We had a great turnout and our local jumpers had an opportunity to go over and discuss various safety related issues and practices.

Topics of discussion included Air Craft Procedures, Equipment Inspections, Parachute Flight Practices, Skydiving Safety and many more.

At NorCal Skydiving, we are proud of our safety record: both in our Tandem and Student/Experienced Programs.

The United States Parachute Association recommends that on the second Saturday in March each Group Member Drop Zone holds a Safety Day. As we leave the Winter Season behind us and gear up for the coming Skydiving Season, it's important to refresh and practice the safety procedures which are set forth in FAA FAR's and USPA BSR's (Basic Safety Regulations).

Thanks again to all the NorCal jumpers and Staff who attended and participated in Safety Day this year!!!!!!

We had so many requests from our customers, friends, and family to keep posting updates on whats happening around the drop zone that we will make sure to keep everybody up to date.

So what's in store for NorCal Skydiving in 2011....

Well, we are happy to say that we are growing. So we will be adding some new faces to the staff and some new aircraft to the fleet. We think it's obvious that we have one of the most amazing locations for skydiving in the country. With epic views of the Pacific Ocean and Northern California Coastline, the rolling hills and vineyards of Sonoma County, and all the other sites this part of the nation has to offer, it's no wonder our customers are blown away by the views they get while in free fall. On top of that, our staff is friendly and professional, dedicated to not just making this an exciting experience for our customers, but making the experience one of those "Lifetime Moments" that will be remembered and talked about over and over!

So if you are going to making your first jump or have jumped in the past and are wanting to take another leap. Give us a call and come on out!

If you are interested to see what some our customers have said about us please check out our reviews on YELP. You can find us here.

And Please don't forget to add us as a friend on Facebook. On Facebook, you can find us here.

Great. So I started to go over the details about making a tandem jump followed by the AFF Skydiving classes.

Lee stopped me and said he'd done a lot of research and already knew a little bit about the skydiving process, he just wanted to make arrangements to come out to our facility to do the first tandem and then the AFF course.

"Awesome," I thought. This guy had already done some homework. "So where are you going to be coming out from?" I asked.

"Alabama," he said.

"Whoa! What? You mean you're going to travel all the way to Northern California from Alabama to learn to skydive here?"

Lee said, "Yeah man. I found you on the internet, did some research, and I've decided to learn with you guys."

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh, okay. Sure that will be awesome. Let's make a reservation for you to come out."

I thought this had to be a joke and that I'd never hear from him again. Although he asked which airport to fly into and which hotel to stay in while in Cloverdale. Pretty detailed joke, but I've NEVER heard of anything like this before!

Well to make a long story short....Lee flew in to SFO, arrived in Cloverdale in his rental car at about 10:00 pm, and stayed at the local Super 8. The next morning he arrived at the Drop Zone right on time for his appointment!

Lee and I made a FANTASTIC tandem jump, and then he hopped in his car and headed back to SFO to make a 4:00 pm flight back to Alabama. He's scheduled to come back to start his AFF training in mid January, and you know what? I definitely believe him!!!!!

While Lee was here for those few short hours, I asked him why he hadn't chosen to jump at one of his local Drop Zones in Alabama?

His answer: "I did my research and I want to learn from the best."

Right on Lee! We're looking forward to seeing you again in January!!!!!

By the way, this was Lee's first trip to Northern California! He saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time while jumping here at NorCal Skydiving. WOW!!!!!!

The Open House was well attended by residents of Cloverdale and Sonoma County, private pilots from hundreds of miles away, and aviation enthusiasts of all ages.

EAA Young Eagles offered free airplane rides to children ages 7-17. The Young Eagles had seven aircraft dedicated for rides and they were flying from 9:00 a.m. till 1:00 p.m. Almost 50 children got to experience the wonder and excitement of flying above this scenic location.

The highlight of the day for NorCal was taking Vice Mayor Carol Russell for her first Tandem Skydive. I must say that it was one of the most memorable jumps of my career. Carol and I had a successful jump and landed softly to the delight of hundreds of spectators. The Vice Mayor was quoted in the local paper saying, "It was love at first Flight."

All in all, the event was very successful, and NorCal looks forward to participating in many Airport Open House events in the coming years.

As everybody knows, the Russian River runs directly next to the airport here at NorCal, and ever since my first jump at this location, I have wanted to swoop my canopy through the river.  Well, a couple of weeks ago I finally got the chance.  

Hello NorCal Skydivers past present and future!

This is the first NorCal Skydiving entry, and we will be doing our best to post regular updates to let everybody know what's going on at the most beautiful Drop Zone in Northern California.

I'll start by introducing myself:  Jimmy Halliday, President and Cheif Jump Master here at NorCal.  I've been skydiving since 1989 when my father and I made tandem jumps to celebrate Father's Day together.  In the Summer of '96 I began jumping professionally part-time while I was going to school.  After graduating with a degree in English in '99, I thought about entering the job market for about as long as it takes to fly to 13,000 (20 minutes or so), and shortly after jumping I figured my best bet was to turn my part-time college job into a full-time career.

Out of school and on my own working as a skydiving videographer/tandem instructor, I found myself jumping all over California, the East Coast, and Hawaii.  Now, 9 years after making skydiving my full-time job, I am fortunate enough to be partnered with a great team focussed on developing a new drop zone in the best location I have ever had the pleasure of jumping at:  the scenic airport in Cloverdale, California.

To see some of my Skydiving Photography, please check out my personal website at www.jimmyhalliday.com.

And don't forget to check us out at www.norcalskydiving.com.