No cameras or phones are permitted on your skydive. We adhere strictly to the rules set forth by the United States Parachute Association. One of these rules is that any person making a skydive must have completed a minimum of 200 skydives before using a camera in freefall. Even tandem instructors are required to make a minimum of 200 jumps as a tandem instructor before they are allowed to use a hand-cam to record your photos and videos! We do offer video and picture services for everyone jumping. We record all photos and videos for every tandem skydive, even if you have not purchased this service. Everyone has an opportunity to purchase media for up to a year after their skydive is completed.
Tandem skydiving participants should wear clothing appropriate for the day's weather and temperatures. Please keep in mind, the temperature at jump altitude will be about 20-30 degrees colder than ground temperatures for that time of day. We recommend you bring gloves and extra layers just in case you decide to layer-up. Your tandem instructor will advise whether you will be more comfortable with or without these extra layers. Wearing some type of athletic footwear or sneakers is ideal.
Yes. Bring as many as you want to watch. We have a landing viewing area for all your friends.
We have a dedicated smoking area, and this is strictly enforced. Cigarette butts must be disposed of only in a dedicated canister in the smoking area. Once you are in your jumpsuit and/or tandem harness, no smoking is allowed. Please remember that your tandem skydiving harness is just as important to your safety as your parachute, so please treat our equipment like your life depends on it! The smoking policy applies to both customers and spectators, so please ensure your friends and family follow our smoking policy as well.
The industry standard for tandem passengers is to leave a tip for tandem instructors, but only if they have exceeded your expectations! Tips are not required, but are greatly appreciated by our jump staff. We provide comment cards after each tandem skydive, in which you can leave a cash tip inside if you wish. Our instructors also have either Venmo or PayPal tags on the envelope where you can scan with your phone and easily leave a tip if you do not carry cash. We truly do appreciate all of your feedback, good or bad on these comment cards. Instructors love to read these comments at the end of every week, and any humor in the comments is greatly appreciated! We all strive to exceed your expectations, and if we fail to do so; in that case the best tip of all is how we can do better in the future!
Freefall from an airplane is unique, in that you feel more like you are flying than you are falling. This is because when you exit the aircraft, you have the inertia from airplane flight; which means you will transition from flying across the ground, to lunging towards it! This transition takes away the feeling that you would get from riding a roller-coaster or BASE jumping. Skydiving feels very "zen" compared to what people tend to expect. While it can be an intense feeling when the door opens, once you exit the aircraft there's actually a feeling of freedom and tranquility. You may not be thinking about breathing in freefall, bust rest assured you will continue breathing normally.. Some people simply do not recall breathing due to sensory overload! If in the moment you do not think you are breathing, all you have to do is let out a scream. Not only does this look great on your video, but it forces you to focus on breathing and "viola" you are once again present! Skydiving is about as "present" and "living in the moment" as it gets!
All sales are final on gift cards, jump packages media packages and merchandise. However, we can offer some flexibility with rescheduling your appointment or transferring your purchase to another person in the case of unforeseen circumstances at our discretion.
If we are unable to accommodate your skydive due to factors beyond our control including weather, we will allow you to reschedule your skydive for a future date. Your deposit will remain "in-limbo" until you make another reservation. We do not refund deposits. If you experience an extenuating circumstance which prevents you from being able to skydive, please contact us and we may make an accommodation to reschedule at our discretion. However, if you do not contact us and you not show up for your jump, you will be forfeiting your deposit and will not be able to use it for another jump. We do not require anyone to pay in full for their skydive at the time of booking. If you choose to pay in full at the time of making a reservation to take advantage of the "pay in full discount", you will not be given a refund if you decide not to skydive. If your reservation is placed "in-limbo" due to weather, you can reschedule your reservation for any available date and time from the time of postponement until the end of the skydiving season, which is Nov. 1. If you have still not fulfilled your reservation by Oct 1, our office team will call you and remind you that you have one additional month to make your skydive prior to losing your deposit.
Participants must be 18 or older in order to skydive. A photo ID is required during check in, and while filling out waivers. But, there is no age cap on jumping! Our instructors have even taken participants on tandems to celebrate their 90th birthday.
On a tandem skydive, your instructor is required by law to deploy the parachute at 5,500 feet above ground or higher. If you skydive from 10,000 feet above ground, this means you only freefall for 4,500 feet. With a 13,000 foot jump, you will freefall for 7,500 feet. This substantially increases your freefall time! We offer skydiving from the highest elevation above sea level that you can legally conduct a skydiving operation without the use of supplemental oxygen. We offer the highest elevation skydive in Central New York, high above the heart of the Finger Lakes Region!
At Skydive Seneca Lake we are proud to exclusively employ highly experienced tandem instructors. Even our lowest experience tandem instructor has completed over 2,200 tandem skydives! It takes a great deal of skill to take passengers up to our weight limit of 270 pounds, but our staff is ready and able to take passengers who are physically able to skydive safely! Our premium aircraft with extra large cabins ensure that folks at the higher end of the weight spectrum are able to move about the cabin safely while preparing for their tandem jump, as well as take passengers up to the highest elevation skydive available in Central New York!
The short answer is 270 pounds, but please read the explanations below before booking. The total maximum weight for passengers is determined based on the total weight of the tandem instructor, tandem passenger, and skydiving gear combined. For this reason, maximum weight is determined on a case-by-case basis. Weight is also not the only consideration when determining whether the skydive will be possible. We also need to determine if the tandem passenger is physically able to lift their legs properly for a safe parachute landing. Participants who are height/weight proportionate should be okay to skydive. We can accommodate many tandem passengers up to 270 pounds. Any tandem passenger over 225 pounds should call ahead to ensure availability. If we are not able to accommodate the reservation after booking due to safety concerns or aircraft limitations, a full refund including deposit will be issued for the tandem jumper. We otherwise do not offer refunds, please see our refund policy below.
We recommend not skydiving on an empty stomach, as this can actually make you more likely to experience motion sickness! A light meal or snack before you arrive can actually ease nausea during and after your skydiving experience. Bringing snacks or a light lunch with you will come in handy if the drop zone experiences a weather hold. Please DO NOT consume alcohol before your skydive. Any participants who appear intoxicated may be required to pass a breathalyzer before gearing up for the skydive. For skydivers with any health concerns, please consult with your doctor to see if skydiving would pose additional risks for you.
Plan to arrive 30 minutes before your reservation. In order to participate in skydiving, all participants are required to watch a short video explaining the risks involved with making an intentional parachute jump. All participants are then given an in-depth briefing about their jump from our licensed professionals. Participants then begin the "gear up" process, and we can't rush perfection! If you have not filled out your e-waiver online, please plan to arrive 45 minutes before your scheduled reservation to fill out a paper version of the required waiver
In the event of a friend backing out of skydiving, the group organizer may want to bring another friend in their place. However, any changes made to your party are at our discretion. Please call the drop zone within 72 hours of your scheduled reservation time to make any changes to your group. If we are unable to accommodate this request, the original reservation holder can still use their original deposit towards a jump until Nov 1, if they give enough notice to SSL that they do not plan on jumping. Please see our refund policy.
Our largest aircraft seats six jumpers and our smallest aircraft seats four jumpers. Only 2 tandem pairs can jump on a single flight due to current staffing limitations.
Reservations are not required, but they are strongly encouraged. Walk-in customers must contact us via a phone call before heading to the drop zone. We are a reservation based business and without a phone call to give us a heads up, you may show up to find out our staff has not yet arrived or has closed up shop early for the day due to weather or all reservations being completed. Any customer with a reservation will take priority, as we do our very best to minimize wait times for all customers. Walk-in customers should call before showing up to see what times would be best to accommodate walk-ins. If there are any weather delays during the day, walk-in customers will skydive after all reservations are completed.
If the weather is not favorable for skydiving on the day of your jump, you will receive a text message and an email the night before or the morning of your reservation. A link will be sent to your email to reschedule for another date and time of your choosing. You will have 2 years to use your $100 deposit towards any other available date and time on our schedule.
We monitor the aviation forecast closely throughout the week. But, inclement weather can always arise on the day of your jump. We suggest texting the drop zone at (315) 694-6959 to confirm your reservation the morning of your jump if you have NOT already heard from us, especially those visiting the drop zone from afar. (However, calling the drop zone several days prior to your reservation to ask if your jump is "still on" will not result in a firm answer from us, as our beautiful Finger Lakes forecast is ever changing! Expect to hear from us the evening before, around 8pm or the morning of your reservation)
Please note: We do not control the weather, but we also do not control the requirements/regulations for what constitutes safe/appropriate skydiving weather. The FAA and United States Parachute Association set these guidelines and we follow them. Changes to your reservation are not permitted within 72 hours of your booking, unless inclement weather is creating a safety issue. Only our Lead Pilot and Safety & Training Advisor can make determinations on if the day's weather meets the requirements we must follow regarding wind speeds, cloud coverage and precipitation. Patrons are not eligible to make last minute changes to their reservation based on their opinion of the day's weather. Please see our cancellation/refund policy.
To complete a tandem skydive with us, students walk to the plane with their instructor and sit in front of them during the ride to altitude. This allows the instructor to connect the student’s harness to their parachute system. Before exit, the student scoots back onto the instructor’s lap for final harness attachments.
At the door, the student places their feet outside with a slight bend in the knees. Depending on the aircraft, the instructor will guide the exit, usually involving a small flip into a stable belly-to-earth position.
In freefall, students arch with hips forward, arms at 90 degrees, and legs extended between the instructor’s. This belly-to-earth position is maintained until parachute deployment.
After deployment, the pair is pulled upright into a seated position and stays that way through descent. For landing, the instructor cues the student to lift their legs, and both slide in on their butts.
(Note: We do NOT do a "kneeling gear up". Our instructors will harness students while standing on the ground and then attach the student's harness to the parachute system while they are seated)
We have proudly taken all types of folks skydiving, despite past medical conditions or current physical disabilities/limitations. However, it is never up to our skydiving staff to advise you on whether or not a tandem skydive is a good choice for you.
We are not doctors and cannot give medical advice. We urge you to consult your Primary Care Physician or Specialist prior to booking a skydive with us. Certain cases may require written approval from your doctor in order to jump with us, depending on the severity of your condition or past injury.
If you are an amputee or paraplegic, please first gain approval from your doctor. Then, send us an email prior to booking with information regarding your condition to ensure we can accommodate you. This is evaluated on a case by case basis.