Look up in the sky over the rolling dunes of Pismo Beach, California and you’re likely to spot a very happy flying vegetable. The bright orange Cessna 206, affectionately dubbed “The Pumpkin”, has been busier than anticipated in its first official year of Skydive Pismo Beach’s operations. “We’ve had to turn people away.” exclaimed Chris Lee, the dropzone’s manager. “We weren’t expecting to be this busy so early on.”
When asked what he contributes the success to, Lee responded without hesitation, “The location. Landing our tandems right on the beach has created a great experience for our customers that they can’t get anywhere else.” Not only do his customers get to land on the beach but every jump turns into an advertisement of its own. “Our landing area is far enough away from the crowds that it doesn’t create a safety issue, but close enough that people take notice and want to check it out.” says Lee.
Most of the first time jumpers come from nearby Bakersfield and Fresno. With both cities hosting colleges, Lee was expecting most of his customers to be student males looking for a rush. To his surprise most of the adventure seekers have been either female students or older men and women looking to cross an item off their bucket list. 2010 census numbers show Bakersfield and Fresno have a combined population of about 850,000 residents.
The location recently garnered unexpected attention when producers of the NBC TV series Chuck were on a tight deadline and looking for a unique location to capture skydiving scenes for their series finale. Lee explains, “They wanted to shoot some footage of skydivers landing on the beach. We were perfectly setup for what they needed. It all came together very quickly.” The show brought in their own stunt jumpers, Karlee Ayers and camera flyer Craig “OB” O’Brien, but viewers may see footage of The Pumpkin, piloted by DZ staff pilot Shawn Ashby, on screen as well. The episode is expected to air on NBC on January 27, 2012.
The success of Skydive Pismo Beach hasn’t come without its challenges. It took almost three years to obtain the business licence for the dropzone. In the process major concessions had to be made. Sport jumps aren’t offered due to the tight restrictions placed on the DZ by San Luis Obispo County. With complicated coastal weather patterns and an abundance of physical obstructions in the area, the county would only give the green light under the condition that jumps be limited to skydivers holding a USPA D License. Summer and spring fog has also presented a challenge with the most consistent runs of jumpable days occurring in the winter months.
When asked if there were any special plans for 2012, Lee says there’s still a lot of work ahead of the start-up, “We’re still trying to get our feet under ourselves after such a great start. Next year will be another building year. We’re anticipating another increase in business starting around St. Patty’s Day when the tourist season kicks in.”
Pismo Beach is located on California’s central coast, mid-way between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Despite a local population of less than 8000, the town is a well known tourist destination with over 65 restaurants and more than 30 hotels, motels, inns and RV parks. The locals have been very welcoming to the new skydiving centre; The chamber of commerce participated in the grand opening and locals often make a trip down to the beach just to watch the parachutes.
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