I went to Skydive Santa Barbara twice in 2016 with only 50-100 jumps at the time and they were super friendly and more than welcoming. The 900hp Caravan climbs like a rocket in the cool southern California air and it gets you to the jump run in 10 minutes, after a scenic loop around the California coast. The view from altitude is tremendous, and there are two landing areas, one for B-licensed and above near the hangar and the other for A-licensed a short walk to a dry creekbed. I had the chance to chat with the owner and asked him about the negative reviews, and complimented his DZ for getting me on so many loads. He explained that they only have a few tandem masters, and therefore they try to arrange the loads that there will always be a mix of fun jumpers and tandems on every load, and he worked hard to make sure that fun jumpers would always have places available in that way. They have rental gear and packers as well for out-of-towners like myself. So while it is clearly tandem-oriented business judging by the small space available to wait between loads, they worked hard on both my visits to make me feel welcome there. Also I was able to find a few other jumpers to fly with on both visits so it is definitely worth it for the view and to do something different.
