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.
Skydive Arizona
in Arizona
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.