The short answer is 270 pounds, but please read the explanations below before booking. The total maximum weight for passengers is determined based on the total weight of the tandem instructor, tandem passenger, and skydiving gear combined. For this reason, maximum weight is determined on a case-by-case basis. Weight is also not the only consideration when determining whether the skydive will be possible. We also need to determine if the tandem passenger is physically able to lift their legs properly for a safe parachute landing. Participants who are height/weight proportionate should be okay to skydive. We can accommodate many tandem passengers up to 270 pounds. Any tandem passenger over 225 pounds should call ahead to ensure availability. If we are not able to accommodate the reservation after booking due to safety concerns or aircraft limitations, a full refund including deposit will be issued for the tandem jumper. We otherwise do not offer refunds, please see our refund policy below.

At Skydive Seneca Lake we are proud to exclusively employ highly experienced tandem instructors. Even our lowest experience tandem instructor has completed over 2,200 tandem skydives! It takes a great deal of skill to take passengers up to our weight limit of 270 pounds, but our staff is ready and able to take passengers who are physically able to skydive safely! Our premium aircraft with extra large cabins ensure that folks at the higher end of the weight spectrum are able to move about the cabin safely while preparing for their tandem jump, as well as take passengers up to the highest elevation skydive available in Central New York!

On a tandem skydive, your instructor is required by law to deploy the parachute at 5,500 feet above ground or higher. If you skydive from 10,000 feet above ground, this means you only freefall for 4,500 feet. With a 13,000 foot jump, you will freefall for 7,500 feet. This substantially increases your freefall time! We offer skydiving from the highest elevation above sea level that you can legally conduct a skydiving operation without the use of supplemental oxygen. We offer the highest elevation skydive in Central New York, high above the heart of the Finger Lakes Region!

Participants must be over 18 in order to skydive. A photo ID is required during check in, and while filling out waivers. But, there is no age cap on jumping! Our instructors have even taken participants on tandems to celebrate their 90th birthday.

If we are unable to accommodate your skydive due to factors beyond our control including weather, we will allow you to reschedule your skydive for a future date. Your deposit will remain "in-limbo" until you make another reservation. We do not refund deposits. If you experience an extenuating circumstance which prevents you from being able to skydive, please contact us and we may make an accommodation at our discretion. However, if you do not contact us and you not show up for your jump, you will be forfeiting your deposit and will not be able to use it for another jump. We do not require anyone to pay in full for their skydive at the time of booking. If you choose to pay in full at the time of making a reservation to take advantage of the "pay in full discount", you will not be given a refund if you decide not to skydive. If your reservation is placed "in-limbo" due to weather, you can reschedule your reservation for any available date and time from the time of postponement until the end of the skydiving season, which is Nov. 1. If you have still not fulfilled your reservation by Oct 1, our office team will call you and remind you that you have one additional month to make your skydive prior to losing your deposit.

Freefall from an airplane is unique, in that you feel more like you are flying than you are falling. This is because when you exit the aircraft, you have the inertia from airplane flight; which means you will transition from flying across the ground, to lunging towards it! This transition takes away the feeling that you would get from riding a roller-coaster or BASE jumping. Skydiving feels very "zen" compared to what people tend to expect. While it can be an intense feeling when the door opens, once you exit the aircraft there's actually a feeling of freedom and tranquility. You may not be thinking about breathing in freefall, bust rest assured you will continue breathing normally.. Some people simply do not recall breathing due to sensory overload! If in the moment you do not think you are breathing, all you have to do is let out a scream. Not only does this look great on your video, but it forces you to focus on breathing and "viola" you are once again present! Skydiving is about as "present" and "living in the moment" as it gets!

The industry standard for tandem passengers is to leave a tip for tandem instructors, but only if they have exceeded your expectations! Tips are not required, but are greatly appreciated by our jump staff. We provide comment cards after each tandem skydive, in which you can leave a cash tip inside if you wish. Our instructors also have either Venmo or PayPal tags on the envelope where you can scan with your phone and easily leave a tip if you do not carry cash. We truly do appreciate all of your feedback, good or bad on these comment cards. Instructors love to read these comments at the end of every week, and any humor in the comments is greatly appreciated! We all strive to exceed your expectations, and if we fail to do so; in that case the best tip of all is how we can do better in the future!

We have a dedicated smoking area, and this is strictly enforced. Cigarette butts must be disposed of only in a dedicated canister in the smoking area. Once you are in your jumpsuit and/or tandem harness, no smoking is allowed. Please remember that your tandem skydiving harness is just as important to your safety as your parachute, so please treat our equipment like your life depends on it! The smoking policy applies to both customers and spectators, so please ensure your friends and family follow our smoking policy as well.

Yes. Bring as many as you want to watch. We have a landing viewing area for all your friends.

No cameras or phones are permitted on your skydive. We adhere strictly to the rules set forth by the United States Parachute Association. One of these rules is that any person making a skydive must have completed a minimum of 200 skydives before using a camera in freefall. Even tandem instructors are required to make a minimum of 200 jumps as a tandem instructor before they are allowed to use a hand-cam to record your photos and videos! We do offer video and picture services for everyone jumping. We record all photos and videos for every tandem skydive, even if you have not purchased this service. Everyone has an opportunity to purchase media for up to a year after their skydive is completed.

Tandem skydiving participants should wear clothing appropriate for the day's weather and temperatures. Please keep in mind, the temperature at jump altitude will be about 20-30 degrees colder than ground temperatures for that time of day. We recommend you bring gloves and extra layers just in case you decide to layer-up. Your tandem instructor will advise whether you will be more comfortable with or without these extra layers. Wearing some type of athletic footwear or sneakers is ideal.

We recommend not skydiving on an empty stomach, as this can actually make you more likely to experience motion sickness! A light meal or snack before you arrive can actually ease nausea during and after your skydiving experience. Bringing snacks or a light lunch with you will come in handy if the drop zone experiences a weather hold. Please DO NOT consume alcohol before your skydive. Any participants who appear intoxicated may be required to pass a breathalyzer before gearing up for the skydive. For skydivers with any health concerns, please consult with your doctor to see if skydiving would pose additional risks for you.

Plan to arrive 30 minutes before your reservation. In order to participate in skydiving, all participants are required to watch a short video explaining the risks involved with making an intentional parachute jump. All participants are then given an in-depth briefing about their jump from our licensed professionals. Participants then begin the "gear up" process, and we can't rush perfection! If you have not filled out your e-waiver online, please plan to arrive 45 minutes before your scheduled reservation to fill out a paper version of the required waiver.

In the event of a friend backing out of skydiving, the group organizer may want to bring another friend in their place. However, any changes made to your party are at our discretion. Please call the drop zone within 72 hours of your scheduled reservation time to make any changes to your group. If we are unable to accommodate this request, the original reservation holder can still use their original deposit towards a jump until Nov 1, if they give enough notice to SSL that they do not plan on jumping. Please see our refund policy.

Our largest aircraft seats six jumpers and our smallest aircraft seats four jumpers. Only 2 tandem pairs can jump on a single flight due to current staffing limitations.

Reservations are not required, but they are strongly encouraged. Walk-in customers must contact us via a phone call before heading to the drop zone. We are a reservation based business and without a phone call to give us a heads up, you may show up to find out our staff has not yet arrived or has closed up shop early for the day due to weather or all reservations being completed. Any customer with a reservation will take priority, as we do our very best to minimize wait times for all customers. Walk-in customers should call before showing up to see what times would be best to accommodate walk-ins. If there are any weather delays during the day, walk-in customers will skydive after all reservations are completed.