West Plains Skydiving

I'm proud to identify Ritzville as my new home DZ after moving to North Idaho a couple years ago. When we discovered it, I had tons of questions so I will attempt to address in this review. They are open from late spring to mid-Fall and close for the winter months. But if you come out during the season, you'll meet super friendly people, and if you come back and jump a few times, you'll leave feeling like family. Before we came here I had tons of questions - what is it like to hang out here, where do people go eat while waiting, can we camp, is it dog friendly, etc etc. Here are some of your answers:

1) Ritzville is a small town (like 2-3 highway exits) in the middle of large plots of farmland. You'll drive about 45 min-1hour west of Spokane WA to get there. Don't expect there to be restaurants aplenty or additional activities to do there. It's a very small town. If you are hungry and plan to spend more than an afternoon there, you can drive over 1 exit down the highway and eat at the local diner there which could be a fun tradition. If you're coming out for an extended day trip, pack some snacks and food with you. You'll be happy about this midway through the day. The dropzone has a little kitchen in the corner that everyone is allowed to use - a microwave, a fridge, a sink, etc. This is handy.

2) Lodging - chances are you have to get there early. Jumping begins at 8am/9am most days. You CAN stay the night on the dropzone if you want, and it's 100% free. There is a large field behind the hangers where you can park your car, pitch a tent in the grassy field, or even pull in a trailer and dry-camp. You'll be among many other cars and campers.

3) Kids & Dogs. We took our kids to the dropzone with us and they had a blast watching the parachutes and the planes. Everyone was super kind and welcoming to them even though they were a little wild. If you have a runner you'll just want to keep an eye out so they don't put themselves in any dangerous zones (planes landing, etc.) But if you have a parent available to watch the kid(s) it can be a fun outting. Dogs are also accepted as long as they are leashed and don't potty on the main lawn. They are not allowed inside the hanger so if you need to leave them to go skydiving you'll want to tie it up in the shade outside.

4) Safety and skill work is priority at this dropzone. The vibe is so personal here. They really care about each and every student. Instructors talk amongst themselves in order to get the right training for the student. We poured over video of our student jumps to see what skills to work on for future jumps. I walked away feeling way more prepared for my jumps than I had at other drop zones in years past.

My only other listed con is to note that this tends to be windy dropzone. Mid-summer if the wind picks up it can put everyone on hold for several hours. However to counter this con, the DZ admin is super *on it* and calls or texts us the night before to give us a heads up so usually we know ahead of time if we'll be able to jump or not. If you happen to be at the DZ when this happens, it's still a fun group of people to hang with and it's never a wasted day. I can say without hesitation we'll be returning to this dropzone in the future and will bring friends&family with us to jump as well. 10/10 stars.

Rex and Kara are "stand up" operators and a very well run DZ! Fun folks, with good vibes. Private airport with indoor packing and services available. (packing, rigging)My wife and I go up every July from Las Vegas and it's worth the trip. Made a lot of friends up there. One of the fastest !82 jump planes in the western U.S. and a very well maintained Caravan. Worth your time to jump there.

Ask them to show you a video of their plane landing or taking off, it looks very sketchy. Also, don't book here unless they can guarantee a refund. They cancelled on my group of 4. We paid them $900 and they only refunded $200. Beware!

I spent two summers jumping here and then had to move for a job. Great family atmosphere. It's small enough that you get great personal service, but large enough to have a turbine Caravan and get lot's of altitude. There's camping, grilling, and a fully functioning, but appropriately timed beer light. There are plenty of students, packers, staff, RW, and free flyers. Great place to make your first tandem or first solo jump too. It's also a dog and kid friendly drop zone. Check it out, you'll be glad you did!

I started jumping here and within 2 months got my A. The people here are awesome and treated me like family from the moment I arrived. They've all turned into great friends and I would recommend this DZ to anyone.

This is my home DZ where I did a tandem (great experience) and then went on to earn my A-license. I am constantly hearing from people visiting West Plains how lucky I am to jump here because of how friendly and welcoming everyone is!

I am looking forward to jumping at some other locations but I am definitely proud to say this is my home DZ! Please come visit if you get a chance.

I just moved back to Eastern Washington and am very happy that my "local" (read closest) dropzone is such a great place. my (beer) jump there was a 2 way with Rex the DZO. I checked the dropzone out by stopping by during a previous weekend trip and came back last weekend, on a sunday afternoon I caught the last 3 loads of the day. Great atmosphere friendly people, great facilities. For a part of the country where you would expect a small Cessna 182 dropzone connected to a regional air strip, it was trilling to find a private airstrip with a turbine (caravan) high quality military trained pilot, and a welcoming atmosphere. It isn't one of the mega dropzones, it isn't a tiny 182 club but it has some of the best aspects of both, I'll be a regular and I recommend it as a great place jump.

If you have zero or thousands of jumps you will love the Ritz. This is he best DZ in Washington in my opinion. Indoor packing, grass landing area and cool people. Come make a jump!!