sure, it's over there." Courtesy phone's broke. She tried to fix it but seemed inept.
I went back to the main road/ Cowboys, and asked for directions to the OTHER skydiving place off Grady Rd. They hooked me up. I made two jumps with Billy at the Farm before leaving for Hartsfield (where security was convince my pin-cutter was a blasting cap; different story) and flying back to Germany.

Worst staff I've seen at a DZ. Aircraft looked good (from afar)

Other reviews have already addressed the issue of friendliness at this DZ, so I won't beat the dead horse. What put me off so much about this place was the lack of concern with safety. I went to ASC with around 50 jumps and an A licence. I was given some advice on the landing area (or lack there-of) from the staff, which was appreciated. However, once being manifested and heading towards the aircraft, no one on the load asked for or offered a gear check. Once in the plane, no one wore seat belts except for the pilot. I asked, but no one could even find one for me to put on and it was clear that some of the jumpers found this kind of concern humorous. This attitude is not acceptable in our sport; friendliness is based on personality and can be overlooked, but attention to the safety of all skydivers is essential to keeping low numbers of injuries and fatalities.

i would totally cancel this review because of bad experiences i've had and im sure if you were to jump in cedartown you already know about it anyways so i dont need to repeat whats already been said

Thanks for being a great home DZ... STU, MIKE and JIM your the best. Thanks for a wonderful skydiving experience and getting me hooked! Thanks again!

Maybe I'm just too used to dzs being open and friendly, but after visiting Atlanta Skydiving Center for a little over half an hour, I decided not to give them any of my money. I walked around the whole time scoping out the landing area, loading area, trying to get a feel for the place. I'd smile and nod my head as people walked past, but no one did the same in return. Not a single person there even smiled back! If they had been tremendously busy with tons of stuff going on, I could understand. They had many people sitting around, and they were only flying the Cessna.

I'm okay with a less-than exciting crowd; however, this dz had nothing to offer. The landing area sucked. Hills, trees, buildings...I'm not sure if there were many outs, since no one told me if there were. They have an Otter, but weren't flying it on a nearly perfect day (50 degrees is not too cold.) Unfriendly dz with not much to offer....next time, I will head to one of the many other dzs in the Atlanta area.

I would most definately recommend this drop zone. I had never jumped before and didnt know the first thing about it or anyone who did, I just saw the one day and wanted to try it out. When I went in everyone was so nice as soon as I walked through the door people started talking to me. After my first jump I was hooked. Then I found out I was going to have a baby so I had to stop jumping but I loved it so much! A job was available and I took it. Now I have been here a year and I love it. Everyone is just as nice now as they were before and every one loves my kids and my kids love them. So for one if you have kids it is a great place to come and bring your children. And if you are learning they have the best staff to work with you, they are so patient.

I can't start to thank them enough for the experience that I have had there.

I went with a friend and started jumping on Friday afternoon and stayed through Sunday. We got a total of 21 jumps and had great food a great time and slept in the bunkhouse (on a bed and everything) for free. Kevin, Nate and Rick were great, even did some jumps with us for RW ding anything from 3 to 5 ways with video (just for fun). Nate helped me learn how to swoop and all of the drop zone staff were really friendly and helpful. I loved it!