I cannot express this enough - they were AMAZING! My tandem master Silvio was an absolute professional, making sure I understood what to expect and keeping me safe and confident throughout the process. He made sure I knew what to expect but most importantly, that I had fun. It was my first jump ever and I always wanted to go - it exceeded my expectations mostly because of Silvio. If you are on the fence about jumping with Skydive Chicago - do it! 100% worth it and can't wait to go again.

Michael G.

Jumping out of a plane is awesome. Plain and simple. There's not a single feeling that can come close. I first got to experience my first tandem jump 4 years ago at Skydive Chicago and I was hooked. It took me a long time to come back but ever since my wife missed out on the first time I went, it was the perfect excuse to go again! It was her first time, so I was giving her the rundown of what to expect. Highly recommended booking ahead of time online, you never know how busy it is going to be, but they do allow walk ins. You get there, check in, and they hand you a bunch of papers to sign. From here, you go to a short class where you learn the basics moves that you can do (most of it is optional since you have an expert on your back). If you are someone who really wants to pursue doing it solo someday, pay attention because your tandem jumper needs to give you the O.K. that you understand the basics and can move on to the solo jumper classes. Anyways, after all that you wait. My first time was 4 hours, this past time was only one. About 15 minutes before you are supposed to be headed up, you get geared up, meet your tandem jumper and your videographer (WHICH I CANT RECOMMENED GETTING ENOUGH, ESPECIALLY FOR YOUR FIRST JUMP). From there it's time to board the plane! It takes much longer to get up to 13,000 ft on these smaller planes than you would think. The entire time you are looking out the window thinking "Wow we are really high" and then look down at your altimeter and realize you aren't even halfway yet.... When it's time to jump, you get up to the edge of the plane, lean back, and let it all go... I won't even pretend I can describe on here so you will have to just go yourself if you want to experience it! Can't wait to go back! (Picture from my first jump since I opted out on getting it the second time)

Checked this one off my bucket list! We went on a Friday afternoon, and the wait time was only 20 minutes - a lot faster than we were expecting! Ryan was an awesome tandem instructor. He was so professional and made me feel at ease. That first jump out of the plane was indescribable. Pictures don't do it justice, but my videographer Matt came pretty close! Ryan even let me do green, yellow, and red zone turns on the way down. The weather was beautiful, the landing was smooth, and we even watched from above as the plane we just jumped out of landed on the runway. The whole experience was absolutely perfect. I can't wait to bring others to experience this with me next time! Thank you for giving me this experience of a lifetime, Ryan and Matt!

Alexis M.

Can't thank our instructors and camera people enough for capturing such special moment and amazing experience! They got us amazing pictures and even followed us through the entire engagement! Josh was wonderful in getting all of this together for when we landed. We will definitely be back!

Danielle F.

10/10 recommend sky diving here. All the instructors made me feel so comfortable and worry free. Shout out to Tim for being the best!!!

Sabrina C.

Ever been sitting around bored and to kill time your friends suggest skydiving? Yeah. That. Soooooooo, the first time we went, in April, we (my best friend, brother, and I) did our walk through of the facility and took our training class. Training is only about 30 mins long and consists of you watching a video and then getting some instruction from the teacher. Sadly this time we couldn't jump because it was cloudy. We set back up to go in May, about 3 weeks later. It was perfect weather when we went back! We got set right up and played the waiting game for about an hour. Once our names moved to the staging area, we knew we had about 30 mins to suit up and head out. We got dressed, received our last instructions, and headed to the plane. After climbing to 13,500 feet, we took turns peeling out. BEST RUSH AND EXPERIENCE EVER!!!!! There is no feeling like the one you get when you are at the edge about to jump and everything below you looks like ants and grid marks on a map! My instructor made sure to keep communicating with me from the time we got suited up, to mid air. I also ordered the package that gives you video and photo footage so my video guy was right along side us and interacted as well. Just as quickly as it began it was over. I kissed the ground. Like twice. But, I'm ready to go again!!!!! DO IT!!!!!

Kim M.

Did this for my birthday yesterday! It's something that's been on my list to do probably since I was 18 years old. And well, life happens and it got pushed to the back burner. So happy I did this! I recommend if you sign up for say, the 9:30 AM session and you want to be one of the first, get there around 9. You have to sign your rights away -- basically any and everything you could possibly sue them for -- you no longer can. And this is backed up by a lovely man on the intro video you see in your class. I am unsure if the man was Amish, a missing member of ZZtop, or one of those dudes you see on the beach that lives his life full of things like skydiving. :) And anyone that has been there knows what I am talking about! So, you go to a class before you gear up and head out. "Arch and Smile." "Arch and Smile" and hey, if you forget everything else, don't forget to arch and smile. We had a slight delay because of the wind. My tandem person was Will. Who had a sense of humor like mine, and made it so much more comfortable for me. In other words, it calmed my anxiety. For it being my first jump, I really wasn't scared until we went through the cloud and I felt like I got water up my nose from it. Outside of that, and when I pulled the cord for the chute -- it was great. After you pull the chute out, you can take hold of the reins and direct where you go. You and get some crazy G's!!! My stomach couldn't handle them too well though. Next time I think I won't have McDonald's before the jump. ;) The experience was great. The people were great. And I recommend the photos at a MINIMUM. Go jump out of a plane, and thank me later.

Kabby G.

This was a fantastic experience for our whole group. We had a group of 4 who have all wanted to skydive for quite some time and we are all so happy we did it at this location. Staff was fantastic. We had to reschedule due to weather and they were easy to work with & very kind & accommodating. On the day we actually jumped we had an amazing experience. We opted for the photos + video package (although they have a multitude of options to pick from) and are so happy we did this! They do a great job of including your whole group and getting photos of everyone together. From arriving at the property to landing on the ground, I never once felt unsafe. I got to jump with Rogers and Johnny and they both made the experience a fun and safe one. I will be back again soon. This was an experience I'll never forget! Thank you to all the staff at Skydive Chicago!

Nicole G.

The craziest, most exhilarating, best adrenaline rush I've ever had in my entire life!!!!! My husband surprised me by signing us up for my birthday and he made it happen!! I'll try and walk you through my entire experience but I'm still speechless about how incredible the experience was that it may be hard to find words. Appointment/Arrival- My husband scheduled our appointment for 11 AM this past Saturday. Once you arrive you, you can fill out paperwork if you haven't done so already online. Then, we were instructed to head to our skydiving class on the lower level. The class was probably about 20 minutes and is a requirement for all tandem jumps. There was an instructional video highlighting the precautions and severity of the experience. It may sound blunt but you're basically signing your life away in the paperwork. This definitely fluttered the nerves in my stomach but when I learned there are 2 parachutes, one for me and my instructor, and one that automatically deploys at a certain elevation as a backup, I felt a sense of relief. Also knowing I was attached by 4 clips that are certified to hold over 5,000 pounds. Our class leader Chris was personable and added some humor to the class to also help relieve some nerves! Wait/total time- They informed us that the wait can be up to 6 hours on a weekend depending on how many people are before us. Luckily our wait time was only about an hour! I have long thick hair so I did a high-pony tail braid with multiple hair ties and body pins. My hair was tasseled when we landed of course going 120 mph, but no knots and the best hairstyle if you have the same type of hair! Getting ready- IT'S TIME! It was about 30 minutes out till our jump so they started to get us in our harnesses. This is when I met my amazing instructor Amanda!! I felt comforted from the second we met. She was full of warm energy, outgoing, and very informative about any questions I had. I also met my videographer at this time! Ron was awesome!! He was also full of energy and really positive. I felt really comfortable in front of the camera with him. He got some before shots of how I was feeling (THE NERVES) and us getting in all of our gear. I strongly strongly recommend getting a videographer/photos for your first jump because your adrenaline is pumping so high you almost can't believe the experience just happened when it's over. I was so happy we paid the extra amount for this so I could relive the experience. I've watched the video at least 50 times already. THE JUMP- OMG!!! Once the plane lifted off the ground I knew that this was it. It's happening. I am literally going to jump out of a plane in a few minutes. The plan ride up was the biggest height of my nerves. It was pretty toasty in the plane because it was 90 degrees out but once we hit a few thousand feet they opened the door for some airflow. That moment sunk my stomach a little because the whole experience set into reality. I watched my altimeter rise and wait until we were at 13,000 ft to jump. During the wait, Amanda kindly went over the body positioning again and the steps for me to remember when we jumped. She also clipped me to her at this time at four different points. She mentioned if I forget anything we talked about remember to: tilt my headlock, arch my body, and SMILE! There were 4 professionals in front of us and once we hit about 13,000 ft the door opened and out they flew. I didn't even have a chance to let the nerves sit because I was the first of our group to jump. We scooted to the edge of the plane, I dangled my legs out, cupped the edge of the plane with my legs, titled my head back on my instructor's right shoulder and OFF WE WENT! AHHH! My stomach dropped 1000x more than what it did on any roller coaster. I was flying! The adrenaline rush and this stomach drop was incomparable to anything I've ever felt in my entire life. I was literally FLYING. I almost forgot to look at Ron for the video because I was so consumed by the feeling of flying and the world underneath me. It was the fastest, most exhilarating minute of my life! Once the chute was pulled, we coasted through the air for what seemed to be ten minutes. Amanda and I were a light weight combined so it took us longer to float down. Those minutes were the most peaceful moments I've had. We were talking about how amazing heaven would be like if it was anything like this. It was so easy to hear Amanda during this descend so we just chatted away and enjoyed the scenery until we landed. Amanda guided a calm and collected landing. I held my legs out straight and we landed so calmly I gently put my feet down and I was standing on the grass. Ron did a great job of again capturing my emotions the entire time and checking in with how I was feeling throughout the experience. Post jump- The video was also available within 15 minutes after the jump and all the files are downloadable through their link! Overall, if you have the urge, choose Skydive Chicago!!

CJ M.

Such as amazing day as a first-time jumper. Lucked out with warm weather and low crowds (we were registered, trained, up in the air and back down on the ground in about an hour). Eric "Fly Easy" was a great instructor and managed everything perfectly. My dive was a birthday gift/bucket list item and no longer a once-in-a-lifetime event, as I'll definitely be going back.

Could not have asked for a better time at this drop zone. I'll break this review into two parts - the jump and the purchased video. Regarding the jump, I could not have asked for a better exhilarating, safe experience. Every person at the drop zone, from the tandem instructors to other, experienced jumpers were incredibly friendly and reassuring about the whole process. I booked with a group of two other friends and we were accommodated to all jump at the same time out of the flight. The introductory "lesson" at the beginning helped orient everyone to the process of jumping out of a plane and gave assurances regarding the safety procedures in place for the jump. The facilities were also top notch - one of my friends who had jumped before said the other drop zone they jumped from paled in comparison. There is so much to do while you wait - hiking trails, swimming ponds, zip lining, etc. - for your flight that I never felt antsy or bored. Regarding the video, one word - wow. It looked like something out of a professional YouTube vlog. Get the most expensive package for roughly $160 - although the price might seem high, the finished product is worth every penny and more. I'm heading back next weekend for my second tandem jump and will be getting certified through this drop zone. Don't hesitate booking with them - I promise you you're going to love it.

Miguel R.

AWESOME!!!! Wow!!!! Breathtaking!!! Adrenaline Rush!!! Amazing!!! I can't come up with enough words to describe the sensation, the anticipation, the rush of skydiving. I've raced motorcycles. I've done dog fights in fighter planes. I've stolen candy from a baby - and really nothing can compare to the "Oh shit" feeling you get as you approach that door and feel the wind rushing over your face. It's unnatural to stick your head out of plane. Now imagine you're just taking a trip to see you're friend. The plane takes off, and you're staring out the window looking out like a little kid - now imagine that window is a big freaking door - and instead of just looking, you're jumping!!! I bought the strongest gel money can buy so that I looked good in my video, but that plan went down the drain along with my manliness! I've got to admit I was really nervous, but they say the hardest part is getting out of the plane - and they are right!!! Once you're out- it's amazing. We did some "red" turns which made me feel some serious G's in my stomach (and if we did one more I would have thrown up all over the guy) and did a perfect landing! (and by perfect I mean Alive) The facility is great. The people were nice, knowledgeable, and patient. The memory will last forever, and the video proves that even an uptight guy like me can smile like fat kid with chocolate every now and then!!! Go do it - you'll never regret it.

HOLY FREAKING MOLY I AM HOOKED FOR LIFE!!! This place is awesome! From start to finish every employee is kind and communicative! But also these instructors are no joke, most of them have jumped more than a thousand times. I did my first tandem jump with my boyfriend today and it still feels unreal typing this all out. I jumped with Rogers and Amanda was my videographer. They both made me feel super safe and were terrific. I ended up having 200 or so photos to sift through when I got home, and while I'm no model, I got the coolest pics. Amanda knows her angles and Rogers was totally on his a-game with the go pro. And gosh! Amanda was such a superstar in the air, she literally swooped down to me like a hawk and held my hand and we spun around and got the craziest video out of it. I just can't wait to jump again. The jump feels like a dream, there is so much and so little running through your brain at the same time it's so important to have something to look back on your own as proof. I love these photos so much. Some of them are so BA and there are some straight up hilarious ones. I made faces I didn't even know were possible. Definitely get the videographer and the selfie package!!! And don't forget to smile otherwise ur cheeks will flap in the wind ;)