Eloy Christmas Boogie. How busy is the sky?

[WooHoo 0]

As I run my own business, I often have to change my plans at short notice. In fact a November trip to Eloy for 10 days with friends has seen me pull out due to clients need me elsewhere. It is the second time this year.

I thought that as Xmas is a very quiet time of year in my business, that I should go to Eloy for the Boogie. One of my friends who is very expereinced with over 1500 jumps, said that it may be too busy in the sky for me. He explained lots of canopies in the sky, twin jump runs, and no pulling above 3500. As I only have 90 jumps he said, it may be too much for my expereince level.

Obviously I don't want to go there to discover he is right! On the other hand I would hate to miss out on a skydiving vacation in the sun especially as I have bought a new rig, which I have yet to jump.

I am guessing they still do tandems and AFF, so if I can hook up with more expereinced jumpers who are happy to have an ageing Scotsman tag along with them, then that may be a solution.

Any thoughts would be welcome especially from those who have been there with low jump numbers?


Thanks


Did I say 'ageing' Scotsman, obviously I meant 'wise old'

[NWFlyer 2]

I went to the boogie last year with just over 200 jumps. By that point, though, I'd jumped at several larger dropzones and larger boogies, so it wasn't as sharp a contrast for me as it might be for you.

There are two landing areas. Often, it seems that more people want to land in the main landing area, so the alternate landing area is sometimes less busy (though during the boogie, the alternate area does get used quite a bit). The landing areas are quite large, and traffic patterns are generally well-managed, especially during the boogie. Violating the pattern is likely to get someone a stern lecture (known at Eloy as a "Burking" ).

There is also a massive desert surrounding the dropzone with lots of good outs.

I'd say as long as you are aware, understand the impacts of high traffic, are comfortable with flying a consistent pattern, and get a good dropzone briefing, you will have a good experience. I "grew up" at a smaller DZ where there were rarely more than 7 or 8 canopies in the air and I have been able to adjust to larger DZs quite well (and I've been traveling to them regularly since I had about 60 jumps). The same rules of awareness apply whether there's three canopies in the air or thirty.

Oh, and as for hooking up with experienced jumpers- that's not a problem at the boogie. There's a dropzone.com tent, plus there's lots of organizers around for various disciplines. It's one of the best boogies I've been to in that regard - if you can't find people to jump with, you're clearly hiding under a rock, because the opportunities are definitely there.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[Remster 24]

Betsy will probably come back with more specifics about the rules (the 3500 feet thing for example). But, are you saying that pulling AT 3500 would be too low for you? That still is ample room to deal with issues. But, thats your call.

As far as the crowded skies, its not that bad, really. There have been lots of jumpers with your experience level coming for the boogie in years past.

There are 2 main landing area: one which is more often then not used by a lot less jumpers then the main main one.

If there is too much traffic for you an any particular jump, you can land in the desert.

There is also now a 3rd grass area, by the tunnel (Betsy can you confirm if its open to regular jumpers?)

There will be Load Organizing for all levels: Airspeed, Divewerkz, Team Flail will be organizing, and even me picking up the slack on busy days.

Come, have fun!

Remster

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

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There are two landing areas. Often, it seems that more people want to land in the main landing area, so the alternate landing area is sometimes less busy

That's sort of accurate. There are two grass landing areas. There are a thousand acres of desert suitable for landing in all around those two grass areas.

[skylord 1]

I went last year with just over 100 jumps and felt very comfortable. You get a good safety briefing/orientation on the DZ, the rules, and the patterns as well as the outs. Had a blast, and never felt over my head, or I shouldn't be there or anything like that.

But no pulling above 3,500 unless it is an emergency. So if you're not comfortable doing that, it may be a good idea to stand down, or at least make some jumps with the new rig first before going to Eloy.

Bob

Bob Marks

"-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

[WooHoo 0]

"Betsy will probably come back with more specifics about the rules (the 3500 feet thing for example). But, are you saying that pulling AT 3500 would be too low for you? That still is ample room to deal with issues. But, thats your call. "


No I am fine with 3500, but as I have new canopy I would have liked to pull higher and get some extra canopy flight time, turns stalls that kind of stuff

[Remster 24]

Ah! That makes sense.

Might be an issue then as high hop and pops are hard to arrange during the boogie. Can you make it 1 day before the boogie officially starts?

In any event, send bbarnhouse a PM with that questions (she is busy with Nationals right now, but she will get back to you).

Remster

[NWFlyer 2]

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There are two landing areas. Often, it seems that more people want to land in the main landing area, so the alternate landing area is sometimes less busy

That's sort of accurate. There are two grass landing areas. There are a thousand acres of desert suitable for landing in all around those two grass areas.

Rumor has it there's three grass landing areas now. And hey, I did point out the massive amounts of desert. I should know. I've landed in it a few times. Those damn desert trees come out and bite ya in the ass sometimes.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[dharma1976 0]

I wen to the xmas boogie when I had 48 jumps and was totally reaked by the 3500 rule as I had never really pulled below like 4K

I got over it and doubled my jump numbers and had a great time

Cheers

Dave

http://www.skyjunky.com

CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

[Jumpah 0]

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But no pulling above 3,500 unless it is an emergency.

Just clarifying...this rule is just for the boogie, right? I'm going there after the boogie and wanted to do some high openings at sunset and geek the desert, if possible.

[LouDiamond 1]

Here are the safety guidelines for Skydive Arizona, it should answer a lot of your questions. The only addition to the document is in regards to the alternate landing area.It is now a North/South landing direction only.

click me for Boogie safety document

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[Elisha 1]

I like this...imagine it being read in the voice of Michael Palin from Monty Python fame:

Michael Palin: If thou dost choose to be incorrigible, then our way of dealing with rogue canopy pilots is banishment out to the desert south of the RV parks!!! There is no grass in this penalty area, nor is there an audience. Whether you fly fast or slow, any behavior that is naughty to the overall traffic pattern can result in banishment to the penalty landing area for up to several days, depending on the severity of the infraction.

[QuickDraw 0]

Just go.
First load (about 9am) is almost always half empty,
so a high pull (let manifest know what your doing) shouldn't be a problem.

New years eve will have a cross-country (I assume & weather permitting) if you like landing in near dark.

There are outs everywhere, and there are always people looking for and looking out for students.

Team Flail have been to the boogie for the last 3 years (that I know of),
they're always after people who need a bit of confidence (think free RW advice & someone to organize it).

See you there (look me up).

-- Hope you don't die. --

I'm fucking winning

[LuvToFly 0]

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Those damn desert trees come out and bite ya in the ass sometimes.

That's a good point (no pun intended)

A lot of folks that have never been to AZ before don't know what this is referring to. There are some smaller - but also some larger - desert thorny trees and bushes scattered throughout the "outs." Easy enough to avoid, but not the type of thing you want to land on or too near -

The point here is that it is not really a barren sand landscape like some beach. You still have to steer it in and judge your spot to land clear depending on where you are -

"The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment
of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

[peckerhead 0]

How busy?

I have been air diving for over two decades and I still get the "willies" when I jump at Eloy.

I like to hum it down and stay away from the "zoomies"

Too much traffic even on a slow day....

Lots of desert if you don't mind walking...

[riddler 0]

Eloy can be a busy sky, with or without the holiday boogie. A lot of teams and foreign military units train there the rest of the year. The few times I've been there outside of the boogie, I've learned to politely ask if I see a whole group of military on the plane with me, which of the two landing fields they are using. Then I land in the other one. When they start lining up those big canopies close to each other on final, it doesn't leave much room for anyone else.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[tnscorcoran 0]

A thing to be aware of in Eloy is the direction of the jump run and tracking direction. I am used to jumping at Empuria Brava and Lillo where the plane always goes 1 direction - along the runway so it's easy to know where to track. In Eloy it usually depends on the wind so it can be any direction. Added to that I have heard of some jumpers do a full tracking dive along the jump run! But I guess that's rare.

[bbarnhouse 0]

There is a third landing area proximal to the tunnel. This landing area is was created for style and accuracy.
I wouldn't recommend landing there unless you absolutely have to. Its a long walk back to the hangars
edited to add: Just a heads up. The policy here is that the tunnel is a no fly zone. Please do not overfly nor swoop the tunnel as this will find you grounded permanently here in Eloy.
Also, there is a large photo of the DZ located at the tram area. This board will indicate jump run and ground speed. Please check it prior to boarding the tram as the information may change throughout the day

[skylord 1]

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But no pulling above 3,500 unless it is an emergency.

Just clarifying...this rule is just for the boogie, right? I'm going there after the boogie and wanted to do some high openings at sunset and geek the desert, if possible.

Correct, and they still do some high altitude hop 'n pops right around sunset, to, if I recall.

Bob

Bob Marks

"-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

[Amazon 7]

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The point here is that it is not really a barren sand landscape like some beach

Oh and there is one thing that is NOT there at Eloy....but is at other desert DZ's I have jumped at...

I have YET to see a single opuntia cactus out there in any of the landing areas.....I hate CHOLLA even more than I hate CORN

[LuvToFly 0]

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I hate CHOLLA even more than I hate CORN

Just the mere mention of that makes me say, "ouch!"

"The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment
of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

[QuickDraw 0]

So you prefer the longthorn, mesquite & cotton ?

-- Hope you don't die. --

I'm fucking winning

[Amazon 7]

Hell yeah man.. THOSE are a whole lot easier to avoid than a CHOLLA PATCH....... I landed in some of that crap under a T-10 once....it is impossible to get all of the spines out of a canopy after you get it into one of those dayum things...

[ntrprnr 0]

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But no pulling above 3,500 unless it is an emergency.

Just clarifying...this rule is just for the boogie, right? I'm going there after the boogie and wanted to do some high openings at sunset and geek the desert, if possible.

I've pulled at 4k and even 4,500 the 2 times I went to Eloy. They were both non-boogie times, so I'd assume it's only during the boogie.

_______________
"Why'd you track away at 7,000 feet?"
"Even in freefall, I have commitment issues."

[bbarnhouse 0]

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I've pulled at 4k and even 4,500 the 2 times I went to Eloy. They were both non-boogie times, so I'd assume it's only during the boogie.

Anything above 3500 is considered a high pull here all the time.
Folks just need to check with manifest if they are pulling higher.
If there are multiple planes running, don't plan on pulling above 3500 unless you are on the first load of the day.