Frequently Asked Questions

Safety is our first priority:

1. If you are sneezing, coughing, or have a fever, please reschedule your skydive to at least 14 days from when you feel better.
2. All clients will be subject to no-touch temperature screening similar to airport procedures.
3. Please bring a facemask. We’ll try to supply one to you if need be, but be advised that we may not be able to provide one to all of our guests.
4. Spectators (non-skydivers) will be asked to stay in our parking lot on the other side of the hangar – but they’ll still have a great view of you descending under parachute!
5. Dress accordingly for the temperature as we won’t be offering jumpsuits. Average temperatures are 30° cooler at 10,000′, so plan to layer up if it’s chilly on the ground.
6. Avoid congregating with others unless necessary to complete your skydive, and keep 6 feet of distance from anyone who isn’t in your group as much as possible.

STG is close to Pensacola, Mobile, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. Get directions to our private airfield.

At Skydive The Gulf, you must be 19 years or older on the day of your skydive. Bring a valid, government-issued photo ID as proof of your date of birth, such as your driver’s license, ID card with photo or passport.

No way! If you’re physically fit to jump then it doesn’t matter your age! If you’re concerned, check in with your doctor and give us a call.

Certain conditions – epilepsy, obesity, heart problems and others – might preclude you from jumping. If you have a medical condition that might interfere with your ability to safely enjoy flying to altitude and skydiving, check with your doctor before booking your jump.

Yes. For safety reasons, it’s standard for skydiving dropzones to impose strict weight limits. At STG, you must weigh 250 lbs or less in order to skydive. Tandem students who weigh over 200 lbs will be assessed a fee of $1 per lb.

Arrive at Skydive The Gulf at your reservation time.

It tends to be about 30° cooler at altitude, so consider dressing in comfortable layers and wearing athletic shoes. Most people wear shorts, jeans or leggings. Please pull long hair back and take off your jewelry ahead of your skydive.

Yes! We provide every tandem student with protective goggles (which are disinfected between guests).

Weather is not usually an issue due to our unique location on the sunniest side of the Gulf. But, cloud cover, high winds, rain and other weather events do blow through and make for potentially unsafe jumping conditions. If you can wait for skies to clear or can reschedule, awesome. If not – and our weather delay is longer than 3.5 hours – then your deposit is totally refundable.

Plan on spending an hour or two with us. In the event of bad weather, though, it could be longer. From take-off to landing, a tandem skydive usually takes about 30 minutes. First, you’ll enjoy a 20-25 minute plane ride over the gorgeous Perdido Bay to an altitude of 10,500 feet. Then you’ll experience 45 seconds of exhilarating free fall at 120 mph. Finally, you’ll enjoy a peaceful 5-7 minute parachute ride over breathtaking coastlines.

We have a maximum of two tandem students per flight. Don’t want to wait for someone else to join the load? For a fee we can send up a single-student flight.

Our aircraft can take two tandem passengers at a time. While you can ride to altitude together, you’ll jump out separately with your instructors. Let us know when making your reservation if you’d like to jump with a friend so we can do our best to accommodate your request.

Yes! And our recommendation is to get it – you only skydive for the first time once! We offer still photos and video services, complete with a music soundtrack. All original footage and photos remain the property of Skydive The Gulf to use in promotions or other activity.

Of course, filming in extreme conditions may result in less-than-awesome footage or equipment malfunctions from time to time. Issues such as tandem passenger movement, focus, framing, moisture and vibration may result in video and photo content being a bit different from one passenger to the next. Upon total camera failure, with no usable footage being available from your jump, you’ll be entitled to a full refund of your purchase price.

It might seem easy enough to just strap your own GoPro onto your helmet and take your own pictures, but this is actually highly prohibited in the world of skydiving. In fact, to operate a camera during freefall, an individual must have a specialized certification from the United States Parachute Association.

STG is proud to have a beautiful Cessna 182 that’s fast for its kind and specifically modified for skydiving operations. We are held to the highest standards for maintenance and our very own Certified A&P (Airframe and Powerplant) Mechanic ensures that our plane is well maintained for every jump.

Yep! Please eat and drink as you would normally. We have a zero tolerance alcohol and drug policy: absolutely no alcohol and/or drugs in your system 24 hours before making a tandem skydiving jump.

For your safety, you must wait 24 hours to skydive after SCUBA diving – otherwise, you’ll experience rapid decompression sickness in the aircraft.

Skydiving is an inherently dangerous sport, just as driving a car is an inherently dangerous activity. It’s all about calculated risk. We take every precaution to ensure your safety while on our drop zone, including using only top-of-the-line equipment, meticulously maintaining our aircraft, and keeping current with industry tech and training methods. During your jump, you will be connected to a harness that’s attached to one of our highly-trained and experienced professional tandem skydiving instructors.

Skydiving equipment has progressed significantly over the past 20 years, which makes for relatively soft landings. Ultimately, the landings are equivalent to stepping off a small curb. On no wind days, we slide in to home base nice and easy, on our bottoms and with our legs up!

In our industry, we say you pay for the “ride up” not the “ride down”. In other words, we are not able to issue refunds if you decide not to jump. Note, though, that our highly-trained and experienced instructors have seen all flavors of pre-jump jitters and are proficient in coaching folks throughout the entire skydiving process. You’ll be amazed how at ease you feel when you have someone experienced on your side!

Purchases are non-refundable.

Tipping is not expected, but always greatly appreciated. If you feel your instructor has done an especially good job, let them know! All STG tandem instructors are full-time skydiving professionals who work hard to make your first jump amazing.