Skydive Skyranch already draws tourists in to Siloam Springs due to the unique nature of its business. But this month, owner Dan Gryder took steps to make the skydiving company a destination for tourists around the nation.
When Gryder, a Siloam Springs native, took ownership of Skydive Skyranch last year, he inherited a pair of planes -- a Cessna and a 1958 Beechcraft -- that were facilitating 1,600 tandem skydives per year. With an eye on expansion, Gryder has been in the process of importing three planes from Atlanta, Ga., that he already owned. This month, skydivers saw the first fruits of that effort.
The newest addition to the Siloam Springs-based company is a Beechcraft King Air, built in 1983, and it is the only turbo-prop skydive plane in operation for 300 miles, Gryder said.
"That airplane is our ticket to attracting people to Siloam Springs," Gryder said.
The new plane, which has a pair of jet engines that drive propellers on either wing, has the capability of taking jumpers higher, faster. The two planes in the Skyranch's fleet have an operational ceiling of 10,000 feet, and take about half an hour to reach that height, to allow its passengers to disembark and return to the tarmac below. The King Air can drop jumpers off at 14,000 feet, and can be back on solid ground as little as 16 minutes after taking off.
Gryder's other planes will add even more to the draw of Skydive Skyranch. One of the two remaining planes that Gryder plans to import will bring an extra level of historic importance to the operation. Gryder plans to bring his Douglas DC-3 to the operation, at which point it would become the only DC-3 in the United States that is actively conducting skydives, Gryder said.
The DC-3 was introduced in 1936, and derivatives of the plane were used heavily in World War II.
"It's one of those airplanes every skydiver wants to jump out of," said Tyler Hinkle, Skydive Skyranch's tandem program manager.
Hinkle has been skydiving since 2005, and has around 3,500 jumps under his belt. He has yet to jump out of a DC-3, but that will likely change in the next month, as Gryder intends to bring the plane to Siloam Springs soon.
"You'll know when I get it, because I'll fly over downtown," said Gryder. "It's really big and loud."
With the additional planes, Gryder hopes to increase the Skyranch's yearly volume from 1,200 tandem jumps to over 3,000, with the capacity to perform 80 jumps in a single day. Gryder said he hopes it will bring more tourists to Siloam Springs, noting that many of his customers are from out of town, and they will bring their families, and stay for multiple days.
"This is a huge tourist attraction now," Gryder said. "You do 3,000 of those (jumps) per year, it's a lot."
General News on 05/24/2017