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JaredoftheRocks

Red Rock Skydiving-Cottonwood, AZ

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Has anyone done much jumping here? My current home DZ's are Skydive Kapowsin and Skydive Snohomish, both in Washington state. I'm getting ready to move near Sedona, and am wondering what the DZ is like. Are they wingsuit friendly? Do they turn many loads each day? I know they are a 206/182 DZ, so I'm just curious if it would be wise to make the 3 hour trek to Eloy or not....

Regardless, I want to check out the DZ and the views, but I'd love some insight, if possible.

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Just got off the phone with someone who's jumped there many times. She said the landing zone is small, and somewhat on a hill. She also said it's a great little DZ and fun to jump at. Good family friendly DZ.
If your'e going to take a weekend to jump then going to Eloy is advised. but if you're just looking for a day or a few jumps then Red Rock is good.
I plan on heading down there on July 2nd to get a lay of the land and maybe some jumps.
Where near Sedona are you moving?

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Red Rock has a single C-206 Turbo which seats 5 and takes jumpers to 10,500 AGL. They are very fun-jumper friendly; manifest does a good job cycling fun jumpers amidst the tandems even on weekends. Manifest assigns seating and exit order. They are wingsuiter-friendly. I went one summer Sunday on my way back to Phoenix from Flagstaff and made 3 jumps in 3 1/2 hours. Was very pleased with the friendly, welcoming atmosphere there.

Views are stunning. The mountains with Jerome are on one side and the red rocks of Sedona are on the other, and you can see a lot of the high ground of Flagstaff and beyond from the plane.

Keep in mind, though, that the only nice place to land is in the peas, and that's only about 15 meters in diameter. There is only one direction safe to overshoot in, and there is a ditch between the scrubby ground there and the peas. Elsewhere you have hills, 8-foot-shrubs, fences, buildings, taxiway... If I remember right, the large windsock near the landing area also has a fence around it. There are also some crazy thermals behind the old hangar building in the afternoons when it's hot which can give you several hundred feet of unexpected lift on final if you're coming in from that direction. Landing direction is based entirely on the winds and is determined by the jumpers, not by manifest, and on the loads I was on, there was no set landing pattern, so count canopies after you open and make sure you see everyone!

Red Rock has a core crew of locals, at least one of whom is mainly a wingsuiter. There is a Red Rock Skydivers group on Facebook which you can ask to be added to. There is also the large Arizona Skydivers group.

If you want to turn a lot of loads and have a whole weekend, pop on down to Eloy (though even at SDAZ things shut down by 1pm in the summer due to the heat, dust devils, and later the monsoon storms; in the cooler months they'll go from an 8am first load all the way until sunset and will run 40+ loads in a day). If you're just trying to get in a couple in the morning a few days a week, Red Rock will work out well for you. SDAZ has quite a few wingsuiters (though mostly they tend to vanish during the summer) but fair warning - SDAZ ground crew has low tolerance for off-landings if you're wingsuiting! If you're mainly a wingsuiter, check out SDAZ's Wingsuit Rally event happening at the beginning of November, right after USPA Nationals. First of its kind here, in recognition of the growing popularity of wingsuiting.

Pre-welcome to Arizona!

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You may also want to check out Skydive Phoenix in Maricopa (between Flagstaff and Eloy, just south of Phoenix). In the summer, they are a 206/182 DZ. In the winter, they have a Caravan. Wingsuiters are welcome. It sits against a beautiful mountain. Good group of people. Family and dog friendly. DZ house on property for staying the weekend. Just like everywhere else in AZ, operations shut down early in summer due to heat, dust devils, etc. They can be convinced to do sunrise loads on the weekend. Gives you amazing views and more jumping opportunity. There is also a Facebook group.

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Another thing to keep in mind in regard to Red Rock is the altitude of the DZ. As I remember, you can check this on a sectional or online, it is over 3000'. This may affect the way you land. Just something to keep in mind.
If you know how many guns you have - you don't have enough!

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Jared -
Have you made it out to RRSD yet? I was out there yesterday. Small little DZ with tons of personality. I got in a few jumps before it was just too hot. They had a good mix of tandems and fun jumpers for a place that size (and for one plane). I'll definitely be back.

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