Skydiving Near LA/Palmdale, CA

[PXSS 0]

I got a group of about 20 people that want to try tandem skydiving.
What are the good dz's near Palmdale?

I'm currently looking into Taft and Elsinore.
Are there any other dz's worth checking out?
Anyone know anything about the San Joaquin Valley DZ?

Probably looking for a more scenic place to jump, any comments and suggestions are welcome!

Thanks!

[grimmie 186]

Taft is the closest to Palmdale. Claudia and Lelo will take great care of your group.

[TEB6363 0]

Rich, This is AWSOME that you are willing to provide a recommendation.. Some DZO's would just let it go if it was not your DZ...
You are a true advocate for the Sport.. Not just for this one note - for your input to questions, sound advice and willingness to help...

Thank You..

Also - PLUG HERE I have not had the chance to jump at Your DZ in Oceanside yet. I really do want to stop by on one of my trips down...

Blue Skies...

Once the plane takes off, you're gonna have to land - Might as well jump out!!

[PXSS 0]

Thanks for the reply,
any thoughts on other Southern CA. DZs?

[stayhigh 2]

I'm with Rich, Taft is the closest from the Palmdale.

If you are going to make a travel, than travel to Oceanside. If you are gonna drive, might as well drive to the dz with the best view that So-cal can offer.

I personally prefer the desert view over the ocean view, but most prefer ocean view for some reason that I can't grasp....

Ocean? Just a big blue blob.

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[NWFlyer 2]

PXSS

Thanks for the reply,
any thoughts on other Southern CA. DZs?

Also, hope it goes without saying but just in case - a group of 20 is definitely a "reserve ahead" situation! Even the biggest DZs would have trouble absorbing a group that large on a walk-up basis.

And if you're the organizer, one thing to be aware of is that 20 people saying they're interested probably will not equal 20 people paying deposits and showing up on the day of the jump ... people have an interesting tendency to come up with excuses once the rubber meets the road of planning. Just keep that in mind so you don't personally get screwed by covering deposits from people. The good flip side of that is that if you can actually get that many folks to show up there's a good chance your jump could be covered by the DZ.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[PXSS 0]

stayhigh

I'm with Rich, Taft is the closest from the Palmdale.

If you are going to make a travel, than travel to Oceanside. If you are gonna drive, might as well drive to the dz with the best view that So-cal can offer.

I personally prefer the desert view over the ocean view, but most prefer ocean view for some reason that I can't grasp....

Ocean? Just a big blue blob.

Those are my top 2 at the moment, I'm also more of an inland skydiver but I can see the appeal of the ocean view.

NWFlyer

Also, hope it goes without saying but just in case - a group of 20 is definitely a "reserve ahead" situation! Even the biggest DZs would have trouble absorbing a group that large on a walk-up basis.

And if you're the organizer, one thing to be aware of is that 20 people saying they're interested probably will not equal 20 people paying deposits and showing up on the day of the jump ... people have an interesting tendency to come up with excuses once the rubber meets the road of planning. Just keep that in mind so you don't personally get screwed by covering deposits from people. The good flip side of that is that if you can actually get that many folks to show up there's a good chance your jump could be covered by the DZ.

I am the organizer for the group and I understand that not everyone will show up. So far I have 8 definitely yes and 17 interested depending on price/date/location. So I estimate the group to be between 15-20 people.

I have also started contacting all of the DZs in my area and some more even though I'm planning this to be at least 2 weeks away.

And it would be great if my jump was covered but I need to get recurrent so I don't think that'll happen. I'll be happy enough with sharing such a great sport and experience with my friends.

Cheers!
and thanks a lot for the input!

[piisfish 140]

if you are considering Elsinore, you should also consider Perris.
Get those who don't jump in the wind tunnel

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[PXSS 0]

I considered both Elsinore and Perris.
Elsinore has yet to reply so they're dead last on my list, Perris is currently third cause of all of their amenities (pool, bar and tunnel) but they're also the most expensive place so far.

Waiting to hear back on Tsunami.

On a different note, how's the wind tunnel at Perris?
I'd love to get some more tunnel time.

[stayhigh 2]

Considering logistics, go to Taft. Expect half of the people will not go, Collecting their minimum $$ to make reservation should be your priority. Most people say it is a great idea until they have to fork up the money.

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[PXSS 0]

Noted, I will be starting to collect the deposits soon, as far as where everyone is leaning, its a 50/50 between Tsunami and Perris. Tsunami's B license fun jumper requirement kinda ruins it for me, but they did offer me a free Tandem which is really nice of them!

[sinjin 0]

perris will give you a free jump for every tandem you bring in.. cha ching

dont let life pass you by

[PXSS 0]

They never mentioned this when I contacted them... =S

[grimmie 186]

We do the same thing. Get that B.

[PXSS 0]

I'm working on it!
Need to finish putting a rig together first!

[PXSS 0]

You were right! I managed to get up to 35 people to say they were going at first, then when it came to serious business it dropped to 20 and when it came to the deposit it dropped to 11. Crazy how people just bail like that.

Since the number of jumpers dropped considerably and most of them wanted a cool video, we decided to go to Skydive Perris. Although it is the most expensive option per jumper, the extra amenities will keep the crowd entertained afterwards.

Thanks for your input!

[stayhigh 2]

Make sure you kids bring swimming trunks and bikinis to cool off by the pool.

For organizing 11 people with some video options, you should be able to get a free tandem jump.

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[piisfish 140]

stayhigh

Make sure you kids bring swimming trunks and bikinis to cool off by the pool.

For organizing 11 people with some video options, you should be able to get a free tandem jump.

I hope he gets more than that. When I started, Skydive Miami had a rule of "bring 1 tandem, get 1 jump ticket"

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[PXSS 0]

piisfish

***Make sure you kids bring swimming trunks and bikinis to cool off by the pool.

For organizing 11 people with some video options, you should be able to get a free tandem jump.

I hope he gets more than that. When I started, Skydive Miami had a rule of "bring 1 tandem, get 1 jump ticket"
Definitely bringing swimwear!
If I manage to get jump tickets out of it that would be great although am not counting on it since they never mentioned it.

It seems like I'm gonna be in california for longer than the summer so I'll also get to check out some other dz's :)

[sinjin 0]

i brought in 7 tandems and i got 7 jumps but you need to remind them nicely :)

dont let life pass you by

[PXSS 0]

Forgot to update this after the jumps!
We jumped out of Perris on Saturday, June 27th and had a blast.

First thoughts:
Wow, this place is massive!
Being only exposed to Skydive Atlanta which is a much smaller dropzone, I did not expect this place to be so big! Kind of a pro and con.
brought in 11 tandems, all but one of which had some kind of video package attached to their jump and my re-currency jump.

Deal I got was their discounted rates for video packages described on their website and once I get to my A-License, one free jump per tandem brought in so I was a really happy camper.

Everyone had a blast, two of them are actually thinking of starting AFF! One starting next week. It was really clouded all day and we had a weather hold for a couple of hours but the amenities were awesome to keep people entertained and full while we waited for our group to be called. Once the weather hold on students was lifted, the skies cleared up for some great jump videos. Once we were all back down another storm rolled in so we pretty much got very lucky! After the two loads we got back in the car and everyone passed out hahaha.

So overall, mission was a success.
Thanks to all who chimed in.


I will keep jumping out of here until I get done with my A license and can get some of my B reqs out of the way. Does anyone know if there are coaches around willing to jump for plane tix and beer (system at skydive atl) or is the best way to get through the requirements is through the skydive school? It's a little intimidating to see so many jumpers doing their own thing and I didn't get to talk to any of the fun jumpers.

Thanks again!
P. Sosa

[NWFlyer 2]

PXSS

I will keep jumping out of here until I get done with my A license and can get some of my B reqs out of the way. Does anyone know if there are coaches around willing to jump for plane tix and beer (system at skydive atl) or is the best way to get through the requirements is through the skydive school? It's a little intimidating to see so many jumpers doing their own thing and I didn't get to talk to any of the fun jumpers.

Thanks again!
P. Sosa

I'm not that familiar with the student program at Perris, so I won't comment on that, but once you have your A, I'd encourage you to take advantage of the Perris Organizers, who are super friendly and welcoming to jumpers of all experience level. They'll do a great job of getting you on fun, experience-appropriate jumps! https://www.facebook.com/perris.organizers?fref=ts

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke