Des Moines Skydivers
Des Moines Metro's Closest Skydiving Drop zone
dmskydivers.com 515-243-1711
USPA Member Dropzone
Tandem Skydive
Safety
A tandem skydive is a great introduction into the exciting world of sport parachuting. It allows you to experience the incredible sensation of free fall and canopy flight while under the direct supervision of an experienced instructor. All of our instructors are USPA certified and licensed to make tandem jumps. Located at the scenic Knoxville airport, our drop zone is less than forty five minutes from Des Moines.
We are a club owned skydiving operation with a reputation of fun, friendly, down to earth skydivers. As a club we work collectively to offer the safest, most exemplary skydiving experience in Iowa. Every year hundreds of people from across the nation make their first jump with the Des Moines Skydivers. We are enthusiastic to have you join us for a day (or more!) so sign up on our website or call us today to schedule your dive out of a perfectly good airplane.
How safe is a tandem skydive?
In 2023 there were 10 skydiving related fatalities in the United States out of an estimated 3.65 million skydives. This translates to a fatality rate of 0.27 per 100,000 skydives. This includes all of the high risk skydives taken by highly experienced jumpers under aggressive canopies. A tandem or accelerated freefall skydive is by far much safer than these numbers, which includes experienced high risk sport jumpers. The Des Moines Skydivers have never suffered a fatality. We do our best to adhere to all the new safety protocols and equipment upgrades to ensure our record remains the same for years to come. Check out the statistics at USPA.
USPA Recognized Dropzone
The Des Moines Skydivers is a USPA affiliated dropzone. The USPA is an FAA recognized body overseeing the safety of skydiving. We encourage all of our visitors to investigate your dropzone before participating in the sport of skydiving.
Jump Options
Aircraft:
We own a Cessna 182, which holds 4 jumpers and takes approximately 30 minutes to fly up to a jumping altitude of 10,500 ft. A tandem skydive from our Cessna 182 will provide about 30 seconds of freefall. We also lease turbine aircraft about 10-12 times each year. The turbine is a turboprop aircraft that can hold up to 12 jumpers. Typically once or twice a season we also have specialty turbine aircraft that can hold up to 22 jumpers! These turbine aircraft will fly to a jumping altitude of 14,000 ft in about 15-20 minutes. A tandem skydive from the turbine will provide about 50 seconds of freefall. Click here for turbine dates for this year.
Video & Still Photos:
Most people only go skydiving once in their lifetime. Hiring a videographer to document your skydive is a good way to share your experience with friends and family. A videographer will capture your skydive on video, still photographs or both! Check out our Video & Stills page for more information on the available packages.
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Click the "182" button below if you want to schedule a skydive from the 182 or click the "Turbine" button if you want to schedule a skydive from a Turbine! Check out our Aircraft page which shows our Turbine schedule for this year.