Exit Eggenfelden

It's been a few years, but according to all accounts things have not changed...

The dropzone owner could be described as having a "difficult" personality, although experienced in terms of jump numbers. Expect regular choleric outbreaks, showpiece-narcism, textbook self-promotion and having to listen to endless badmouthing any other dropzone out there.

Licenses are usually only issued after at least 100 jumps, if at all. Most students either quit completely or change dropzones after some time. Having such excessive requirements far beyond any legal basis is argued with the unsafeness of all other dropzones and their (supposedly) incredibly high accident and fatality rate. Presenting one's own high jump number to unknowing newcomers surely is helpful in keeping this unfounded myth alive and contributes to creating an opinion bubble of fear and anxiety. Students have to do solo-jump after solo-jump, relying on coaches and instructors to be their seldom and expensive source of company in freefall. The idea that novice skydivers might be learning more and faster given the chance to jump with other people has somehow not yet arisen at this place. To further improve the persisting learning environment blaming, shaming and belittling in front of others is still seen as a state-of-the-art teaching method.

Slightly advanced students after AFF are expected to "voluntarily" help in the day-to-day tandem operation (carry rigs, handle passengers, etc.) and one could assume they are being penalized (aka getting to jump less) if not being invested enough in doing that. Most of the very limited slots are blocked for tandems anyways and loads hardly ever go to maximum altitude. Beware that exit altitude is officially given as ranging between 11500ft and 14000ft - independent of ticket price and often somewhere in the lower region of that range. Funjumpers that have not done their AFF at this dropzone will most likely not feel very welcome and should prepare to be personally, extensively and - most important - extremely disrespectfully lectured by the DZO. A normal briefing and constructive feedback for skydivers unfamiliar with the dropzone would be OK - the hostile experience you might make here, in case you do not like kneeling in front of your new skygod, is not. Justifying such a behaviour with safety aspects leaves nothing but the impression of somebody with a massively inflated craving for personal recognition behind. Also, do not get disappointed if you can't do more than 3 or 4 funjumps a day.

Many tandem customers describe their experience as rather harsh. Respectful treatment looks different. Most people can handle that, some can't. Check out the place on Google and you'll find plenty of bad reviews. There certainly is at least some truth in most of them and it's likely due to the approachable Bavarian nature of many guests, that there are not even more bad ratings.

It's a shame, that although there seem to be many good and nice people at the dropzone, one single person can ruin the experience for so many others. In the end the owner remains a substantial part and it might be best to accept, that there are better options around. The majority of skydivers from the region seem to share a similar opinion and it could be worth a critical self-observation, why a 20-year-old dropzone does not have any experienced funjumpers.