n0rbert 0 #1 June 26, 2012 What is the best time of the year to jump in N. America? In the Middle East? In New Zealand? I'm new to the sport (13 jumps, last jump Jan 2011) and I've been struggling to get in jumps. There is no DZ near my location, so I travel to jump for a weekend or a week at a time. 12 of my jumps were in NZ in January, but there were only a few loads each day as the students were on break. I failed to jump in Hawaii in April (weather), in Tokyo in June (weather), in NC in November (ground school expired), in Dubai in June (limited summer hours). I would like to try for AZ next, but I would like to go when I can jump the most: good weather, lots of loads, etc. Any suggestions? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrubin 0 #2 June 26, 2012 You can get good weather all year round in North America. You just need to go to the right place. Arizona and the Florida dropzones are busier in the winter because the weather is better then. In the summer there are plenty of dropzones farther north that have great dropzones."I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chewy123 0 #3 June 26, 2012 All year round here in S California. Midweek might be not many loads but it's pretty busy most of the time! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 24 #4 June 26, 2012 You mention AZ. The core of the season at Eloy is end September (Arizona Days boogie kinda marks the start of the busy season) to mid May (the Challenge/Turbine Madness boogie kinda marks the end of it, when the DZ closes a few days during the workweek). With Nationals at Eloy in October, and training for the World Cup in Dubai in December, you can bet SDAZ will be non-stop busy from September till end of January. In my opinion, the best months for jumping in Eloy are Sept-Oct, and March-April. Not too hot, not too cold at night/early morning, with Sept-Oct being slightly better weather wise (we're splitting hair with weather days tho...) The Southern CA DZ will have similar busy seasons, while the Northern States DZ will be much busier in summer, with some closing completely in winter.Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
virgin-burner 1 #5 June 26, 2012 switzerland - we jump year round, but we're hardcore too! “Some may never live, but the crazy never die.” -Hunter S. Thompson "No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try." -Yoda Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 24 #6 June 26, 2012 Quote switzerland - we jump year round, but we're hardcore too! We jump year around too.. It's just you pasty foreigners who wuss out and dont visit Eloy in summer... Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
virgin-burner 1 #7 June 26, 2012 Quote Quote switzerland - we jump year round, but we're hardcore too! We jump year around too.. It's just you pasty foreigners who wuss out and dont visit Eloy in summer... if you dont come to our boogie, YOU're the wuss! http://www.paraclub.ch/en/skydiver/hella-herb/infos.html“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.” -Hunter S. Thompson "No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try." -Yoda Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
demoknite 0 #8 June 27, 2012 If you want the most bang for your traveling buck then go to AZ during the fall or spring as mentioned above. It's one of the few places that is just as busy during the week as the weekends. Plenty of coaches and load organizing. You could also do any of the southern California DZs (Perris, Elsinore, SanDiego) during the same time, but you might find the odd slow tuesday/wednesday type deal (not always). The advantage is there is more to do if you dont want to just skydive. Also look for boogies (also as mentioned above) at those places during those times as they are almost garaunteed to busy leading up to, during, and perhaps after. Pretty much skydivers are like senior citizens. We go north for the summer and south for the winter. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nigel99 144 #9 June 27, 2012 The US is much cheaper than NZ, but you should consider where 'home' is. Until you have a reasonable number of jumps a USPA A license may not do you much good in NZ (assuming they have similar rules to Oz). Where did you jump in NZ? I know someone who runs a dz there and could pass on his details if you want to chat to him.Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
n0rbert 0 #10 June 27, 2012 I went to Skydiving NZ (http://www.skydivingnz.com/) outside of Christchurch. It is one of the 30 or so DZs outside of the US that are affiliated with USPA. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites