Archway Skydiving Center (Visit this link)
Archway Skydiving Centre opened for business in 1965. Originally owned and operated by Dave Verner, Archway began it's long history of skydiving training in Sparta, Illinois. In the early 1990's, Archway moved to Vandalia, Illinois - just an hour east of St. Louis.
In May, 1999, Jason Mark and Anita Wuertz formed a new corporation, and operates Archway Skydiving Center from Vandalia, Illinois and carries on with the Archway traditions.
We average over 12,000 skydives per year and more than 1,200 students per year make their first jump with us. Most of our instructors have over 1,000 jumps, some as much as 5,000. We are constantly updating our equipment and have the fastest turbine jump airplane in the area. Click on the links for more information regarding our airplanes and student gear.
Archway's history is rich with current world champions Kirk Verner and John Lemming from Arizona Airspeed getting their start and learning to skydive at Archway. In addition, freefall camera man, Sean Cappirecco from the Golden Knights began his skydiving career at Archway. Most recently, Joe Abeln, a graduate from Archway's training program was accepted with the Army's Golden Knights demonstration team.
One of the earliest episodes of MTV Road Rules was filmed here, with the cast making tandem skydives. Archway was the first to introduce square canopies for sport parachute jumping in the midwest. In addition, Archway was one of the first skydiving centers to use reserve equipment that mounted on your back, instead of the traditional military style "belly mount" reserve.
Much of the staff from the early days continues to skydive at Archway, along with many newer instructors. We are a proud group member of the United States Parachute Association (USPA), we adhere to their policies and safety guidelines, and all of our instructors are USPA rated.
Come check us out any weekend. We welcome spectators and will be happy to answer any questions that may arise. We believe that you'll find Archway most professional and friendly.
http://www.archwayskydiving.com
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