Skydive Newport

What Skydive Newport does

Skydive Newport LLC is a family-owned tandem skydiving operator founded in 1999 and headquartered at Newport State Airport (211 Airport Access Rd, Middletown, Rhode Island). The company runs a single dropzone serving the broader New England region (Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Maine), and reports having safely completed over 70,000 tandem skydives across its history. Operations are staffed by the Tripari family across three generations (Marc, Cherri, and Chris Tripari) plus instructor Eric Wickfield Jr., with a combined 80,000+ jumps and 140+ years of experience. The team is positioned as elite within the U.S. instructor pool — the company states only 10% of U.S. instructors would be candidates to jump at this location.

The core product is a tandem skydive from 10,000 feet, providing roughly 45 seconds of freefall at 120 mph followed by a 4–5 minute canopy descent over the Newport coastline. The fleet consists of four Cessna 182 aircraft maintained beyond FAA minimums, with USPA-rated instructors and Automatic Activation Devices (AADs) installed on parachutes as a safety backstop. Ancillary offerings include professional HD video/stills packages ($100–$130), military and student discounts, group rates for 6+ jumpers, and online gift certificates up to $500. Skydive Newport holds USPA Group Member Dropzone status.

The business model is direct-to-consumer with phone-based reservations, walk-in availability on a space-available basis, and full payment collected on the day of jump. Revenue is one-time per jump at $250–$270 base plus photo/video attach rates, with no subscription or recurring component. Distribution is concentrated at the single Middletown, RI location, supported by a content marketing blog (25+ articles), organic social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Yelp), Google Maps/local SEO, and an online gift certificate storefront via Clover. Customer segments include first-time skydivers and adventure tourists (primary), groups of 6+, military and students (discount tier), and spectators/family members accompanying jumpers.

Name

Skydive Newport

Legal name

Skydive Newport LLC

Website

https://skydivenewport.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Skydive Newport is a family-owned tandem skydiving operator founded in 1999 at Newport State Airport in Middletown, Rhode Island, serving first-time skydivers and adventure tourists across the New England region with USPA-certified instructors and a four-aircraft Cessna 182 fleet.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Adventure Skydiving Services

NAICS

Nonscheduled Chartered Passenger Air Transportation (481211)

SIC

Air Transportation, Nonscheduled (4522)

akta.pro primary industry

Skydiving Experiences (Tandem, AFF, Scenic Jumps) (THAAAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Skydiving Centers & Drop Zones (Tandem, AFF Training) (THAAAKAB), Paragliding, Skydiving & Airborne Adventure Sports (THAJABAJ)

Keywords

• Tandem skydiving services
• Adventure tourism experiences
• Aerial sports recreation
• Skydiving instruction
• Extreme sports activities

Headquarters

HQ city

New Middletown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Tandem Skydiving: Core revenue from tandem skydiving experiences. Cash rate $260, credit rate $270. Military/student discount at $250 cash. Group rate (6+ people) at $250/person cash. Revenue is one-time per jump transaction.
2. Video and Photo Packages: Additional upsell services during skydiving experience. Freefall Video & Stills Package at $130, Freefall Still Photo Package at $100. Professionally edited HD video with music and high-resolution stills delivered via digital cloud service.
3. Gift Certificates: Gift certificates sold online for tandem skydiving experiences. Non-refundable, cannot be redeemed for cash. Credit card only for purchase. Max $500 per certificate, multiple certificates needed for higher amounts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Skydive Newport delivers tandem skydiving experiences in which participants are securely attached to a USPA-certified instructor and jump from approximately 10,000 feet, enjoying roughly 45 seconds of freefall at 120 mph followed by a 4-5 minute canopy descent over the Newport coastline. The company also offers professionally produced HD video and still photography packages that document the experience, as well as online gift certificates.

Product overview

Skydive Newport offers a single primary service: tandem skydiving experiences from its Middletown, Rhode Island facility. The core product is the tandem skydive, where participants jump from 10,000 feet securely harnessed to a USPA-certified instructor. Optional add-on products include professional video and still photography packages for capturing the experience, discounted rates for military/students and groups of 6+, and gift certificates for gifting the skydiving experience. The company operates Cessna 182 aircraft and maintains USPA Group Member status.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tandem Skydive A tandem skydiving experience where participants are securely attached to a USPA-certified instructor and jump from 10,000 feet, providing approximately 45 seconds of freefall at 120 mph followed by a 4-5 minute parachute descent over the Newport coastline. Designed for first-time skydivers with only 5 minutes of ground training required.
• Freefall Video and Stills Package A professional add-on package in which instructors capture full HD video edited with music along with high-resolution 20-megapixel stills throughout the jump, delivered to the customer via a digital cloud service. Priced at $130 per person.
• Freefall Still Photo Package A still-photography-only add-on capturing 20-megapixel images during the climb, skydive, and parachute ride, delivered to the customer via email cloud service. Priced at $100 per person.
• Gift Certificates Non-refundable gift certificates sold online for tandem skydiving experiences, intended for birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, and promotions. Credit card only, with a maximum of $500 per certificate and multiple certificates required for higher amounts.

Quantifiable outcome

• 70,000+ tandem skydives completed safely since 1999
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• United States Parachute Association (USPA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1999Skydive Newport is a USPA Group Member Dropzone since 1999. This membership means they have pledged to follow USPA Basic Safety Recommendations (BSRs). USPA is dedicated to promotion of safe skydiving and disseminates industry safety standards set by the Federal Aviation Administration. All instructors hold USPA ratings.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Jumptown Skydiving: Long-established tandem skydiving operation in Orange, Massachusetts that has been in business for decades, competing for New England tandem customers with similar pricing and USPA-certified instruction.
• Skydive Pepperell: Tandem skydiving center in Pepperell, Massachusetts serving the Greater Boston and New Hampshire markets with a comparable USPA-member dropzone model and Cessna aircraft.
• Boston Skydive Center: Tandem skydiving operation in Massachusetts targeting the Boston metro area, overlapping with Skydive Newport's primary catchment region.
• Connecticut Skydiving Center: Connecticut-based tandem skydiving operation competing with Skydive Newport for southern New England residents and group bookings.
• Skydive Danielson: Operates a tandem skydiving dropzone in Danielson, Connecticut, directly competing with Skydive Newport for Connecticut and southern New England tandem customers with a similar Cessna-based operation.

Broad incumbents

• Skydive Spaceland: Multi-location tandem and sport skydiving operator across the southern U.S., with broader geographic reach and scale than Skydive Newport; serves as a reference point for multi-dropzone expansion models in the U.S. tandem market.
• Paraclete XP SkyVenture: Large East Coast skydiving and indoor skydiving operation in Raeford, NC offering tandem experiences at scale; broader portfolio includes wind tunnel training and AFF programs, competing for serious skydiving customers nationally.

Regional players

• Skydive Long Island: New York-based tandem skydiving operation serving a different geography than Skydive Newport but competing for some New England metro tourists traveling to the greater Northeast for skydiving experiences.

Emerging players

• iFLY Indoor Skydiving: Indoor vertical wind tunnel skydiving operator with multiple U.S. locations including Boston; offers a weather-independent alternative for first-time flyers, partially competing with Skydive Newport's adventure-tourism customer base.

Others

• United States Parachute Association (USPA): National governing body for skydiving in the United States; Skydive Newport holds USPA Group Member status, and USPA establishes the Basic Safety Recommendations and rating standards that govern Skydive Newport's operations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@Skydivenewport
• Facebookfacebook.com/skydivenewportri
• Instagraminstagram.com/skydivenewport
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/skydive-newport

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Skydive Newport