Skydive Oregon Inc

I went here for my first time ever skydiving with my wife for our anniversary and Terry took me up. He was absolutely amazing! He talked me through my nervousness and made me feel very comfortable. Ask for him, he was the best. My wife’s guide was the exact opposite. We paid the extra 100 bucks for video and photos and it was soooooo not worth the money!!! A couple good still photos and 3 fifteen second videos where you can kind of see my wife. Don’t do it. It’s a rip off. After terry pulled out our chute he had me stand on his feet to re-​adjust my straps so the didn’t dig into my chest. My wife’s guy didn’t do that and she was in extreme pain the whole time and just wanted to hurry up and get down. In short, 5 bright gold stars for terry!!! My wife’s guide and the photo/​video package 1 star so an average of 2.

What an experience! It was my first time skydiving and I tandem dived with Josiah. He was great! He let me know what was going to happen every step of the way. I wasn’t really nervous because they know what they are doing and have lots of experience. Everyone there at Skydive Oregon were super friendly. It was an amazing experience I’ll never forget! I’d definitely do it again!

My first time skydiving was so much fun! I tandemed with Kirk and was great. Great place, great experience, I would do it every weekend if I could! ¹⁰⁄₁₀

Some of the best people I have met. They exude competence at every step.

Highly recommend Skydive Oregon! The instructors are amazing! They pride themselves on being safe and make you feel very comfortable. So glad to have had this experience as a first time jumper. I would recommend them to everyone I know and definitely will be jumping again!

After seeing The Bucket List movie, I knew my first order of business would be to sky dive. Luckily I was able to get a group of friends to share in my terror.
I’d told the girls we were jumping «The height of Portland City Grill», which is 536 feet, but was informed upon arriving at Skydive Oregon that we were jumping from 13,000 feet. That squashed the little bit of peace I had about it and made me anxious to get it over with.
Our appointment was at 10 am, but the weather wasn’t optimal. 4 hours later it was. Regardless of the wait, I’d rather be safe than sorry.
Before jumping onto our plane, we had a short meeting with an instructor, to go over the jump details and get our consent form signatures (signing away our families’ right to sue if you die is scary in itself!). We then met our tandem partners (the professional jumpers) and got all suited up. My BFF“s guy put hair into braids and connected them to her helmet, like Pippy Longstocking. I got the cool guy — who let me go glam, with my long air, as is.
Once on the plane, our instructors got us into our positions by straddling behind us on one of the 2 benches and then connected our backs to their fronts. At that, we were in it for real!
As we neared the 13,000 feet jump altitude, I started having 2^nd thoughts, only I was too scared to voice that. Thank God!
I had asked to jump first, to get to over with first, but I’d rushed onto the plane ahead of everyone, which put me and my instructor at the back. That meant my 2 friends were jumping ahead of me and I wouldn’t know if they made it alive until I landed.
A fun distraction was the photographer I’d hired to film me. MY BFF hired one too, so we got to ham it up, pretending not to be scared to death about leaping from a perfectly good plane.
Sensing my fear, my instructor didn’t say when we were going to jump, but just told me to put my feet on his. When I did — too scared not to — he stood up and pretty much bolted us to the door. We may have paused for a 2^nd, but my eyes were closed. Only when we were free falling and my photographer — who’d jumped when we did — told me to open my eyes and smile, was I able to.
I wasn’t exactly thrilled about hurdling through a cold, damp abyss of clouds and swirling in space, but I faked it for the camera.
My instructor tried spinning us into circles (not summersaults) but I freaked and yelled «Stop! I’ll get sick!» to which he immediately stopped.
Tumbling to the ground, I was not happy with my choice to do this and wanted back in the plane… until the chute was pulled. Strangely, the yank was exciting — and since we’d passed the clouds — we now I could see all of lovely Molalla, as well as Mt. Hood.
I know it sounds weird that I preferred seeing the ground, but every inch closer meant I was going back to the safety of Mother Earth. Not at warp speeds. No, they can slow you down quite a bit, to where you almost feel like you are floating. Which my instructor did — in order to give me a 180 degree visual tour of the entire area.
As we came down to land, the instructors have you raise your feet. That way, if anyone gets a sprained ankle, it ain’t you. lol
Safely landed, my instructor unhooked me. I then threw myself into the grass — unable to help myself from hug the ground.
At the time we jumped, I wasn’t stoked about my decision, but once landed, I was SOOOO glad I did it!!!
I think every person should do something adventurous at least once in their lives. And if you are going to, I think this is actually one of the safer activities. trust me, I did my research!

This place was great! All the instructors know what they’re doing, have jumped over 1,000 times. All around a great experience. The landing couldn’t have been smoother. We had to wait around awhile before getting called to take the 20 min informative class, so bring cards or something to keep you occupied. Or you can just watch all the skydivers coming down. If you haven’t been skydiving, you really should go! Once in a lifetime experience.

Took my mom to Skydive Oregon for her first skydive and my second. The ground staff were friendly and informative. I purchased a video for my mom, which turned out great with footage and still shots that we got to have on an SD card and can edit ourselves. My mom tandemed with Doug, who was very informative, friendly, helpful, and fun. He made sure she was laughing and ready for her jump. Kudos to Doug for going above and beyond what was required.
Unfortunately, I was matched up with Archie. He seemed to be completely over the fun of jumping out of a plane, and barely talked to me. He was grimudgenly and seemed pained by the idea of strapping yet another person to his chest. My mom jumped first and Archie and I were last out of the plane. Somehow we were on the ground before her and I felt like he curtailed my flight down once the chute was open. Perhaps there was some safety reason for it, but that combined with his poor attitude left me feeling short changed.
I would definitely jump with Skydive Oregon again, but I would request someone other than Archie. When you spend so much money on a few short minutes, it’s important to enjoy the entire experience.

Took my wife here as a complete surprise for her birthday. Yes, it can be a bit pricey especially if you opt for the video and pictures, but you figure what the hell. It’s a lasting memory of something most people are afraid to do.
Video turned out great and my wife had a complete blast. Highly recommend this place!

I recently did my first tandem dive with Skydive Oregon and I could not have been happier with my experience. Everyone was so professional and really nice. I had only minor nerves going in to it and Bret my tandem partner was awesome! He was so great about explaining everything and putting my mind at ease. He didn’t just go over things once, he kept giving me reminders as we were heading up in the plane and giving tips on how to make my ride comfortable and the best experience possible. I will definitely be jumping again with them!

This was an awesome adventure to share with my son! Kim was a great instructor and tandem partner. I felt incredibly safe and can’t wait to go again soon with my husband (even higher jump next time??). If you have skydiving on your bucket list, don’t pass up the opportunity — it is worth every moment and I would highly recommend Skydive Oregon.

I was absolutely terrified to skydive. I cried my eyes out the day before just by watching a video. I mustard up the strength to at least show up and that alone took away most of my anxiety. They got us right in, signed all the waivers, took us through our training and up we went. The reality of it is much more enjoyable when you see people floating down from the sky every 10 minutes. They are enjoying themselves, which makes you feel at ease.
The dropped stomach feeling when you free fall? Yup, that doesn’t exist. I went with 5 other friends and we were all so surprised that we didn’t feel like loss of control free falling feeling. I guess it has to do with the free fall of 120MPH. It just feels like a heck of a lot of wind blowing at you, like you stuck your head out of the car while driving on the freeway. When asked if I would do it again, I would. Not because I love to skydive, but because from being so scared one day, to the amount of joy and fun it ended up being, that alone is worth saying I would do it again. I truly felt very safe at skydive oregon.

Amazing experience! Pete was the best!!! I think I screamed his ears off the whole way down. Will definitley be back to do it again, hopefully sooner than later. :)

I have done a couple of tandems on the East Coast and have been contemplating taking the AFF course for years. After talking to Skydive Oregon I decided that I would take a refresher tandem, for them to get to know me and for me to check out their operation.
I called the next morning as the forecast was solid bluebird and there was no way that I was going to spend the day inside. I got a noon check in time, based on prior experience and what SDO has on their website I anticipated a 3 – 4 hour wait to jump. Driving down to the DZ from Portland was super easy and the signage on the main road was easy to spot. When I pulled in I was a little surprised at the size of the facilities. The other DZs that I have been to were considerably larger and thinking about their proximity to Portland, I had similar visions in my head. Parking is easily laid out (it looks like licensed jumpers park in the back), signs all point you in the direction that you need to go, bathrooms are outside to the right of the entrance.
Checking in was easy, they have 6 iPads setup with keyboards and you click and scroll through an impressive waiver. Having many years of guiding and explaining waivers to clients I wasn’t surprised, don’t be stupid and they won’t be negligent. Pretty easy process all things considered. Payment is either via a discounted cash price or regular CC/​ATM price. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this service and certainly accounts for quite a bit of my 5-​star rating here.
Outside is the waiting area for tandem jumpers, they will call your name over loudspeaker to come in for your instructions, standard stuff here, technique, safety, questions and answers. Now that you are dually prepared and nervous, commence with the waiting. Bring your own chairs if you are bringing a large group, I could see the picnic tables and benches being a premium on busy days. Waiting is the norm for DZs, organizing loads, instructors and video flyers, trying to make sure everyone is happy and safe. I was not part of a group so I was able to get in on a load full of sport jumpers before a group of three that checked in before me. They could have split that group and gotten them on quicker but I am sure all parties appreciated keeping their group together and jumping on the same load.
I’ve come across so many different kinds of guides/​instructors over the years, I couldn’t have been happier with getting paired up with Josiah. He knew that I had a couple of tandems and was interested in AFF, he made sure I knew the signals, the drills and the safety. We went over these several times prior to jumping, cool, calm, and professional. I am grateful for the lessons that he shared and the pointers that will no doubt be a part of the learning process that is ahead of me.
Everybody that I encountered at SDO, from the woman running the front (Theresa?), Chris, who did my instruction class and Josiah, my tandem instructor were all top notch in customer service in my interactions with them and the interactions I observed with others while I was there.
At first I wasn’t super stoked about the idea of another tandem but ultimately very happy that I did and can’t wait to continue this journey and pretty stoked it will be at SDO.

Other than the crazy long waiver you have to sign (must be at least 50 pages), my experience was great.
The staff is very friendly and funny. My tandem guide was awesome, his name was either Brett or Brent. He posed for pictures with me and when we were in the plane waiting to jump he pointed out all of the different mountains we could see!

I had a great experience, this was my first dive and it was great! A lot less scary than I expected, you get to deal with great staff, you feel safe at all times, and it was just amazing. Definitely recommend coming here for skydiving, this was my first time and definitely not my last. I would also definitely recommend getting the video, sure it cost quite a bit, but it is worth it.

Took my dad here as a gift for his 50^th birthday. Ive jumped a few times at other DZ’s both tandem and AFF so I knew what to expect.
But these guys really helped my dad as he is actually afraid of heights (though he flies 2−3x/week for business, go figure!). The JumpMasters were super cool and laid back and totally made my dad feel at ease and informed him of the different processes and what to expect though the different stages.
Of the few DZ’s I’ve been to, this is definitely my favorite so far. They have a covered spectator area, nice clean facility (both inside and out) and are located in a semi rural area which makes your freefall even more serene. Not far from them is some fast food joints, grocery stores and a small town so if you have a few hours before your time is up you can grab a bite to eat/​kill some time.
The best part for me, was that they have caravans. These are not little Cessna type 4 people planes that have been gutted to accommodate skydiving. The caravan has row seating and can take good loads of jumpers at a time. This means if you have a big group you can all go together and come down together… No waiting and taking turns. Might not seem like a big deal, but when you have that adrenaline rush it’s so much cooler to experience it together with your buds, especially once you set foot back on earth after your body was just hurling itself towards the ground at 120mph.
After the jump, my dad says to me: «I don’t know why I didn’t do this earlier in life!» He was super amped and I’m pretty sure his fear of heights is squashed. Great memories were made, w equally great videos of the jumps. So glad I took my pops here… We will be back!!!

I understand the need for a streamlined process for this kind of a business in terms of insurance, permits, regulations, etc… BUT my experience here seemed to be based entirely around those guidelines. This is a large operation, pushing through as many customers as it can. There was such a little amount of personal interaction, so much so that my partner’s guide in the tandem jump didn’t even introduce himself! The staff was obviously stressed by the number of customers which makes it far from the kind of personal experience I was looking for when doing such a life-​changing, epic activity like jumping out of a plane with a complete stranger. Either way, the actual jumping was incredible and I felt very safe… which covers the essentials.

5 stars all the way!
Skydive Oregon has beautiful facilities, with an amazing areal view of Oregon’s breathtaking landscape, some of the nicest planes in the industry and equipment that is maintained to the highest of industry standards. With a professional, friendly staff to boot, you can’t go wrong here! I did my first jump here, and several more subsequent jumps. THIS is the place I take my freinds, mom and grandma to because I know they will be well taken care of.

Type of Venue: Skydive Dropzone
# of Skydive Dropzones I have visited: 2
# of Skydive DropzonesI have visited here in Oregon: 1
Facility: ⁵⁄₅
When visiting Skydive Oregon during the summer, plan on staying the entire day especially if it is a gorgeous day with bright blue skies. Reservations are highly recommended during the summer season as well, otherwise, walkins are expected to wait a few hours prior to jumping. They have a great dropzone because they have tents to provide shade so family/​friends can just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. There are also benches available so you could even bring lunch and have a picnic outside. They do not allow food or drinks inside of the facility.
Safety: ⁵⁄₅
As expected, the instructors at Skydive Oregon adhere to all safety guidelines set forth by the United States Parachute Association. Skydiving procedures are thoroughly reviewed with each student in advance and rehearsed several times prior to the actual skydive.
Customer Service: ⁵⁄₅
The managers, instructors, and staff at Skydive Oregon love what they do and take pride in their dropzone. If you e-​mail them with an question, a representative will get back to you within 24 hours. I am looking forward to getting my basic license there either this upcoming summer or the summer of 2012.
Affordability: ⁵⁄₅
Rates are very similar across dropzone to dropzone. Save $ 10 by paying in cash rather than credit card! Also bring extra money in case you were interested in purchasing the DVD (definitely worth the money– how else will you prove to your grandchildren that you went skydiving?), snacks, or fun t-​shirts.
Average: 5/​5, so 5 stars.