Skydive Palatka, Inc. is owned and operated by Art "The Art of Skydiving" Shaffer, of Gainesville, Florida. We've been flying at Kay Larkin Airport, in Palatka, since 1995, and have been established longer than any other dropzone in North Florida. Winnie Sunderland opened the dropzone in August of that year, with the goal of creating a fun, stress-free place for her friends in north Florida to safely learn and participate in the exciting and dynamic sport of freefall skydiving. Of course, she succeeded, and after 10 years of hard but fun work, she sold the business to Art.


Skydive Palatka flew its first load of skydivers August 22, 1995. That weekend we owned just one four-place airplane and our facilities consisted of nothing more than a few folding chairs and a single card table set in the shade of a big tree.

Today our drop zone boasts a regular full-time fleet of up to three airplanes, and regularly hosts visiting jump planes. See the NEWS page for the current fleet details.

Our new facilities are first class. We have a modern, climate controlled building housing manifest, the drop zone's fully stocked retail gear store, video editing, and a training room.

Camping on the drop zone is free, and our huge hot water heater guarantees you'll get a scorching hot shower no matter how late you rise.

Outside we have two large covered and carpeted parachute packing areas (we added a second packing area in May, 2001 on our north lawn along the tree line). We also have a new King Air + Cessna mockup for dirt diving, a creeper pad and creepers, a filtered cold water fountain, a bonfire pit, and lots of room to relax.

Soft drinks, cold bottled water and snacks are available inside at the store. Restaurant meals are only a couple minutes drive into town, but if you prefer, you may use our new gas barbeque grill to cook a picnic lunch.

Skydive Palatka is an especially scenic place to skydive. Both the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico are visible from altitude on clear days, and the beautiful St. Johns River meanders through historic downtown Palatka below. Jumpers can also view the numerous creeks and lakes in the area, and further to the south see Crescent Lake and big Lake George.


Skydive Palatka is a United States Parachute Association™ Group Member drop zone so we do require that all experienced skydivers jumping with us be current USPA members (or members of their own national aeroclub). Temporary 30-day USPA memberships are available at manifest. The FAR's governing skydiving have recently been revised: Foreign jumpers may now jump their own non-TSO'd foreign gear, as long as it is approved for use in your home country.