Help!-best DZ for a student to camp at

[discovery4 0]

I hope this is the correct forum for this post. I've been reading for a while now and I'm finally going to start skydiving.

I just graduated from college and before I start my life in the 9-5 corporate world I want to start my skydiving career. I have only done 2 tandem jumps, when I was 18, but I want to spend this summer getting my license and as many jumps as I possibly can. I have some money saved up but there isn't a DZ within a couple hours of my house and I don't want to spend lots of time and money driving. So, that is where my questions start.

I live in SWern PA and I'm looking for the best DZ within 8 hours or so. My checklist of things I would like are as follows:

-Operate all week long; my plan will be to stay on the DZ, in a tent or bunkhouse if they have one, for a week or two at a time and I don't want to spend the time not skydiving because the DZ doesn't operate everyday

-Great amenities for people staying on the DZ; a shower is a must and a community room with a TV and internet access would also be great. A bunkhouse would be amazing!

-Good emphasis on canopy piloting; I know from reading these forums that fast canopy progression can be a hot topic but, that's not exactly what I'm looking for. When I was younger I lived in Oregon and did a lot of hang gliding. Canopy piloting is what I'm most interested in and I would like to start learning the aspects of getting the most out of canopy flying as opposed to it being secondary which I think happens at a lot of DZ's.

Any and all help is very much appreciated. I have looked through the dropzone section of this site but it didn't have enough information for me. Also, if there are other things that I should be looking for please let me know.

Thanks!
-Erik

[rehmwa 2]

www.uspa.org

you can list the Dropzones and get all their phone numbers, and call those in your region


or - you can get every poster here to tell you about their favorite DZ

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[jtnesbitt 0]

StartSkydiving.com

Just moved so we are still in the process of building new faculties but as of right now there is camping, showers, free wireless internet, lots of TVs. Plus there is always a good crowd at the bonfire and you can jump all week long in the summer.

Start is also very focused on being an instructional DZ so there are always camps going on and organizing for every skill level and every style every weekend.

"If this post needs to be moderated I would prefer it to be completly removed and not edited and butchered into a disney movie" - DorkZone Hero

[vitriol 0]

About 8 hours away you have Skydive Chicago.

Great AFF program and you will start jumping with a sabre 2 canopy and brand new container. They are known to be less conservative with the canopy piloting portion of their training.

People there are very friendly, there's lots of loads every day and the instructors are very experienced.

You can camp there for free, there's internet access, showers, bathrooms, a bar, 2 restaurants, etc.

You can do your A licence in a week for a good price too.

If you could drive a couple more hours there's Skydive the farm; best price anywhere for your A licence, amazing drop zone too and free bunkhouses/internet. Don't know about the instructors, so can't comment.

Have fun!

[davelepka 4]

Have you looked into Skydive PA up in Grove City? If you're in SW PA, there's no way you're more than 1 or 1.5 hours from them so you can just live at home and train there. Drive up Fri or Sat, and camp for free for the weekend. Nice DZ, great people and lot's of night life after jumping on the weekends.

I'm sure they have a website somewhere, I'm just not going to look it up for you. You know the name and location, just google it.

[SKYWHUFFO 0]

It's not my home DZ, but I second STARTSKYDIVING in ohio. They take time with students to teach not just put them thru. Great line up of aircraft,and staff. Yes they are in transition but still a nice facility with HUGE landing area. Now if John would buy the old amusement park 6 miles from the DZ and put in a Wind tunnel it would be the greatest! HA! Seriously, you will learn a lot from these guys!

[flashvortx 0]

Come on out to Lodi, CA for a while. $15 to 13K, $5 hop and pops. If you need to rent gear, all jumps are $35. It's open every day. The bunkhouse is decent at best but it's a cheap place to stay.

[discovery4 0]

Thanks for all the input. Start Skydiving really seems like a place I would love to go to. The only thing keeping me from making the decision is price. Skydive the Farm, which is about twice as far (10 hours vs 5 hours), lists their 1st jump to A license as $1,799 and Start Skydiving list theirs as $2,500.

This seems like a significant difference, is it accurate? Could it be, Skydive the Farm will have fee's added on to the listed price that will bring the two closer together?

If the prices are this far apart, what are your opinions on which place would be better? The extra distance will double the fuel cost but the Farm would still be cheaper overall.

Would it be beneficial to get my license at the Farm and then find a home DZ that is closer? (Having just graduated my destination for the next couple of years is unknown)

Again, all input and any past experience is welcome!

Thanks!
-Erik

[jumpoutnow 0]

Skydive the Farm operates 7 days a week. We flew 77 Twin Otter loads last week. Very professional world class skydivers and down to earth people. Check the reviews on this website. Fantastic camping and EZ access to the Atlanta airport.

People are crazy. Cuz there's more of 'em.

[ozzy13 0]

three words

Skydive The Ranch!

Never give the gates up and always trust your rears!

[jump2live 0]

Hey discovery4,

I posted a very similar question about 2 weeks ago, but for DZ's that allow free camping and dogs too.

I was almost ready to go to Start Skydiving (ohio) but same company. I believe that the cost of 2500 at Start is because it includes several "fun" jumps after you finish you AFF and also one free redo if you mess up on a level. I'm guessing that the other place for 1700 is probably just for the 8 jumps. One of the places I was looking also had it cheaper because instead of having two instructors jump out with you during the AFF, they only had one.

Definitely live life before getting into a 9-5 right away. I don't know your situation but if you don't have many obligations like a family or house payments why not live it up a little. You always have time to become like Peter in office space, so go live in a tent for a while and meet some people.

Good luck and have fun!

[vitriol 0]

My understanding was the 1700$ at the farm was for the 25 jumps (A-licence).

[jtnesbitt 0]

Quote

Thanks for all the input. Start Skydiving really seems like a place I would love to go to. The only thing keeping me from making the decision is price. Skydive the Farm, which is about twice as far (10 hours vs 5 hours), lists their 1st jump to A license as $1,799 and Start Skydiving list theirs as $2,500.

This seems like a significant difference, is it accurate? Could it be, Skydive the Farm will have fee's added on to the listed price that will bring the two closer together?

If the prices are this far apart, what are your opinions on which place would be better? The extra distance will double the fuel cost but the Farm would still be cheaper overall.

Would it be beneficial to get my license at the Farm and then find a home DZ that is closer? (Having just graduated my destination for the next couple of years is unknown)

Again, all input and any past experience is welcome!

Thanks!
-Erik

The best course of action is to call each DZ and ask LOTS of questions. It sounds like you dont know what the prices include and you REALLY need to know that as they might or might not include equipment rental, coaching, instructor slots, etc.

"If this post needs to be moderated I would prefer it to be completly removed and not edited and butchered into a disney movie" - DorkZone Hero

[jump2live 0]

ooops that was my bad. It was late. I meant A-license not just AFF for the prices. At START in ohio where I was thinking of going the 2500 included some reduced rate fun jumps after you completed your 25. There was also a package deal that was one step below that that was more along the 1800 range that didn't include the extra jumps and the free re-take on a failed level of the AFF. I would advise you do what the other person said. Call each DZ and figure out exactly what the prices entail.