Skydiving FAQs

Skydiving is a contact sport and a tandem skydive requires you to be attached to another human. Of course this close contact heightens the risk of exposure to COVID-19! By skydiving and being at WNYSkydiving, you assume the risk of COVID-19 infection. WNYSkydiving has taken precautions to mitigate risk of infection but makes no guarantees or representations regarding safety from COVID-19. No amount of care or caution can assure protection from COVID-19 during this pandemic. If an individual cannot accept that risk, they MUST NOT skydive or be present at WNYSkydiving.

If you are experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, please call to reschedule your appointment.

Tandem skydiving is a training method of skydiving where a student skydives with an experienced instructor. The student is a part of the skydive and is expected to perform what they have learned in the tandem class.

Accelerated Free Fall is a method of training skydiving students to become licensed skydivers. An instructor jumps with a student during an AFF jump but is not attached like in Tandem Skydiving. Tandem levels 1 and 2 are required for Accelerated Free Fall at WNYSkydiving.

Really good!!! This is an individual feeling that can only be described (or not – talk to other students that day who have jumped, and they may tell you the feeling can’t be described!) after skydiving.

All skydivers plan to land back at the dropzone they have taken off from. This includes all students.

At our dropzone, all skydiving students must be at least 18 years old. On the upper end though, there are no real limits. So take Grandma skydiving!

Do you ski in winter? We skydive! We just put on some extra layers of clothing for added comfort!

We do not give refunds. If you are unable to skydive due to weather or other factors we cannot control, we will reschedule you for another day at your convenience. If you have extraordinary circumstances which prevent you from jumping on your scheduled date, we will make accommodation at our discretion.

Please arrive at the time you have scheduled for your jump. If you have booked a 8am reservation, please be at the office for check-in right at 8am.

Jumps are on a first come, first served basis. If you schedule your jump for the morning, you should plan on spending half the day at the dropzone. If you have an afternoon jump scheduled, please don’t plan anything else for your day.

Skydiving is a several hour process. Ideally all students will have watched a video and completed a waiver online prior to arriving at WNYSkydiving. This significantly shortens the check-in time for each group.

On weekdays we typically take students up 1 at a time in our Cessna 182 (4 seat aircraft). Turnaround time for each jumper is about 30 minutes. On weekends we typically take students up in groups of 2-4 in our Cessna 208 (15 seat aircraft). Turnaround time for each group of jumpers is about 25 minutes.

Between the completion of your training class and the time you actually jump enjoy watching the skydiving activities. Plan to be at the airport at least half the day.

Yes, spectators are welcome at WNYSkydiving!

Pets are not permitted at the airport.

Yes, spectators of all ages are welcome at WNYSkydiving! Children must be accompanied at all times by an adult (at least 18 years of age) while they are at WNYSkydiving. Please be sure to bring a dedicated adult to supervise any children while at the airport, including while you are in the airplane.

No. If you would like a video of your skydive (highly recommended!!!) we can provide that for you. Strapping your GoPro onto you could snag the lines of the parachute – this would cause a very bad day.

Smoking is not permitted at WNYSkydiving facilities during business hours (We’re sick of cleaning up people’s butts!!!)

Please do not drink alcohol (any kind) on the dropzone field until after operations are finished for the day. If you drink alcohol before your jump, we cannot jump with you. Skydiving HAS to be done sober!

Sneakers and comfortable clothes for the day are strongly suggested. Shorts and a T-shirt usually work on a hot summer day for guys, yoga clothes work well for women. Read our What to Wear Skydiving article for more info.

WNYSkydiving during the COVID-19 pandemic will not be issuing jumpsuits to tandem students. If the weather is cooler (below 70 degrees) on the day of your jump, students should wear a thermal layer under their outer layer of clothing. If it’s below 60 degrees, students may want to bring tight fitting gloves (think batting gloves or other athletic gloves) to wear on their jump. While this is normally provided for students, unfortunately we are unable to supply these gloves during the COVID-19 pandemic.

WNYSkydiving is open 8am-8pm 7 days a week. Please see our hours of operation tab. If you have questions about our hours, please call us at (716) 597-7393.

Of course it’s dangerous. You get out of a plane two miles above the earth. Gravity does work. In fact, it rules supreme! The only thing between a skydiver and “deceleration trauma” is a chunk of nylon about the size of your living room. Which part of being dangerous was unclear?

Ahhh…a much better question.

WNYSkydiving owns the latest student, solo, and tandem gear. All of the equipment used at WNYSkydiving is serviced and maintained by FAA certified technicians of the highest ratings. The parachutes are packed by professionals, the reserves packed and repacked, even if unused every 180 days. Although an inherently dangerous sport, just as driving a car to work is an inherently dangerous activity (you did know that, right?), we take every precaution to assure your safety while on our dropzone. Do you drive with bad brakes and bald tires?

For more information about skydiving safety, check this out! At WNYSkydiving, we take precautions before, during, and after your skydive.

For information about COVID-19 policies and procedures, see the COVID-19 FAQs.

Tipping is not required – but of course, it is always appreciated if you feel your instructor did a great job. Cash and Venmo tips are happily accepted by our instructors.

No, we do not jump when it is raining, completely clouded over, extremely windy, or extremely cold (less than 25F on the ground) but we still can do your training. That way you can be ready to jump right away if you have to come back another day. Weather can cause unexpected delays, so please be patient. We are trying to get you in the air as quickly and safely as possible.

We’ve written an article about how weather can affect your skydive, but if you have any doubt about the weather, please call us on the day of your jump.

Yes. There is plenty of air to breathe up thru 15,000’. Here are a few tips though that can help you ensure you are getting enough air up there.

Normally, landings with a parachute have less impact than jumping off a chair. If you’re curious to learn more, read our article about the Perfect Parachute Landing Fall.

All of our instructors are rated by the United States Parachute Association (USPA). Our current instructional staff has an average of almost 7,000 jumps each, making our skydiving center the most experienced in the area.

Yes, we can safely take someone up to 235 lbs for a tandem. For those over 200 lbs, it is important they are physically fit and height weight proportionate.

You are more than welcome to call us at (716) 597-7393 and our staff will be happy to answer any question about skydiving. Another good source for information about skydiving is the United States Parachute Association and you can contact them at www.uspa.org

We realize no one likes to see others skipping the line – least when you’re waiting to go up in an airplane for the tandem skydiving adventure of a lifetime! There are however some logistical reasons behind this dynamic, involving prep time, weather and the ability of licensed jumpers to just go. We wrote a blog post to help explain.