I am thinking of trying out skydiving for my birthday coming up. I have never gone before and would like to find a good place near Raleigh to go to. I am more concerned of a quality place than a cheap place (although good and cheap would be ideal). Was hoping someone might have a good suggestion. I am not looking to get certified, just a single tandem jump. Thanks for any help!

2/26/2010 9:31:08 AM

CaelNCSU is an expert I think.

[Edited on February 26, 2010 at 9:32 AM. Reason : .]

2/26/2010 9:32:16 AM

Carolina Skydiving?

2/26/2010 9:39:26 AM

I would touch base with CaelNCSU as stated. I know Carolina Sky Sports in Louisburg shut down.

I used to skydive in HS and some in college...stopped freshman year.
CaelNCSU and I met as he was starting his interest in skydiving...man I am old.





[Edited on February 26, 2010 at 9:47 AM. Reason : yh]

2/26/2010 9:46:24 AM

do you also want to go rocky mountain climbing?

2/26/2010 10:04:46 AM

i've been to the place near fayetteville twice - i'd recommend it - unless that's the place above that was shut down.

2/26/2010 10:38:38 AM

jump raeford

2/26/2010 10:48:44 AM

fyi i think the weight limit is around 225lbs

2/26/2010 1:18:00 PM

is there anywhere that lets fatties skydive? Most places I've seen list their limit at 200lbs and I'm a bit over that...

[Edited on February 26, 2010 at 1:18 PM. Reason : ^wow i posted this b4 i saw that...]

2/26/2010 1:18:10 PM

I went here

http://www.skydivecarolina.com/

A bit far away, but they were great. I've heard good stuff about the one in Garner.

Go skydiving. I was terrified and only did it b/c my best friend was getting married. I didn't sleep the night before... I'm terribly afraid of heights....I don't even like cleaning the gutters.

It was the best experience of my life. I don't think you've lived until you experience it.

2/26/2010 1:21:52 PM

ok it just a adrenaline rush. if u not been rappelling before, you going to get just as much rush from that as skydiving. plus you get some hiking in and prolly cheaper too. sktdiving u get like 30 seconds scare for $100, rappeling u get hiking and roping at ur leisure for $100 hole day. ask at campus outdoor adventures, Dan still running it?

2/27/2010 7:21:46 AM

Quote :

"I would touch base with CaelNCSU as stated. I know Carolina Sky Sports in Louisburg shut down."

They under a different name now.
http://triangleskydiving.com/index.php

2/27/2010 7:36:13 AM

So I don't know about the ^ company that replaced carolina sky sports, but I skydived three times with CSS like 5 or 6 years ago and I absolutely loved it. I think for your first jump it's about $200, and the price goes down after the first jump.

I can't believe that jcgolden is comparing it to rappelling. I mean rappelling is cool and all, and it gives you a rush, but to me these are two totally different beasts.

I've bungee jumped twice off the Victoria Falls bridge in Zambia/Zimbabwe, the second highest bungee in the world, and I would say that was comparable to skydiving.

But seriously, you gotta go skydiving.

Quote :

"It was the best experience of my life. I don't think you've lived until you experience it."

2/27/2010 8:34:09 PM

i'm going in August.

It's 1/2 celebrating my weightloss goals, 1/2 celebrating being done with the Bar Exam.

2/27/2010 8:43:01 PM

The other thing I forgot to mention, it is NOT $200 for a 30-second experience.

All the activities leading up to the jump are what really get you psyched up. Watching the legal videos saying "you're not going to but you definitely could die from this." Getting fitted for your helmet and suit. Actually putting the suit on. Practicing turns before you get in the plane. Actually getting in the plane. Watching the door open. Moving yourself to the door. JUMPING OUT OF THE FRIGGIN PLANE! 60 seconds of freefall. Glide and play with the toggles for 15 minutes. And then can you stick the landing? I mean holy christ the adrenaline high stays with you for hours.

Just typing it all out gives me chills! I always thought it was going to be very unsettling/uneasy like coming down over the peak of a roller coaster. It's not like that at all, very peaceful, like laying on the top of a pool. It is definitely an entire experience worth every penny.

2/27/2010 9:13:12 PM

Quote :

"jump raeford"

yea i think that's where i went. was a good time.

2/27/2010 11:05:07 PM

don’t you have to do a tandem jump the first time? or do they just teach you what to do, then you’re on your own?

2/27/2010 11:11:30 PM

^in my research, most places make you do tandem your first time. I did, however, see a place in SC that will let you go alone your first time but there is an extended training session before you go, and it's a little more expensive

if/when I go skydiving I def. want to go alone and not tandem. Considering I will probably only do it once in my life I want the experience of doing it alone

2/28/2010 10:33:17 AM

there's a place in Atlanta that apparently allows solo first jumps. A quick glance at the website shows they weight limits is 285lbs, too. I've never been skydiving, but thought you guys might be interested. I see their ads all the time around here.

http://www.ascskydiving.com/

2/28/2010 10:51:12 AM

Raeford also has the Accelerated Free Fall course. You show up, take a course, and jump by yourself the first day.... sort of. You have people falling with you the whole time keeping you steady, you pull your own chord and then navigate the parachute by yourself with some radio assistance. They also have a wind tunnel where you learn things like how to turn while falling.

http://www.jumpraeford.com/coaching.htm#2

2/28/2010 5:07:06 PM

You learn how to turn on your second jump. I recommend the tunnel before your 3rd aff (the one that is scariest for me because i let you go). Tunnel is better when you start being totally on your own.

I am an AFF instructor at Triangle Skydiving which replaced CSS. Most of the instructors that were at CSS now work at Triangle. We have an Otter until Summer (which is a slightly bigger plane than we usually have). Our weight limit is 235 lbs and if you are near that limit then you need to tip your Tandem instructor If you want to do AFF as your first jump you can but its way more involved and hence expensive.

You really have 5 practical options:
Triangle Skydiving: 35 min drive from Downtown Raleigh. Big plane (22 passengers) with experienced instructors.
Raeford: 1 hr 30 min drive. They have a tunnel nearby if you decide skydiving isn't for you and fly a Pac (about 18 people).
Jonesville (Adrenaline Air Sports): 2+ hour drive. 2 Cessna 182/206 that carry 4 people total to 10,000ish ft.
Skydive Carolina: 3+ hour drive. South of Charlotte. (Otter like we currently have)
Coastal Carolina: 2+ hour drive near Wilmington. (sometimes have big planes but usually just a 4 passenger)

I'd recommend Triangle. We're close and have good facilities and always like to see new faces.

There is no drop zone in Garner.

ASC is very very controversial and advertises in lots of areas they don't have dropzones. They sell a jump and you end up having to drive 5ish hours. A few dropzones sued them for millions and won. Don't buy a jump via Sky Ride please. Call the drop zone directly and book!

919-497-5867

Hmm wonder if rappelling is this intense:
http://www.allezbase.com/videos/Ready_To_Go.wmv

Skydiving is more about learning to fly kind of like how you would think a super hero does. As you learn you can do more and have more fun.

[Edited on March 1, 2010 at 9:55 AM. Reason : a]

3/1/2010 9:41:05 AM

Yeah, I've never been rapelling.... but I can't imagine it would compare. Cool adrenaline-inducing sport in it's own right, I'm sure, but skydiving would seem to be much more of a 'rush'.

Skydiving is the only time in your life most people will ever be "weightless" (i.e., you accelerate with the speed of gravity then hit terminal velocity). That sensation alone is just an awesome indescribable feeling. Leaping out of the plane will be the worst and best thing you've ever done all at the same time.

Couple that with the fact that you're screaming through clouds at about 130 mph (tandem speed, usually).... and it's just an insane adrenaline rush.

Then there's the view

I desribed my skydiving rush as the following. Imagine you're driving while reading a book that's in your lap. You look up from reading...going 50 mph...and the car 10 ft in front of you is stopped. You get that warm "holy crap" shot of adrenaline.

Imagine that shot every time your heart pumps...and it's pumping over 100 beats per minute...for a full minute freefall. You're completely weightless...it's hard to breathe you're so thrilled and just taking in what's happening around you....and you don't know whether to laugh, cry, pray, or scream. Being weightless was just an awesome feeling. Crazy sensation overload while skydiving... I thought it would be "scary" and that all i would think about was whether the chute would open. You're so overwhelmed and having fun, you don't have time to think about that stuff.

I'm not a risk taker at all...I don't like "pushing the envelope" and tempting fate, but typing about it makes we want to go back. I loved it. Ah, memories

I'll stop rambling about it now.

CaelNCSU

How high does you guys' tandem groups jump from? I've heard some places are as low as like 8,000 ft. I think we did it from 14,000...which is about a 1:00 freefall. We pulled at 5,000 ish feet just so we'd have more 'beatiful scenery' viewing time. Not sure if that's the norm, but that's what we did.


[Edited on March 1, 2010 at 11:20 AM. Reason : ]

3/1/2010 11:06:39 AM

13,500 to 15,000 ft generally.

Good description by the way.

Here is what you can look forward to if you continue with it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjONkYrhECY

3/1/2010 11:24:09 AM

do it

it's awesome

your first jump is basically a ride along...they grade you on if you check your gauges and whatnot, but you really don't have to be responsible for anything

3/1/2010 11:46:21 AM

If I have one piece of advice for your first jump it's "Buy the Video".

I didn't becuase I was honestly 50/50 on whether I was even going to be able to do it (Even up to the point of getting into the plane). As I said.... I am NOT a risk taker. That stuff really isn't my cup o' tea. I didn't want a $70 video of myself pussing out. I wish I had gotten it. Even if you plan on doing it multiple times, there will never be the hilarity that is the faces you make your first time skydiving.

3/1/2010 11:51:21 AM

thinking about skydiving scares the shit out of me and excites me all at the same time.

3/1/2010 11:57:09 AM

The worst part of my skydiving trip was the anticipation. I had about 5 months to think about it. If you're scared of going....like I was....it's one of those things that I wish they had just woken me up one morning and said we're going. I didn't get that luxury. I slept an average of 3 hours per night the 2-3 days before going...I didn't eat hardly at all the day before. I was terrified. I started reading safety statistics on it and crap. I freaked myself out.

The plane ride up there is effing terrible. Once you leave the plane, there's nothing scary about it. It's honestly just fun. There's no 'falling' sensation. There's no 'I'm really high up' sensation. I thought it would be like jumping off of a building where the ground rushes up towards you. It's more like jumping onto a map. There's no point of reference as to how fast you're moving or how high you are. The ground isn't getting any larger or coming at you really fast. It's nothing like i thought it would be. If I did it, anyone can do it. I was absolutely terrified to go. I wasn't ashamed to say it. There's punking out...then there's punking out of a freaking 14,000 ft. freefall.

I always said it sounds exciting...but when push came to shove and I was asked to go....it was a different animal. I'm glad I did. You'd really really enjoy it if you went. I think everyone should do it before they die.


[Edited on March 1, 2010 at 1:05 PM. Reason : ]

3/1/2010 12:53:49 PM

Quote :

"do you also want to go rocky mountain climbing?"

I lol'd

3/1/2010 2:25:13 PM

Quote :

"The other thing I forgot to mention, it is NOT $200 for a 30-second experience. All the activities leading up to the jump are what really get you psyched up. Watching the legal videos saying "you're not going to but you definitely could die from this." Getting fitted for your helmet and suit. Actually putting the suit on. Practicing turns before you get in the plane. Actually getting in the plane. Watching the door open. Moving yourself to the door. JUMPING OUT OF THE FRIGGIN PLANE! 60 seconds of freefall. Glide and play with the toggles for 15 minutes. And then can you stick the landing? I mean holy christ the adrenaline high stays with you for hours. Just typing it all out gives me chills! I always thought it was going to be very unsettling/uneasy like coming down over the peak of a roller coaster. It's not like that at all, very peaceful, like laying on the top of a pool. It is definitely an entire experience worth every penny."

Totally agree. I felt fucking amazing for the next 24 hrs. I'd like to do it again but right now my play money goes to track time for the car

3/7/2010 1:54:25 AM

Quote :

"thinking about skydiving scares the shit out of me and excites me all at the same time."

3/7/2010 3:01:38 AM

1 Year Anniversary March 20th.

http://triangleskydiving.com/index.php

3/8/2010 10:08:29 AM

I went to the skydiving place near fayetteville back in 2006. But I forgot the name and I can't find their website. Does anyone know what its called? Are they still in business?

3/31/2010 6:05:49 AM

I went to Raeford parachute center. It was awesome besides a minor chute malfunction would go agian.

4/1/2010 10:50:33 AM

Yeah Raeford is around. TSC is closer

We'll be open all day tomorrow.

4/1/2010 1:03:25 PM

I will be out at Triangle Skydiving Center next Saturday (April 10) for my first ever jump. I dont care that its tandem, I just want to do it. I am really looking forward to it and hope the weather makes for a great day.

4/1/2010 1:31:49 PM

i need to save up so i can do this again... only have gone once, but i loved it. i really don't feel like they even give you time to get scared, the plane ride up is so quick and they're instructing you the whole time so you're not even really paying attention to whether or not you're scared. i'm not really afraid of heights though, so maybe that had something to do with it.

just wish it wasn't so expensive

4/1/2010 4:38:13 PM

^^ Don't hit my aircraft while you're out there son. I'mma fly into ya son.

Sometimes the skydivers get out over the centerline of the runway while they're gliding in and it causes some difficulties for pilots, lol. No big deal, everyone knows what's happening when the big turbine powered Twin Otter goes up. I'd be more excited about getting to fly in that thing doing a stupidly steep climbout and then diving back in at VNE. He gets up there and back QUICK man, that shit can climb.

4/1/2010 10:26:07 PM

^ I remember them doing some pretty wild stuff with the otters. A lot of the pictures of skydivers would have the otter in background in a nose dive.

4/1/2010 10:29:05 PM

Yeah I like seeing the aircraft passing the free falling jumpers in a dive, haha!

4/1/2010 10:34:00 PM

i keep saying im gonna go. but it never works out

but im thinkin this summer its gonna happen

4/1/2010 11:56:22 PM

4/2/2010 12:00:02 AM

The look on his face indicates that his dick is probably wedged firmly between her buttcheeks.

4/2/2010 12:07:07 AM

Dick in butt = 5th connection point


I've seen some interesting close calls with planes skydivers. I wouldn't fly over an airport with a parachute symbol on it. I mean they are all over the map It's fun exiting in a wing suit and flying above the plane.

From the first weekend we opened:

4/2/2010 9:35:03 AM

Quote :

"Raeford also has the Accelerated Free Fall course. You show up, take a course, and jump by yourself the first day.... sort of. You have people falling with you the whole time keeping you steady, you pull your own chord and then navigate the parachute by yourself with some radio assistance. They also have a wind tunnel where you learn things like how to turn while falling. http://www.jumpraeford.com/coaching.htm#2"

This is what I did. I've never had to do a single tandem jump.

You show at like 8 AM. 6 hour training (no boring parts at all, because you're thinking "i better learn this, or i will die."). 6 minutes of wind tunnel time. Meet two people you're jumping with. Pay $400. Strap in. Fly up. Jump. Adrenaline rush for the next 24-36 hours.

Consider yourself a pro if you don't have to PLF when you land.

4/2/2010 2:00:01 PM

So I went to Triangle Sky Diving this past Saturday and it was a blast! I did my tandem jump and it could not have been more fun. So, someone tell me what the overall average cost would be in total to get my license. I figure its probably pretty expensive, but could be well worth it.

4/12/2010 11:29:22 AM

Quote :

"A $20 discount is available for students, military, firefighters, EMS and law enforcement with presentation of valid picture ID at check in."

sweeeeet, and you guys are close to raleigh.
i'll be there sometime soon.

^25 jumps to get your A

4/12/2010 11:41:43 AM

I got the 25 jumps for Class A license. What I don't know is how many 2 instructor jumps, one instructor jumps, coached jumps, solo jumps, rental gear, or anything else one might need.

4/12/2010 1:30:41 PM

I was there Saturday in the black jumpsuit taking AFF students. You can get a huge discount if you buy in bulk. Not sure what though.

Student program is :
Ground school
AFF Cat A: 2 instructors
Cat B: 2 instructors
Cat C1: 2 instructors
C2: 1 instructor (c2 is optional)
D1 & D2: turns
E1..en: after completion of e you are signed off for solo jumps

You can graduate aff in 6 jumps if you do everything right. 5 coach jumps are required and 25 total.

[Edited on April 14, 2010 at 8:52 AM. Reason : a]

4/14/2010 8:51:07 AM

So, if you do these jumps through TSC, do they give you the equipment to use, or do you have to buy your own equipment. What does a typical (average) setup cost? CaelNCSU, where you jumping with Randy Garman? I use to talk to him all the time about skydiving when he was doing the plumbing work on a restaurant I use to work for. He is the one that actually got me really interested in it.

4/14/2010 11:08:40 AM

I believe on Saturday I was only jumping with the higher level students that only needed 1 instructor. I the rig rental is included in all the costs. I've jumped with him before

4/14/2010 1:29:03 PM