Skydive Orange, Virginia, Skydiving Club offers freefall tandem parachute skydiving!

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Skydive Orange, Virginia Skydiving Club has tandem skydives, accelerated freefall (AFF), static line parachute first jump courses and parachute instruction in a Home-style environment at the closest skydiving place to DC Northern Virginia with a 22 jumper airplane. Skydive Orange, Inc., operates at Orange County Airport in Orange, Virginia, operating as a club, with a membership of over 50 active skydivers. Skydive Orange, a member of the United States Parachute Association offers quality instruction at competitive prices. Everyone at Skydive Orange is committed to safe skydiving. We take our fun and our safety seriously. So come on and SKYDIVE!

On March 13, 2007 it will be 30 years since the first skydive was made at orange County Airport!

HISTORY-

Corrected, March 2007- My name is Don Sims and I founded the Drop Zone in 1975, first as the Buckingham Parachute Center at Bradshaw’s Airpark in Buckingham County . My partners were Ross Haine and Harold Atwell for the first two years until I bought them out. I personally had to go before the State Corporation Commission in Richmond to get the permanent drop zone permit so we could move to the Orange County Airport in 1977. That was actually pretty cool as there were reporters from all the major papers and two television stations, so when we won we were even in the Washington Post.

In 1984 I was growing weary and sold out to Bob Churchill, now dead (not from jumping) and he along with “Oh No” Ned started Skydive Orange.

Skydive orange Inc. evolved from Buckingham Parachute Center (BPC Inc.) in Buckingham, Virginia, in Buckingham County, which was started by Don Sims, Ross Haine, and Harold Atwell in the early - mid 1970's. Things were much hippie-dippier back in the old days, but I guess that was the case in all venues. Bob Churchill then took over BPC, and we later decided to turn it into a club, which, having been spared the misfortune of being named Penguinland, was named Skydive Orange Inc., I think it was Gus Wing who might have suggested the name during our organizational meeting so very long ago in Bob's townhouse in Charlottesville. Alex Barnes was our first skydiving club president... Much thanks to the pioneers and founders of our Skydiving Club, which now attracts skydivers from Maryland, DC, Northern Virginia. My, how things have changed!

Anyhow, we have an elected board of directors, each of which has assumed their own position in the club organizational hierarchy...

Skydive Orange's marvelous Hanger has a shower, bathrooms, lots of carpeted indoor packing area. Best of all, it is adjacent to our landing area. Please email me with any suggestions on hanger improvements.

Any suggestions for this web page? Please email me what you like or don't like. Skydive Orange Skydivers give me your input!
: Have unneeded things like picnic tables, heaters, carpet, or trucking services? Click on our want list.; Blue skies! and Thanks for visiting our humble website.... Full speed ahead --; Ned Wulin

tandem skydive over virginia

Webpage originally designed in late 1997 by Staunton, Virginia's CYBERCAFE & Training Center, but they are out of business now. Much thanks to Sandi Scanelli, one of the most wonderful people in the world, for all her help an patience. But we changed it quite lot since then. Most of the website photos were done by the Famous Freefall Videographer Bobby P, and some by the equally renowned John Elmore. Layout for our Video link was stolen by Ned Wulin from Emily Bump of Sunscape Designs Creative Services, and altered from her original work. Ned always feels it is good to have these little notes and say at least a little something about who's responsible, even if it doesn't amount to much. After all, the "About Us" link is generally the most infrequently clicked link on any webpage, so I figure what the heck.