davjohns

Finally got to visit after living nearby for eight months. It was really great.

Facilities: Clean and spacious. They have three consecutive hangars connected. The paved space in front of the hangars was full of spectators; including children playing. The restrooms were clean and spacious. Plenty of parking. The café next door had plenty of tables and chairs outside with a great view of the DZ. It also had a fenced in play area with a sign that said it was specifically for the children of café customers and skydivers. There was a clearly defined swoop area front and center and a HUGE DZ. No real reason to land out. But if you did, agricultural fields abound, so you are safe. The runway is on the opposite side of the DZ, so they ferry you over with a van that has custom benches built in.

Organization: There are television screens on the walls that are constantly scrolling through the future loads, who is on them, time remaining, height each jumper is going to, and which plane the load is on. When your load is up, your name is showing and the time indicated is "NOW". Get on the van and go. They issue you a card the size of a credit card when you register. It has your name and a barcode. When you are ready to jump, you drop it in the "in" box at the front desk. They scan you in and your name starts showing up on the screens when your load is displayed. Your card goes in the "out" box for you to retrieve when you want it. If you are jumping with a group, you rubberband everyone's cards together and throw them in the box like that. They had a large board listing their instructors, management, camera people, and such. Each had a picture of the person so you knew who to go to with questions. Andre is the Administrative Manager. He's mostly bald with a huge beard and glasses. Very helpful. Speaks great English. Richard was the safety who briefed me. Also spoke great English. Very helpful and thorough.

Equipment: They have a Pilatus and a Caravan. Both appear to be in excellent condition. Rental gear was plentiful and in excellent condition.

Services: Everyone was helpful and friendly. There were enough English speakers that it wasn't a problem. The safety brief was very efficient. The packers were quick and friendly. The café was reasonably priced and the food was good. Having a play place for kids was really nice. The family atmosphere was pretty cool. There were lots of tents, RVs, and trailers behind the hangars. It appeared clean and neat.

The airfield was reasonably busy, but all recreational stuff. I counted five sail planes active near the runway. There were a few powered paragliders in one corner of the DZ. Three antique US Army Jeeps came in to visit at the cafe. There was an antique Porsche roadster as well. There were photographers and plain old spectators. At least four motorcycles were parked in the lot.

It was truly an outstanding operation in every way. I look forward to my next visit.

I looked at other DZs before selecting Skydive Alabama. Nobody had anything bad to say about them and there is a reason. They are good people who love the sport and want to help others in the sport. The coaching has always been top notch. There is no doubt they know their stuff and can communicate it well to others. The jumpers there are friendly and helpful as well. I am very happy with my choice of places to train.