Tandem Skydiving
In a tandem skydive, a student skydiver is connected via a harness to a tandem instructor. The instructor guides the student through the whole jump from exit through free fall, piloting the canopy, and landing. The student needs only minimal instruction before making a tandem jump.
United States Parachute Association
NorCal Skydiving is member of the United States Parachute Association (USPA) and all of our instructors are USPA certified. The USPA promotes safe skydiving through training, licensing, and instructor qualification programs. To find out more about the USPA and skydiving in general, visit the USPA web site.
Tandem Skydiving - Your First Skydive
Making A Reservation

Your skydiving adventure starts with making a reservation. Get your friends together, pick a date, and call us at (888) 667-2259 or send an e-mail to info@NorCalSkydiving.com. You can check our various tandem skydiving packages on our Tandem Pricing Page. If you have a coupon or gift certificate, make sure you include this information in your reservation. Don’t forget to choose a video option in your package so that you can share the thrills of your skydiving adventure with your friends and family and also relive the experience over and over again.

Planning Your Day

You should plan on spending around 2 hours at NorCal, more if you are coming with a big group. Note that weather can cause delays, so make sure you can stay for least 4 hours past your reservation time. There is plenty to see and do around the airport, so we encourage people to make a day or weekend out of their skydiving adventure. See our Wine Country pages for more details.

The Day of Your Jump

See our What To Bring page for some tips on how to dress and what to bring with you.

Directions to the airport can be found on our Directions page. Don’t hesitate to call us if you need help our get lost.

We’ll call you if we know there are weather delays or cancellations. Note that even if the weather doesn’t look so good where you are, we could very well be jumping (see the Cloverdale Weather sidebar).

Checking In

When you arrive at NorCal, the first thing to do is check in at our reservations desk. Keep an eye out for parachutes overhead! After confirming your reservation, you will be asked to fill out some paperwork, watch a safety video, and pay for your skydiving package if you haven’t already done so.

Gearing Up

When it is time to gear up, a NorCal staff member will get you into a jump suit and harness that fits and get you some goggles so you can see when you are going 120mph. Don’t worry if you wear glasses or contacts, our goggles work with those as well.

Meeting Your Instructor and Videographer

Once you are geared up, you’ll meet your tandem instructor and videographer (if you chose a video option). Your tandem instructor will explain basic aircraft exit techniques, free fall, and landing procedures and positions, check your gear, and answer any questions you might have.

The Plane Ride

When everything is ready, you’ll walk to the plane and climb aboard. The view from the airplane is spectacular, but you’ll probably be too nervous to notice thinking about what is coming up next! When you reach your jump altitude, the tandem instructor will attach your harnesses together, the door will open, and out you go!

WOW!

Few other experiences can even come close to the excitement of jumping out of an airplane over two miles above the earth.

There is about a minute of free fall, the closest you will ever come to knowing how it truly feels to be a bird in flight. Make sure you take a few seconds to look away from the breathtaking views all around to smile and wave at the videographer!

After the canopy is deployed there is a four minute glide back to the ground where your videographer is waiting to film your landing. You’ll land right in front of the spectator area so your friends and family can watch and cheer.

After You Land

After you touch down, your tandem instructor will disconnect your harnesses and escort you off the landing area. You’ll turn in your gear at the office and sign your tandem instructor’s log book and get your First Jump Certificate. Don’t forget to tip your tandem instructor if you had a good time.

If you ordered a video package, your videographer will create a DVD for you. You can watch it right in our office with your friends if you like.

Feel free to hang around the drop zone and watch others jump, cook up some food on our outdoor grill and have a picnic, or head off to explore Wine Country.

Or better yet, sign up for a second jump and get 20% off!

Cloverdale Weather
In order to skydive, you’ve got to have good weather and that’s what we have a lot of at our airport in Cloverdale. Our Alexander Valley location not only makes for the unparalleled views, but it protects us from the fog and wind. When other drop zones are fogged in or winded out, we are jumping.
Tandem Skydiving Equipment
Tandem skydiving requires equipment with several differences from normal sport skydiving rigs. All modern tandem skydiving systems use a drogue parachute, which is deployed shortly after leaving the plane in order to slow the free fall speed of two people down to that of a single skydiver. This is necessary for proper parachute deployment, lengthening the duration of the skydive, and allowing the skydivers to fall at the same speed as videographers. Tandem skydiving systems also use larger main parachutes to support the additional weight of two passengers.