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Skydive Arizona

Average Rating: 4.57 4.57 out of 5 based on 51 user reviews

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Dropzone Summary | Reviews

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Location:
Eloy Municipal Airport (E60)
Lat: 32.8070058
Lng: -111.58679

Address:
4900 N Taylor Rd
Eloy, Arizona 85231
United States

Contact:
520.466.3753
520.466.4720 (fax)
events@skydiveaz.com
http://www.skydiveaz.com  (22257 Hits)

Last Updated: 2013-01-23
Aircraft:
4 Super Otters, 4 Super SkyVan, 1 DC-3

Training: AFF, Tandem

AAD: Not Required

Hook Turns: Allowed

USPA Membership: Required

Rates:
Tandem: 199 USD
Video: 95 USD
Jump Ticket: 25 USD to 13500 ft


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Description:


No turns greater than 180 degrees in North landing area.
No turns greater than 90 degrees in South landing area.
During large events no turns greater than 90 degrees at any landing area.
Tunnel landing area closed during military operations.


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Location Map -

Facilities:

  • Gear Rentals
  • Gear Sales
  • Rigging Services
  • Covered Packing Area
  • Creeping Area
  • Team Rooms
  • Video Rooms
  • Coaches
  • Load Organizers
  • Accuracy Tuffet
  • Restaurant
  • Shop
  • Bar
  • Bunkhouse
  • RV Hookups
  • Camping
  • Showers
  • Pool

Upcoming Events:

Start Date End Date Event

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Most Recent Photos (See all 27 photos)

Sitflying Lesson from Omar Monkeys Chatting to Chuck Dirt Diving with Betsy 2012 SIS boogie
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Most Recent Videos

AZ Training AZ Training 2011 USPA Nationals with Dallas Khaos XP 2011 USPA Nationals with Dallas Khaos XP Sisters In Skydiving - Eloy, AZ 2012 Sisters In Skydiving - Eloy, AZ 2012 USA Skydiving Trip - Arizona & Lodi USA Skydiving Trip - Arizona & Lodi

51 Reviews Written

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If you want to train, this is the place.


Skydive Arizona Rated 3 by: ArizonaStone on 2013-05-02

Pros: Lots of loads and lots of quality paid instruction
Cons: Location stinks and not fun jumper friendly
  Professionalism
  Vibe
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I received my A-license from SDAZ and I never had to repeat a level. The reason I say this is because someone else said that your jumps have to be perfect and I don’t believe that to be true. I saw a few people having to repeat jumps, but they would just freak out or freeze up after leaving the plane. The instructors are some of the best…when you can get their attention. I did my A in 2 weeks and during the week it wasn’t so bad, but around the weekends, the tandems (SDAZ is a tandem factory) took priority. Debriefs were a joke when competing for attention with the tandems. The ladies at the counter (professional and friendly) said that I would get a video debrief of every jump, I just wouldn’t get the video as I hadn’t paid for it. Fair enough. Out of 25 jumps, I got a video debrief maybe 40% of those jumps. Also, when comparing the prices to Skydive the Farm and other well-known but smaller dropzones, SDAZ is expensive. For the price I paid for my A (with no repeat jumps), I could have bought a plane ticket to Georgia or Florida, got my A, and still had $500-$1000 left over. I guess I am just a bit lazy. My advice, go somewhere else for your A. I received my B at SDAZ as well and that went off without a hitch.

The facilities of SDAZ have all you need to make your jumping dreams come true and provide you with the basic necessities of life. Just bring clothes and toilet stuff and you’re set if you want to do nothing other than skydive. The packing area is pretty good. The rigging loft, I cannot really comment on as I only ever had a closing loop changed there. The food at the Bent Prop is decent and will do you just fine for a week or two, beyond that and it can get old. The bar is decent when you are not competing for the bartender’s attention when the local skygods come in. The bunkhouse is as bad as a Motel 6 near the red light district. If you get hammered at the bar, it will do; beyond that, kick up the cash and stay somewhere where the beds don’t reek of sweat. The gear shop is pretty sweet. The staff there when I jumped were cool. Some people that have worked there though forget who the customer is. The tunnel is awesome, but make sure you have a reservation. Time slots can fill up quick and if the military is there training, they can take up huge blocks of time. The good news is, they are open before the sun rises and open well after it sets. The instructors are excellent at tunnel flying and very good when instructing. There are numerous instructors around the DZ. Nick and Brianne are the best in my opinion. They are competent, professional, and flexible on scheduling. SDAZ has decent load organizers and more of them if you are a freeflier; bellyfliers can get neglected at times.

Ahh, onto my major grievance about SDAZ…if you are a badass flier, you’re good; if you’re not, you better start shelling out a lot of money or a lot of ass (for females) for training or you will find yourself on the fringe very quickly. I jumped at SDAZ for 2 years and never felt as welcome as I did over 1 week at Lake Elsinore. Freefliers, and very good ones at that, run rampant and if you are one, you will be at home. If you are starting out or just into bellyflying or fun jumping in general, SDAZ can be a bore. That’s not to say there are none of the latter, but your options are limited. I know some will say that SDAZ is a training DZ and Elsinore is a beginner’s DZ, but that doesn’t make it any less of what it is when it comes to the vibe. I understand that a guy or gal with 1000s of jumps may not be that intrigued by a 4-way with people that only have a few hundred jumps, but it is what it is. Also, wingsuiting and canopy work are underrepresented and that can be a drag when you want to try something new. Some of the ground crew can really restrict you to just falling in a column from altitude; take it or leave it. They claims it’s due to all of the air traffic, but it is just inflexible when you want to do something other than turn points.

Overall, it is a good DZ; just in small doses. You have to decide why you want to go and how long you can tolerate being all about SDAZ’s business. Also, the cliques don’t stop at jumping, it carries over into afterhours shenanigans as well. If you’re not in on the jumps, you’re also not likely to be in on the party either.

3 of 5 people found this review helpful:
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(Review ID:7893)

The place to go for improving skills.


Skydive Arizona Rated 4 by: flyngrudy18 on 2012-12-08

Pros: aircraft fleet, tunnel, coaches.
Cons: load organizing during regular weekend to be improved.
  Professionalism
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I' have spent 2 weeks there, I' had the opportunity of work with really great coaches,(if properly pre-planned) both in tunnel and sky,(freefly)and the weather during the falls are excellent, with the biggest aircraft fleet in world, it makes the biggest dz in world.
Excellent service from Desertsky Rigging, the packers, and the local store.
The manifets staff is very friendly as well.
To mention also the quality of food, considering is a dz restaurant, at bent-prop, a good bar and free wifi.
All positive? Like everything in life, nothing is perfect, in first place the dz is located in middle of desert, and nowhere to go, unless you want to drive for one hour to Phoenix or Tucson, if you are going by plane, a rent-a-car is a must, and I' have been quite disappointed by load organizing during a regular weeked, on contrary, during the Thanksgiving Boogie was really good and I' had good time.

0 of 11 people found this review helpful:
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(Review ID:7743)

A must stop at dz


Skydive Arizona Rated 4 by: emmett751 on 2012-10-15

Pros: HUGE, many things to see
Cons: Just not a fan of the desert scenery
  Professionalism
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FACILITIES: Eloy is big and they have everything, a very well stocked gear store, nice packing area, office. The landing area is well groomed grass. The Saloon/ resturant is tasty and clean, and the tunnel on sight is amazing.

Aircraft: Otter in nice shape.

STAFF: Nice and friendly, willing to help.

CROWD: Cant say to well only a few people there when I was but they were cool.Seem to show up early and jump then leave.

OVERALL: Deffinatly a cool DZ, worth checking out maybe hopping in the tunnel and seeing the sights.

0 of 22 people found this review helpful:
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(Review ID:7675)

1st time jumping


Skydive Arizona Rated 5 by: DT-Cobra on 2012-05-10

Pros: Nice professional people, atmosphere, and operation.
Cons: Being scared of heights!
  Professionalism
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I went with some friends this past weekend to celebrate their birthdays. I did not know anything about skydiving beyond jumping and falling. Oh yeah, and I was scared to do it! :O

When we arrived we saw a couple dozen people coming in for landing. It looks amazing and it got our adrenaline running. A person would land about every 30 seconds to a minute. There would be a break for about 20 minutes and it would happen again....all day long! Despite the place being quite busy, everything felt like it moved pretty smooth.

We checked in and waited about 20 minutes, then watched the video, and signed the papers (about 20 minutes). We weighed in and paid our fees. About 20 minutes later our instructors came out to greet us. They were very professional and polite (always smiling). They answered any questions you had and offered info on things you may not have thought to ask. My friends and I felt pretty confident with these people.

We geared up and I was even fitted with an altimeter, which I really appreciated having! My instructor recognized my feelings about being strapped to another guy...lets say...was not on my bucket list of things to do. He was very cool and did not make me feel uncomfortable at all. As a matter of fact, his professionalism completely put me at ease and I forgot about it entirely.

We made our ascent aboard a DC-3 (I believe) to 14,000 ft. The plane was quite fast and it felt like it was standing on it tail getting us up there. During the flight my instructor went over my responsibilities a second time and instructed me on the procedures on getting ready to exit the plane. It made things smooth and I did not feel apprehensive or clumsy about anything going on.
When we exited the plane I did exactly as he instructed. During the free fall I checked my altimeter every couple 1000 ft. or so. He even gave me the thumbs up for doing things right....which made me feel more at ease...and I even started to enjoy the trip. He didn't do anything stupid during the dive or while parachuting to freak me out. I could tell he knew I was scared. My friends all thought I was the coolest one of the bunch(BUT I DON'T LIKE HEIGHTS OR AIRPLANES), and I could tell he did everything by the book procedurally. (as it was very fluid and smooth)

My landing was a textbook "butt slide" on the lawn. I was actually "shocked" at how smooth it was. No jolt or bumps....just a 10 foot slide on some grass.

I could not believe how safe the whole experience had been. I was still scared....but not by the plane or the personel. It was because of them I was able to get through it and ENJOY the whole experience. As a matter of fact....I got the bug from it all and I'm going again in 3 weeks with half a dozen other people. (thx alot you skydiving junkies!) :P

As a side note....the video/camera crews did an excellent job. The vids and pictures came out beautiful and the people where very charismatic and energetic.

The facility was very clean and the place seemed very organized. There is a swimming pool, school/training facility, wind tunnel for fun or more training, resturaunt/bar, equipment store, lodging, showers, etc. It is located about 25 minutes from Casa Grande and about an hour from Downtown Phoenix.

I understand that I am a newbie, and some people who might read this are experienced or professional divers. I wrote this review for people who are thinking about making a jump. I don't personally know anyone who works for Skydive Arizona and I don't even live in the same county. I'm sure there are some other good places to go out there....but this happened to be my first. It basically turned out to be everything I and my friends (also 1st time jumpers) had ever hoped it would be. I hope other first timers might read this and find my experience helpful.

12 of 41 people found this review helpful:
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(Review ID:7171)

A great way to learn and meet people


Skydive Arizona Rated 5 by: theplummeter on 2012-04-26

Pros: You can jump as many times as you want
Cons: I didn't make it on a Skyvan load, 102 degrees in April
  Professionalism
  Vibe
  Aircraft
  Facilities
  Services
  Location
I just got back from a week at Skydive Arizona. I was apprehensive at the idea of heading there because I'm such a new and low jump idiot who has only been to a few smaller dropzones and they are such a huge dropzone with so much going on.

It took about fifteen minutes with manifest to get everything figured out, and once you get on board with the exit separation and landing pattern system they have things couldn't be easier. Two full Otters running and I don't think I was ever in the air with more than three other canopies at my altitude and never had a problem with crowding in the pattern. Two huge landing areas and more outs than anyone should need are right below you.

Even more important to me was the total lack of skygod type mentality there. People of all experience levels were happy to jump with and help out anyone who was willing to participate. I jumped loads with 10000 jump freeflyers and 30 jump A licensees and the really experienced folks did what they needed to do to make it all work. The instructors at Axis helped me out tremendously with exits (these were my first Otter jumps) and helped me find folks to jump with. I can't say enough nice things about Nik and Brianne, they are very talented and equally humble which is a rare and pleasant combination.

I got to make a couple balloon jumps while I was there also. If you are there between November and May I highly recommend jumping in with Burner. The ride up is qucker than I thought it would be. I ended up making several jumps, it's better than eating breakfast if you're up at that hour.

The bunkhouse is, well, a bunkhouse. They have air conditioning which keeps the place about ten degrees cooler than outside but it's a lot like camping. If you do use the bunkhouse bring your own key for the lockers as they have none at manifest. Someone is always at the dropzone with a car and happy to run to Casa Grande for supplies.

I also met some of the coolest people I have ever had the pleasure of jumping with in that week.

If you're a newer jumper looking to get a lot of jumps in but nervous about the size of the dropzone, take the plunge. It's really not scary as long as you follow the recommendations and keep your head on a swivel.

The only gripes I have from the trip is that it's sometimes difficult to locate the organizer. They put a picture up next to manifest of the organizer(s) for the day in a t-shirt but rarely can you recognize them in a full jumpsuit and helmet. Often you are left using hand signals next to the Otter to indicate the number of people you are jumping with and whether you are a belly or free flyer. The first few jumps get you thinking, but after a bit it's almost automatic lining up to get on.

Bigways hog the Skyvans, so if that's on your list you might be disappointed.





2 of 28 people found this review helpful:
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(Review ID:7129)

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