Skydive Arizona — Attraction in Casa Grande

One word, IMPRESSIVE!

I did the research, I didn't think we would be skydiving but the woman that was standing out front greeted us and it started to tumble from there. I was just getting information but she said to ask if they have walk-in room.

I did a little research and read that you need reservations, so I will ask and would be told I am not able to and I can tell everyone that I tried. The woman behind the desk looked at me and said, "I can fit you in now" and that is where it all started. I was told to have a seat, filled out the paperwork and was told that I had 15 minutes. I went to the bathroom and told my group that I had signed up. I think that they did not believe me at that point, I was ready.

The group from Washington helped me from shaking. I wish I got their contact information. Okay, time for check-in.

Meeting Aaron (my instructor), while I was nervous, I am glad his confidence was there. He explained everything and it felt like it went a mile a minute; I am glad that we went over it again in the plane. He is a great instructor and showed that I have nothing to worry about.

Get the photo and video package; evidence you did it. Taylor (videographer), he came over to meet me after I was geared up I was starting to feel more comfortable. Taylor being from Alabama spoke with a drawl and so he spoke a little slower. This helped calm me down a little more. As a result, Aaron & Taylor worked well together.

Nearing the trolley, people were watching part of a chute was falling. They were looking for a reserve chute and then they pointed out the safety and someone had to use their reserve. I thought before we go anywhere we should make sure they are okay. Nope, we are going.

As I was getting on the trolley to the plane Aaron and Taylor both asked me if I was ready, my thought was that they have my money. Yep! No turning back now! Getting on the plane it was tight, but I expected that.

I was jumping with the world’s best skydiver from France & his team, a Chinese freestyle team and a US military team. I was the new guy. You get cozy, hooked up and I thought that I was going to chicken out when I got to the door but like everyone said, you don't think, and you end up just rolling out.

The freefall was awesome, and you look around just thinking ok what should I be doing? Chute! And you are snug and gliding down. I had the pleasant conversation on the way down.

Walking off the field everyone was asking questions and I think that the people that are doing it for the first time are the ones that really are their own walking advertisement. Going to the bar afterwards to eat they played your video for you while you ate. I had a group pointing to me asking if that was me, that brought on more questions. I know that I talked one person into going and another person came up after I was done eating and had more questions. I think that I signed two people up that were not planning on doing it. I was a walking billboard! I was talking to people for an hour afterwards telling them it was not that bad.

Indoor Skydiving was cool and the military teams were practicing. Afterwards we seen them jumping with all their gear. There I spoke to another couple that asked questions and is going to do it Thursday morning, me too!

Wanting to know more, I had questions. They require 500 jumps before you can do photography for them. I did some quick math and was thinking about how well educated they are and what they do to provide a service.

I had not seen anything about tipping so I asked if they could take tips and they can. If this is your "once in a lifetime" activity, and you enjoyed it, TIP THEM! They are professional, educated, and this is their job.

First Timer Recommendations: Do it! Get the video package Ask for Aaron & Taylor

Recommendation for Skydive Arizona, lower the price of the video package if they allow it played at the bar, best advertising. The spectators are asking questions and are thinking about it, that is why they are there.

Five Stars is rare for me...

People consider this the #1 DZ in the world for a reason, it is a top notch facility/organization staffed by the most qualified, professional, and genuinely good individuals I’ve ever met.

Colby! Franck! I love you guys. Thank you for pushing me through AFF. If anyone gets the chance to jump with either of these guys, I highly recommend it. True pros, amazing teachers! Emily Quinn, Greg, Alaska, and the rest of the instructor team! Thank you for all the feedback, coaching, and effort you put into helping me! Masters of their craft, all of them.

The packing staff! Dae! You taught me how to pack a main and so much more. Thank you! Nate! Thank you for being there every day to help me get back on another load and continue on in my progression, and for all the helpful tips along the way. And thank you to the packers I don’t know by name, but I know your faces and I appreciate you!

Emily Wallace! Thank you for your support throughout my schooling, thank you for my ground school training and all the effort you put into making the school and DZ better!

Wind tunnel staff! Chris! You can’t miss this guy! He’s 7’9” and one of the best instructors you can come across, truly a kind person with immense skill and the ability to teach from scratch. Also stud machinist!

The office staff! Deb and the rest of the gang! Thank you for being so organized, keeping communication open, and running a tight ship. It truly takes a village to raise an AFF student and I’m thankful for all of you!

Manifest, grounds keepers, aircraft staff, pilots, ground staff, weather forecasters, Square2 staff, Bent Prop cooks, the whole SDAZ family! Thank you!

I can’t wait to see you guys...

5 for skydiving. 3 for wind tunnel.

I went skydiving some time ago with my friends. We had an absolute blast and they took very good care of us. We did tandem jumps, felt safe, and wanted to go again. [FYI - the first time we went there was too much wind with huge Arizona dust storms that block sunlight - perhaps a small haboob so they rescheduled us for another time.]

My whole family went and did the wind tunnel in late December. It was a cool experience but there were a couple of issues:

The group before us got to do cool tricks and FLY around the tunnel. We watched them and then went into the tube to find that they just held us as we slowly went up and down. It was five of us young people and my athletic dad so I'm not sure why we didn't get the full experience. :(

About half way through they said the tunnel was "broken" and again limited us to only basic up and down floating. But as soon as we got out, there were guys in there doing tons of tricks and such which I imagine they wouldn't do if it was "broken" like they said. Even if it was broken, maybe letting us know ahead of time or offering some kind of compensation would be good since our experience was a bit of a letdown (though we enjoyed spending together as family). My only other thought is that they were training, (They had only one guy helping all of us and he was WAY conservative, it felt like he was brand new or something because some of the other staff would show him how to hold us. Again, I think we got a bummer deal...)

That said, again, the skydiving experience itself back in the day was amazing. Just skip the...