DC Skydiving Center

FIRST TIME SKYDIVER!
This was the most exhilarating and beautiful experience ever! I’ve been wanting to skydive for years, so it was time! My instructor, Imi from Hungary, made me comfortable right away. All the instructors I interacted with had a great sense of humor and put everyone at ease. They also gave clear directions about what we needed to do. Since we went tandem there really is little you need to do or know. The biggest thing is feeling comfortable with jumping out of a perfectly good plane with someone you literally just met and enjoying every second of your fall. My instructor, Imi, had to fuel the plane, so we were last to get on, which meant I was closest to the door and first! Sitting on the floor near the door of the plane was the best spot and most gorgeous view! Score! All six of us plus each instructor were able to fit on the plane. Other reviews said they had to go two at a time, because their plane was too small, so I was glad to know we could all go up together. It was one of the most exciting and best times in the world. Everyone, even the instructors, were smiling and ready to go! Adrenaline was pumping! As you get higher in the sky the instructor tightens up the harness. Once you’re about to jump your relationship with your instructor is at the next level as you are very close! Everything is tight and secure. Once we jumped the free fall lasted about 40 seconds. The wind blew fast and loud, and it felt AMAZING! Enjoy this part, because it goes by fast! Then Imi released the parachute, and it’s a tranquil experience after that simply enjoying the beautiful scenery. I felt lucky that the weather was perfect and our jump was exactly during sunset. They also gave us a certificate saying that we did the jump, which was a nice touch. Imi rocked! Thanks for such an awesome experience that I will always remember!
Extra Tips:
Get the Groupon to save cash.
Buy the videos and pictures ahead of time! So worth it. Call in advance to get the discount. I had trouble reaching someone, so had to call a few times, but eventually reached a nice lady and locked in my discount. They gave me over 500 pictures! Not all were great, of course, but there were some really awesome ones!
Wear comfortable clothes. Check the weather and dress appropriately. We went on a beautiful, warm day and a couple from our group even wore shorts. I wore comfy jeans and a t-​shirt, and it worked great as well. I’d recommend a top that covers shoulders since you’ll be secured in tight straps.
Our scheduled time was 5pm and we actually jumped closer to 730pm or so. We were lucky to have the sunset! Be prepared for a wait. Average wait time seems to be 2 – 4 hours. The check-​in part was quick and easy.
Bring cash to tip your instructor. Believe me, you’ll want to give them extra thanks for getting you to the ground safely! Plus, they are often fun and humorous!
Speaking of fun and humorous, I recommend my instructor, Imi! However, all the instructors seemed to be great based on my friends’ experiences.

I gotta re-​rate this place. I came here for the Groupon which they are *great* for. Wanna cheap thrill? Definitely the spot. But I tried a different jump zone yesterday and I gotta say, this place is not the best. They’re definitely good and the people are nice, but the facility is not on par with the other local guys. From the plane to the hangar to the availability of instructors — it’s just fallin’ (pun) short here guys.
Keep doin’ the discount though, you definitely found your niche! But I’d recommend looking around before heading out there — even despite the discount.

IT WAS SOOO MUCH FUNNNN!!!
Got the groupon, it was 159 with 25% off, i saved like 6% on top of that using ebates
. They offered the pics and vid for 149, which was more than they offered non groupon/​LS deals but hey i saved already on the jump itself. They did charge a 6 or 9 dollar booking fee. No big deal. They offered a vip option for 99, we did not do this but it allows you to be one of the first jumpers that day and saves time. Autumn was who helped me book and was very nice. Even when i called and said i didnt get a confirm call 24hrs in advance its because i gave my house number i never use. Good move. Haha. She accepted my abrupt apology with a giggle.
We were supposed to jump last saturday, booked it out of excitement even though it was expected to be 40 degrees. Well that day it decided to rain and snow and our 1pm jump got cancelled. They texted me at 9am though so i had ample notice. We were able to reschedule 8 days later to the following sunday at 1pm. Much better option it was 75 degrees yesterday!
We get there-​middle of nowhere-​looks scary and farmlike. Bt there were signs so i felt it was legit. They also had a horse area so we watched people ride horses while we waited.
Check in was fairly quick. Signed my life away on paper and the ipad. Got checked in. Would have been quicker if my friend had his id on him instead of having to wait for it to come –_​-​.
Ricco was my instructor, my friend had Angelo. Both are awesome. While maintaining high standards of safety they were able to joke with us and keep my friend from backing out. I jumped first. It was fn amazing. The view is so nice, even with the wind making wrinkles appear on the video you never knew you had. They each had a go pro on their wrists to take pics and vids. Def recommend getting these, or the vid over the pics if you can only afford one. They put it on a cd-​luckily i had a brand new jump drive with me since none of my computers have a cd rom.
I made friends-​donna-​i hope you review too. We were 4 first timers who became friends over this crazy adventure and it made it even more special in the sense that noone was alone in this, had a similar amazing experience and we all took pics together and were planning our next jump!
We did backflips because Ricco is amazing and could sense i was ready for whatever… we could have drifted away and i would still be smiling, thumbs upping, waving and ready for more.
I only had $ 12 cash on me so i left that in the envelope but am going to leave Ricco more next time i go. I think 20 – 30 is acceptable for what they do, assuming you get back safely. I googled prior and people said like 10 – 20. But i felt super cheap leaving $ 12.
Ricco and Angelo were amazing… im sure the others are too, but i know who i am asking for next time! Donna the lady i referenced jumped with a guy who had bleach blonde tips-​dont know his name but she enjoyed the time w him as well. The pilot we had was cool, and i think its the owner who i met who is an older man who did a jump right before us… i guess everyone who works here is great haha. Not sure where people get bad customer service from. The fees are all outlined on the website and the groupon. I was not shocked and didnt have any unintended expense.
They already have me wanting to do jump #2
.SOLO. I didnt want to leave!

This was amazing! I can’t wait to jump again and I will definitely return to DC Skydiving Center. I just jumped this past weekend for the first time and I think I’m hooked.
We had a 1pm time to be out there and probably didn’t get on the plane until almost 3pm but that was mostly due to the size of the plane they had that day. The were only able to take up two jumpers at a time but it was lots of fun watching everyone land in the field.
I was a little hesitate on getting the pictures since they cost $ 90/​person but they were totally worth it! You will get around 200 – 400 pictures taken during the entire jump and they are really great quality. Sure some are terrible but that’s because the camera is snapping constantly. But that is the fun in it since some of the pictures are hilarious! For $ 150 you can get both the video and pictures which they give to you on a DVD to keep.
Can’t recommend this enough but don’t hesitate or feel nervous since this company was very professional.

This was the worst customer service experience of my life– which resulted is us not skydiving, and having to dispute the charges. Buyer beware.
Let me tell you a story of what I went through.
(1) I booked via Groupon. Awesome, on sale, I’ve gone skydiving before at one of their competitors and it was awesome, how different can it be?
(2) I go online, see reservation times that are open on the day I want. Sweet. I can’t use my Groupon. Ugh, now I have to call someone.
(3) I call, say I can’t use my Groupon online. Customer service tells me «oh no, you can’t use those online, but we have to charge you $ 9 per person to book over the phone.» Ok, I’m saving a few bucks, I can swing $ 18.
(4) I ask to book the times I saw online (with availability). «Sorry those are reserved, you can’t use those.» For who? I’m looking at availability like a week before my jump. I think– it’s strange, but whatever, I choose a later time slot, and express my concern for timing.
* now is an important time to discuss their 48 time window to change the timing of the jump. And how it will cost you $ 50/​person to change a reservation.
(5) about 46 hours before the reservation someone calls to confirm my jump time. I think– awesome! Yeah, we’re both excited. This agent then tells me it looks like the jump will take 4 hours to complete. I thought this was strange, because I’ve been skydiving before and all tandem jumps were in and out within an hour. I ask if he can point to any information that said this in their documents, website, initial deal (anything that I read before or after I paid). He said no, he couldn’t find anything
THEN, he says «however, we have a VIP jump package you can purchase for $ 100 per person to guarantee you’ll be first jump during your time slot.» Oh. Now I get what’s going on.
I ask to reschedule and he responds «well, that’s $ 50 per person.» I said that was ridiculous and asked if it could be waived given the circumstances. He said he didn’t have the authority to do that, but his manager did… but she left for the day. I asked for her number, which he refused. Ok, I get it, it’s policy, and he was relatively polite. So I asked for her e-​mail. I wrote her an e-​mail immediately.
(6) 24 hours later… no call/​e-​mail back. I call. 10 minute wait time, phone picks up on other end, then I’m hung up on. Great. I call again, 14 minute wait time. Picks up, and I go through the same process as #5 above. She tells me I can pay $ 100/​person to get a VIP time (which are still luckily available!) or $ 50/​person to rebook. She said she didn’t have the authority to waive the fee, and couldn’t get someone to do so. Awesome! I ask to cancel and for a refund, which I’m then told will cost $ 50 per person.
It’s very obvious what they are doing to Groupon people for extra $.

I had always wanted to skydive, so why not in my won backyard?
I had a great experience here to summarize, but if you want to know the details I will walk you through my experience
Driving up to this place takes you back a little. You’ll think you’re lost, but you’re not. Once you turn onto the «skydiving center’s» property you might get a little scared. There were barns filled with various plane parts and old cars. I thought to myself «man what kind of plane am I going to get into!?»
When you check in you sign about a million waivers that explain that your life insurance does not apply to skydiving, you cant sue them if you die, blah blah blah, You’re jumping out of a perfectly good airplane– If you get hurt you should understand this is a real possibility. Anyway after you give the forms back they weight you to make sure you don’t need a tandem who can handle someone larger than 200lbs.
I paid an extra 50 $ for the «VIP» package, which allows you first jump of the groups, and they give you a water bottle and a tshirt Before you get in the plane you get a crash course in safety, then you meet your instructor.
Then your all load into the plane! The ascend was actually fine, but you have to pretty much sit on your instructors lap, which is a little awkward. I was set to jump second, and while you’re sitting with your instructor they start attaching themselves to you via 4 point metal clips that are located on either side of your hips and shoulders.
The first jumper looked like he was going to back out, and started inching away from the door, however it was made clear to us that you have to jump because there’s only so much time to get everyone out of the plane and have a safe jump, so his instructor put him into position and out they went! My turn! I stood up to jump… and my hips broke away from my instructor. He pulled me back and sat me down to clip me back in. While this is happening all the other instructors were talking me off the ledge telling me everything was okay, and all I could think is «I’m not even freaking out… should I be freaking out?»
Anyway, I jumped, I screamed, all was well, and I would do it again!

I had an awesome time here with my girlfriend! I found a Groupon deal online to use that allowed us to jump 54% off and came with a free souvenir shirt after you land!
Service was great, yes we waited about 3.5 hrs before we actually jumped but then again the place was flooded with people and it was cloudy in the morning which delayed the jump groups before us.
We signed up for the jumps at 1 PM and jumped around 4:50, came down and got our t-​shirt and CD which had all of the pictures that we took during the jump.
Pictures /​Videos cost about $ 100 a pop but both of the front desk people suggested pictures because they take so many of them and you can blow them up to make big prints out of them!
My instructor Geoff was very funny and very accommodating, he was definitely crazy when we jumped out but let me take the wheels and steer, highly suggested!
Honestly, the prices are a bit high and the wait is long but at the end of the day you are going skydiving, it’s worth the wait and worth the money! HAVE A GREAT FALL!

Guys, please be aware that the customer service at this location is horrendous. After buying my groupon, I called DC Skydiving to reserve the time. The hold was over 5 minutes, and the representative hung up on me when I was trying to locate the groupon reservation code. I called back, and she was extremely curt and rude when I asked about the wait.
On the day of the jump, it was amazing. Super fun, but be careful about the bad customer service.

Went here while visiting DC. The jump was awesome, Imi was great! The customer service leading up the actual jump was HORRIBLE. Me and my sister called several times to confirm out appointment time and never received the same answer. Amanda was rude, unhelpful and unprofessional. We finally spoke with a guy named Jay who confirmed our appointment and took our payment. I would definitely consider going again but with a different location if the customer service isn’t improved.

AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE! I still can’t believe I jumped out of a plane a little over 24 hours ago!
Our group used the living social offer and I ended up getting my experience for free (buy yours, get three friends to purchase and they refund you). In the end the four of us split the total cost evenly so it ended up being $ 120 per a person instead of the regular $ 159. My advice to users is to call ahead and ask for availability FIRST! They book up rather quickly so I highly recommend making sure they have availability and making that reservation!
It was our first time jumping and we were all pretty pumped about it. Once you arrived you have to sign off on a four page back to back agreement which basically takes away most of your rights– this is when it actually hits you that you’re about to jump out of a perfectly safe plane! You then watch a quick instruction video and go through a short training on what to expect and what to do once you’re up in the air. Shortly after, your instructor meets with you to assist you with your harness. NOTE: they do not provide you jumpsuits so be sure to wear the right clothing for jumping out of a plane! Closed toe shoes are a MUST and loose fitting clothes are highly recommended.
My instructor was Randy and he was great! He’s been doing this for five years now and was amazing at letting me know what to expect and answering all the questions I had. We got on the plane and was the fifth group to jump. Honestly, there’s nothing like the actual experience of jumping out of a plane. Once you’re high enough, the door rolls up and before you know it you’re at the edge of the plane and pushed out. The feeling is amazing! We free fall for roughly forty seconds and then released the parachute. Once the parachute is opened it’s all just smooth sailing from there. You get a chance to really just look at your surrounding. See all the land and sky and the other parachutes. I loved how we were able to do 360 turns. We eventually landed and actually landed on our butts instead of our feet.
Overall I would say the experience is totally worth it and the living social/​groupon deal is definitely LEGIT! We got a free shirt out of it too! My group is definitely hooked on it. Two of the guys actually want to start making this an annual thing!
Thank you to our instructors for making all of our first time experiences so amazing!

I went here with friends and had an awesome experience! I would definitely do it over and over again. Imre was such a great instructor. He definitely made it fun in the air. I would definitely jump off with him again. If you plan to go here, make sure you ask to take videos and pictures if you want both. It’s definitely a life time experience and it’s not even scary as you think!

This was my graduation present from my Mom. We bought the groupon because it was half the price that it normally was. Don’t be alarmed wen you first arrive, it is a one way gravel road with very limited parking in the middle of nowhere. It is very intimidating at first to see the really small plane (with no seat belts!!) but only adds to the adrenaline factor (which is the reason that most people go anyways). My instructor was Rico, and he was by far the best at photography. He calmed my anxiety and I definitely felt like I could trust him with my life (which I did). This is his full time job besides Adventure Photography. So if you really want good pictures and video, I would definitely recommend getting Rico. I am already planning my next trip 12,000 feet in the sky!

A++
If you’re looking to jump out of a plane for whatever reason this is the place. My experience began with the customer service. Honestly, ¾ of the interactions I had were lousy. Now, skip to the day of my jump — June 12, 2015. My jump time was in the morning, and I was the first customer in the hanger so I didn’t have to wait that long. At first the location seems a tad bit shady, but it’s all legit. My instructor was Imre and by-​goly he made the entire experience! He had a FANTASTIC personality and made me feel at ease. The jump was a breeze and I’m so glad I got the video. (Btw, $ 10 off if paid with cash + $ 10 off if you present a college ID) Tipping the instructor is encouraged but not required. Just bring cash in case you get Imre. You’ll want to tip him or any of the wonderful instructors.

So I haven’t actually ever jumped, I’m too scared, but I live in the tannish red house that you are all jumping over top of.
While some people might dislike the noise I love walking outside and every little while hearing a «wooooooooo» or «oh my god» as jumpers come out of the plane. Luther and the Airpark have been great neighbors and from the first hand account of my two cousins that jumped, like the rest of you, it was the experience of a lifetime.
So for those who are considering this, give it a shot and if you see me out back on my lawn mower or brewing some Homebrew out back, yell at me, it’s how we know you’re having a good time.

Awesome experience and had a great instructor to help make it even more fun. Thank you Randy! You totally rock! I would definitely put more people on to this experience. *oh and thank God as well* *smooches*

Went here for my boyfriends birthday in Nov. Of 2014. Used a groupon deal for us both. So if you’re considering using groupon to go here it’s legit. I personally was skeptical because it was so much money and I did not understand from the groupon FAQs section how it would work.
You buy the groupon. Than call and make a reservation. They ask for your groupon and voucher number and you be a reservation fee for each person.
Alright now so besides that the skydiving was very safe and I wasn’t scared at all. The reason I gave it a ³⁄₅ was because I felt like my instructor wasn’t as into as I would have liked. My boyfriend said the same about his instructor. And that’s what makes the overall experience. If you have a great interactive instructor when your getting strapped up sitting in the plane jumping and returning back to the ground it makes everything more worth it.
As for feeling safe I felt so secure.
Would i recommend this location to a friend? No not this particular location. Based on my personal experience and my boyfriend’s. Go in the summer of you do go I guess.
Best of luck to you.

To quote Ray R:
«I’d like to thank Academy of WTH Are You Thinking and my family and friends who did NOT support my decision to perform this stunt.»
I think out of all the people who I told that I wanted to go skydiving, I got one of the following reactions:
1. Black people don’t skydive.
2. Why would you do something like that?
3. Make sure you’ve written your will beforehand.
4. Have you lost your mind?
Keep all of those reactions in mind for the end of this review. I have always wanted to skydive at least one time; I just didn’t know where and when this feat would be accomplished. In comes DC Skydiving Center in Warrenton, VA. After making a reservation online ($ 249 if online, but no refund), I was set to prepare mentally. From the time I decided when I wanted to skydive to the point of the actual jump: I was not nervous about what would happen, even with the possibility of death. My instructor for the day, Imre, kept me more at ease that I already was. I was set.
For those of you who have never skydived, your first experience will definitely be tandem (you are strapped with the instructor before and after jumping out of the plane). I kid you not, once the instructor and I jumped out that plane 12,000 feet in the air, I couldn’t even hear a pin drop. Its like a moment within a movie where before the protagonist does something crazy or daring, everything around them goes silent and everything is in slow motion. When we initially jumped out, we flipped in the air and then managed to free-​fall for 45 seconds. The parachute came out after that and we stayed in the air for about another 7 minutes until we landed.
Once I landed, I remember thinking, «I actually skydived for the first time.» It was a surreal moment considering I only knew of maybe two people I knew skydived personally. Nonetheless, the experience was worth it.
Remember those reactions from earlier? Here were the reactions afterwards once I showed the video:
1. Man, I wished I could have done that.
2. You’re a bold, bold man
3. Why didn’t I do something like that?
4. I guess black people do skydive after all
NOTE: If you want video/​photos of your experience, it was $ 70 extra. You can either purchase them online or when you are there in person. The photos/​video are usually ready to take home right after the skydive.

I’m looking to the sky to save me
Looking for a sign of life
Looking for something to help me burn out bright
I’m looking for a complication
Looking ’cause I’m tired of trying
Make my way back home when I learn to fly high
–Selected Lyrics from Foo Fighters, Learn to Fly
A life defining moment needs to be done well the first time ’round. It takes solid planning, you need good training, add a splash of organization and hefty feeling of good vibes before your feet are skyward bound.
Two internet deals were scored and were cashed in simultaneously and two different experiences ensued. Let’s just focus on mine for now.
Check-​in was easy, albeit the waiver is understandably tedious. Blah-​blah-​blah-​death-​blah-​blah-​no suing-​blah-​blah-​sign your life way. Sign here. Done. The folks at check-​in were super friendly and easy going. There are plenty of signs and verbal instructions to take the guesswork out of the sign-​in process for those unsettled participants whose minds were elsewhere.
I was paired with Ricco; skydiving extraordinaire, my GoPro videographer and my lifeline. His wit and personality was simpatico with mine and all went off without a hitch. I never felt unsafe. Ever. And that makes room for a lot of fun. It says a lot about an instructor when you trust them before your feet leave the ground.
Ricco did a great job with the GoPro positioning and you could tell that this was not his first time at the rodeo y’all. His cinematography made out like we had a third party videotaping our jump; not everyone could pull that off. His commentary was funny as were the candid shots he took when my head was turned away from the camera.
My video was certainly worth the money. The package afforded me immediate access to the raw footage via CD and an edited version was mailed out 1.5 weeks later. Before receiving my edited CD/​DVD, I put together my own edit and mixed it with my personal footage and the other diver’s video. I was not impressed with the DC Skydiving edit, but was glad that I had all the raw files and my own personal footage shot on the ground.
Now Dave’s (skydiver #2) diving experience was not as seamless as mine. His instructor didn’t pull off Ricco’s camerawork and didn’t have the same personality. We combined our video footage together and I had to edit out chucks to make his experience as seamless as mine.
Check out my experience here (purchased video does not include the ground footage)
The skydiving experience was everything I hoped it would be and more. If you’re reading this review and are sitting on the fence, it’s time to JUMP.

IT CAME! IT FINALLY CAME! My certificate for being the 107^th Black woman in America to ever sky dive final arrived via Priority Mail! I’d like to thank the Academy of WTH Are You Thinking and my family and friends who did NOT support my decision to perform this stunt.
This review is for those flirting with the idea of doing something wild, saw a deal for skydiving and the mental ménage à trois of your sense of spontaneity, adventure and curiosity have got you wondering «hmm, why not?» Armed with a $ 159 Groupon for a Tandem Jump and souvenir t-​shirt last summer, I nervously ventured to DC Skydiving Center located in Warrenton, Virginia which is not far from Tyson’s Corner and wasn’t hard to find at all using my GPS.
Registration is pretty organized and straightforward. You’re presented with papers to decide if you want to sign your life away (no really, the packet of papers basically states if something happens and you die, they are held harmless). Once you initial the 15 disclaimers, they present the upsell options. I bought the video and photo package which cost me $ 140. Unfortunately I was too nervous to remember to check in on my Unilocal app but please REMEMBER to check-​in so that you can get $ 10 off whichever package you purchase. Also bring cash to save another $ 10.
The staff is great! They were enthusiastic and very comical so it’s pretty hard to not lighten up a tiny bit, despite the fact you’re jumping out of a plane. The training (outside in the dirt) is brief but while you are on that teeny tiny plane (each trip holds about 5 tandem pairs only) your guide gives you a brief recap. The best advice? Hold onto your harness tight and listen to everything your guide tells you. My excellent guide (Yuriy) said I was the best kind of jumper because the ones that panic and flail all around make his job harder in maintaining a smooth descent. Obviously, that’s the last thing I’d want to do given that if I fell to my death, it couldn’t be avenged… legally.
And now the answers to the questions in the back of your mind:
–You are strapped in VERY tightly to your guide so best believe if something happens to you, it will happen to them too. If you are a busty broad like me, prepare for «the girls» to have slight bruising and soreness for a couple days.
–The scariest part is when you first fall forward but once the air catches you (takes about 3 – 5 seconds) you feel completely weightless-​as if you’re floating (very quickly) but gently towards the ground. It’s an amazing feeling!
–You do fall through clouds but you don’t recognize it until you look at the pics/​video (and I recommend purchasing both for first timers). Your guide will notify you several times when to look at the camera so you have a chance to try and look as presentable as you can while your face flat is flapping in the wind.
–The duration of the entire experience doesn’t seem like very long at all although you’re in the air for at least 7 minutes. Most of that time is after the parachute deploys. Yuriy let me guide the parachute so that we could take in the beautiful scenery around us while he uses his compass to direct us to our designated landing area. For the landing, the guide takes the brunt of it while you just bump the ground with your hiney a few times, nothing major.
And there you have it! Would I do it again? Absolutely! Would I visit this establishment again? You bet! Just make sure you schedule your jump ahead of time and don’t wait until your voucher is about to expire because on rain days, jumpers are rescheduled for the next available day and you could be potentially rescheduled.

I definitely had an awesome experience at DC Skydiving Center.
The staff was friendly and helpful. My tandem partner was a really cool guy, he joked around with me but also made me feel comfortable. I had sky dived before so I wasn’t nervous but I could see his personality really work with a first timer.
About the only bad thing is the amount of downtime you spend leading up to your jump. I arrived at 1, by the time you fill out all the paperwork, go through the sort of training, meet your tandem partner and get suited up, it was close to 3 before I actually went up in the plane. So it’s like 2 hours of waiting for an experience that is awesome but last less than ten minutes once you make the leap.
Definitely worth a visit, especially since they constantly offer online deals and discounts.