Summer Fun at Skydive Seneca Lake!

September 2026 at Skydive Seneca Lake

A Summer of Big Jumps, Big Milestones & Even Bigger Memories

If you’ve been following along on Facebook lately, you already know that things have been pretty busy around here.

Summer at Skydive Seneca Lake has a way of flying by, but this year feels different. Somewhere between the first loads of spring and the colorful sunsets of late summer, we looked around and realized just how much this little drop zone has grown.

Three seasons ago, we were just trying to get the doors open.

Now, we're watching students earn licenses, celebrating first solos, welcoming hundreds of tandem guests, hosting events, bringing in visiting aircraft and skydivers, and creating the kind of community we always hoped this place could become.

And honestly? We're pretty proud of it.

A Summer Full of Firsts

One of our favorite parts of running a drop zone is watching people do something they never thought they could do.

This season, we've watched new AFF students take their first steps into the sport, students work their way toward licenses, and experienced jumpers reach milestones they've been working toward for years.

We've celebrated first solos, A licenses, new coaches and instructors, and plenty of personal milestones along the way.

One of those milestones belonged to Adam Bonawitz, who recently completed his 100th skydive right here in Ovid. And because apparently 100 jumps wasn't enough of a celebration, he followed the time-honored skydiving tradition of doing it in his underwear.

Even with temperatures around 26 degrees at altitude.

Some traditions are worth suffering for.

The Finger Lakes Freefall Festival

This summer also brought one of the biggest events we've ever hosted at Ovid Airport: the Finger Lakes Freefall Festival.

We brought in four additional aircraft, welcomed visiting instructors and jumpers from across the country, and spent several days filling the sky with airplanes, parachutes and people who came ready to jump.

There was food, there was fun, there were plenty of big-way formations, and there were more than a few tired people at the end of the day.

Most importantly, it felt like a true community event.

This is exactly the kind of thing we dreamed about when we started Skydive Seneca Lake. Not just a place where people come to make a skydive, but a place where skydivers can come together, make friends, share the sport and create memories.

Thank you to everyone who traveled to Ovid, jumped with us, helped make the event happen, or simply came out to hang out.

You made it one for the books.

We Also Got Married... While Skydiving

And then there was that little thing called our wedding.

If you missed it, yes... we actually did it.

Mike and I got married at Skydive Seneca Lake, and naturally, our wedding day started with a jump from 14,000 feet with our wedding party.

The bride wore a thrifted wedding dress that she modified herself to work with skydiving equipment. There was a bouquet. There was a parachute. There was a midair wedding party. There was even a little Looney Tunes chase music involved.

And somehow, it all worked.

What made the day even more special was how much of the Skydive Seneca Lake community helped make it happen. Friends, family, students, instructors, pilots, the Ovid community and local businesses all played a part.

It was, in every possible way, a skydiver's wedding.

And we're still a little amazed that we got to celebrate our relationship in the same place where it all started.

Five Years of Butterflies

Another tradition we've been lucky enough to be part of is our annual butterfly release skydive for The Compassionate Friends.

Each year, special messages are written to loved ones who have passed away on biodegradable paper butterflies containing wildflower seeds.

Those butterflies are carried thousands of feet into the sky before being released by skydivers.

It's a beautiful reminder that even in moments of loss, love continues to take new forms.

So if you happen to see wildflowers popping up somewhere around the Finger Lakes, you never know. One of them might have started with a message of love released from an airplane.

This has become one of our favorite days of the year, and we're honored to help carry those memories into the sky.

Fall Is Here

There's something pretty special about skydiving over the Finger Lakes in the fall.

The landscape starts changing from green to gold, orange and red. The vineyards and lakes become even more dramatic from altitude, and the sunsets seem to get better every week.

If you've been waiting for the perfect time to make your first skydive, this is your sign.

And if you've jumped with us before, you already know there's something different about seeing the Finger Lakes from above when the leaves start changing.

Right now, we're offering $40 off weekday tandem skydives through September 30 with code EndofSummer26 when you book online.

Students with a valid physical student ID can also receive 20% off tandem media through September 30.

More Than a Skydive

When we opened Skydive Seneca Lake in 2024, we knew we wanted to create something special.

We wanted people to come here and experience the Finger Lakes from a perspective they couldn't get anywhere else.

But we also wanted to build a community.

Three seasons in, we're starting to see that vision become real.

We're seeing people who arrived as tandem guests come back to learn how to skydive.

We're seeing students become licensed jumpers.

We're seeing old friends return to Ovid year after year.

We're seeing new friendships form around the hangar.

And we're seeing people who once showed up nervous and unsure now standing on the packing mat talking about their next jump.

That's the part we don't always get to show in a Facebook photo.

The skydive lasts a few minutes.

The people you meet here can become part of your life for years.

Thank You for Making This Place What It Is

Skydive Seneca Lake isn't just the two of us, our instructors or our airplanes.

It's every person who has jumped with us.

Every student who trusted us with their first AFF jump.

Every fun jumper who helped organize a formation.

Every family member who sat in the grass watching parachutes come down.

Every person who shared a photo, left a review, brought a friend or simply stopped by to say hello.

You are the reason this place feels like more than a business.

You're the reason it feels like a drop zone.

And as we head into the final stretch of another incredible season, we're feeling pretty grateful.

So here's to the rest of 2026.

More blue skies.

More first jumps.

More milestones.

More sunsets.

More friends.

And, of course...

more skydives.

We'll see you in Ovid.

Skydive Seneca Lake Fall for NY.