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Monday, April 22, 2002

Sky diving business important

By LYNN BULMAHN | News-Journal Staff Writer

DELAND — For competitive sky diving teams, one of the premier places to train — many say the world's best place — is Skydive DeLand.

More world champions and medallists have trained at Skydive DeLand in the last 15 years than any other drop zone in the United States, industry members say. And, its aircraft fleet produces more jumps than any other sports sky diving center in the world.

More than 300 people are employed in some aspect of the sky diving "industry" around DeLand Airport. People from around the world — South Africa, Germany, Colombia and many other nations — come here for serious training for world sky-diving competitions.

A recent competition attracted competitors from a half-dozen nations. Teams came from the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, Italy, Iceland and the United States.

According to Rocky Adrianson, general manager of the DeLand Holiday Inn, visiting sky divers often stay at the motel for three to eight days. Skydive visitors book an average of 100-300 rooms a month at his establishment.

"We have more foreign business in DeLand than people realize," largely because of Skydive, he said. "These people have lots of money — disposable incomes. They're not going to sit in their rooms. They're going to go out and enjoy themselves."

Adrianson believes restaurants, pubs, supermarkets and businesses in DeLand — especially in the city's northern areas — are getting the influx of dollars from the sport parachutists. "It's pretty substantial," he said. "I'm not sure we as a city know the impact."

Parachute jumps alone, at about $15 a jump, may bring in $1 million or more for the 80,000 to 100,000 jumps each year, said Taver Cornett, MainStreet DeLand director. "If Skydive DeLand left, there would be financial changes at the airport that would take a while to overcome."

Skydive DeLand has helped put its hometown on the map with celebrity jumpers. A framed series of photos on the wall shows movie star Tom Cruise, who learned to jump solo when he was filming "Days of Thunder" in Daytona Beach in the 1990s.

Ron Reagan Jr., the former president's son, also chose the local business when he taped a segment on sky diving for ABC's "Good Morning America" program. Reagan's tandem jump is shown as part of an introductory video novice jumpers watch.

Skydive DeLand's domain is also a favorite of local sightseers. "I go out there and watch the sky divers all the time," said Carol Snyder, a DeLand Area Chamber of Commerce employee. "When you get company from out of town, that's one of the places you go."

In addition to Skydive DeLand itself, several related businesses — two airport restaurants, the Drop Zone gear store, the Jump Shack, the Relative Workshop and Performance Design, manufacturers of sky diving equipment — help boost the local economy.

HICI Special Report — Skydiving: Parachuting Pleasures and Perils

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