---

Dropzone Database: Europe: Spain : Skydive Lillo, Madrid, Spain Swoop Pond : Reviews

---

has contributed 43 reviews

Review Summary: Average Rating: Total Reviews: 43 Write a Review Show: All Ratings 5 Star Rated 4 Star Rated 3 Star Rated 2 Star Rated 1 Star Rated Sort by: Newest First Highest Rating First Most Useful First Display: 10 25 50 100

100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Times  6 1 3 4 29 Rating  1 2 3 4 5

---

(Review ID:5457)

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful: F´´n loved it Rated by: cdhezel on 2009-10-30 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Skydive Lillo, Madrid, Spain Swoop Pond   Pros: staff, vibe, Dz Cons: town and around

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

Thanks Guys and Gals at Lillo, Jason´sorry I scare you mate but thats just how it is, Deano, mate you still sound and look like my engineer but He is OK too, Ed, thanks for the coaching amigo, I´ll remember to grab my balls every time I flare now, Stephen and all the others ....many thanks, and when you least expect it I´ll be back to bug ya.... oh yaeh the review, if you want a simply cool Dz, no BS, no ego inflated sky gods, no warm beer just a great vibe... (shit this hype must be worth at least 4 jump tickets worth)
chris

Was this review helpful to you?    

---

(Review ID:5281)

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful: Professional, friendly, helpful Rated by: BigGuy on 2009-07-25 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Skydive Lillo, Madrid, Spain Swoop Pond   Pros: Very very friendly Cons: Isolated

Professionalism   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

Just got back from my 3rd trip to Lillo, now planning the next.The planning is made all the easier by the excellent office staff who will happily book hotels etc for you. Replies to emails were very fast indeed

I agree with many of the comments in previous reviews but on balance my skdiving buddy and I both love this place. We are inexperienced jumpers with 80 & 100 jumps now. We went there to learn.

We made a point of getting to know the staff and it paid huge dividends. There was always a willing answer to our questions.

The 100+ landing area is small and has only 2 approaches, but hey, if you don't like crosswind landings there is plenty of room on the other landing area.

The cafe is back up and running but closed on Mondays, which is a bit of disappointment, it wouldn't be rocket science to keep it open. I understand though that it is outside the control of the DZ.

So far we haven't encountered much poor weather, a previous commentator is spot on, this is rural Spain, there in nothing to amuse you locally, Madrid and Toledo are an hours drive. Latinos, on the roundabout near the DZ has an menu in English and serves a reasonable selection of things to go with the fries!

If you're looking for hectic nightlife to go with your jumping, give Lillo a miss.

If you're looking for a professional, helpful DZ with excellent (but a bit pricey) rental gear and adequate places to chill out in the evening, give it a try.


Was this review helpful to you?    

---

(Review ID:5087)

2 of 12 people found the following review helpful: Excellent DZ for all levels of experience Rated by: Dave_RMC on 2009-05-06 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Skydive Lillo, Madrid, Spain Swoop Pond   Pros: Good Landing with plenty of safe alternative PLA's, Friendly and Helpfull Staff and General all round good facilities Cons: A little on the remote side, Expensive jump ticket

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

Firstly I would like to make it clear that im relativley new to SD and only have experience of 3 DZ in different countries. At fist before arriving at Lillo I was a little unsure of what to expect after reading what at first I perceived to be mixed reviews on this site. On arrival we were met warmly by the manifest (Kathi) who instantly recognised us as brits as we were the only 2 guys on the DZ in shorts. We quickly got our selves sorted and my friend who was cracking his AFF there got straight on with ground school. As the weather was just closing in I took the opportunity to experience the 12,000ft Bar. An excellent facility that accomodated our every need from having a beer or 12 or just simply feeding us through out the week. The DZ bar is a very comfortable setting where if your not jumping you can chill out in there and get to know the 2 crazy bar staff Lourdes and Julie or sit there and mingle with many other like minded patrons and watch the many tandem videos that happen throughout the week. Rob and I went out there camping (much to the horror of the locals because it did get a little more than chilly at night) which we found was very comfortable setting and a stones throw from the bar. We quickly got aquainted with our neighbours, Carl and Tracy who live and work at the DZ who could do nothing but help us out the entire week be it either lending us Duvet (seriously it got cold), showing us around the town or even throwing a BBQ during the week where many drunken dissorderly acts did occur. The remainder of the week was a very pleasant experience where I found that all the staff present where incredibly helpfull be it tips for freefall or a hand packing. I would definitely reccomend going to Lillo not matter what your experience level just be prepared to have a beer or 2 in the evening.

A big thank you to all the staff at Lillo and look forward to returning in the future

Was this review helpful to you?    

---

(Review ID:4793)

15 of 23 people found the following review helpful: Good but there are better options. Rated by: jamieG on 2008-09-23 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Skydive Lillo, Madrid, Spain Swoop Pond   Pros: 2 Aircraft Cons: Poor Location, Nothing else to do , Misleading website

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services

Reading through the reviews it appears a tale of two cities with some very positive and some very negative. My own experience is mixed. I have been to 4 drop zones now in total so that is my experience to which I am comparing.
The drop zone was very quiet when I was there (July) closing early one of the days. I did get enough jumps done but this meant there was never a great feel to the place. In addition I didn’t need to know about the drop zone politics.
The main landing area is small ( an early review is generous ) and there are some obstacles in the student one which are not clear (edited in website photos) but on the whole adequate. The Cafeteria and pool have been closed for some time and it doesn’t appear they will open again due to legal issues with the airfield and local town hall. There is the sum total of 2 cafes/ bars (and one expensive hotel) in the local village so your options are limited here when you do walk what is about a mile into the village. This element of the facilities combined with the local town is probably the worst feature and was a real drag on my experience as there is NOTHING to do on the days where the weather isn’t good to jump. The website gives a different impression and talks about possibilities to go into Madrid but realistically it is about an hour and a half (assuming you forked for a rental car which I didn’t). I was there to skydive and not get langers yes… but thought there would be more of an atmosphere in the evenings instead of mind numbing boredom.

Otherwise the drop zone is as you would expect there are 2 planes ( Porter is fast the caravan struggles a bit ) there with good packing facilities and the packers for my rented equipment were good but the prices advertised don’t include things like goggles and altimeter which drive up the rental prices even further. Once there were enough people to fill the load loads got in the air quickly, being in a group is an advantage here as you can get more jumps. I completed 21 jumps in 6 days including some FS coaching; I would have liked to do more. The coaches are very good although make sure that the one you want is onsite the dates you intend to book. I was disappointed to find the canopy coach was away for the summer in competitions.

The staff were helpful but all in all I am disappointed with my trip, from the website I expected a buzzing dz and unless part of a group from Nethers, my home DZ I will try somewhere different next time.


Was this review helpful to you?    

---

(Review ID:4725)

0 of 16 people found the following review helpful: Perfect place to learn skydiving Rated by: godfried on 2008-08-23 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Skydive Lillo, Madrid, Spain Swoop Pond   Pros: Professional & friendly staff Cons: Desolate location in the middle of nowhere

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

I can't imagine any other place more suitable to learn skydiving than Skydive Lillo. At Skydive Lillo, it's all about professionalism and from my experience they care even more about you than at some other (non-)commercial dropzones. I was especially impressed by my instructor Marcus Laser.


Was this review helpful to you?    

---

(Review ID:4500)

3 of 14 people found the following review helpful: Perfect DZ for a weekend visit from the UK Rated by: mark_r on 2008-05-07 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Skydive Lillo, Madrid, Spain Swoop Pond   Pros: Very friendly, chilled vibe but professionally run, more reliable weather than Empruria Cons: Definitely not the place for nightlife or gourmet food.

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

Just back from my first visit to Lillo and I had a great time. All the staff are incredibly friendly but the place is also very professionally run. Decent planes(Porter and Grand Caravan), good landing area, nice inclusive atmosphere regardless of experience level. Only an hour from Madrid, so for me just about perfect for a long weekend away from the UK to rack up lots of jumps. Downsides? Bit of a slow Spanish start in the morning, but then again they do continue jumping till dusk. No night life to speak of and very limited eating out options in Lillo and nearby Villacanas, but if like me you are happy with a few beers and some basic food after a day's brilliant jumping, Lillo comes highly recommended. I will definitely be going back.


Was this review helpful to you?    

---

(Review ID:4302)

0 of 15 people found the following review helpful: Handy location less then an hour from Madrid Rated by: MrBluesky on 2008-01-09 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Skydive Lillo, Madrid, Spain Swoop Pond   Pros: Excellent training and professional staff, plus a very friendly atmosphere Cons: None

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

This is where I became a qualified skydiver and have returned 4 times in 2007. And will keep returning in the future.

Was this review helpful to you?    

---

(Review ID:4286)

5 of 15 people found the following review helpful: Can't wait to go back! Rated by: pevvers on 2007-12-31 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Skydive Lillo, Madrid, Spain Swoop Pond   Pros: Great people, great planes, soft ground! Cons: Gear rental prices are quite steep

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

Wow, reading the reviews from last year was like someone criticising me! Things must have really changed as I thought the place was absolutely fantastic. I took my AFF level 1 in Chatteris on the 16th of December, and as I didn't want to be at home for Christmas I decided that I would take a little trip over there. I will honestly say that I have never felt so welcome in a place in my life, and compared to the dusty crappy freezing cold AFF room at Chatteris, their school rooms are lovely! A/C and heating, computers set up to do their e-logbooks after each jump, just a proper set-up teaching room. The instructors are top-notch too, at one point I stalled on level 5 for quite a while, all my fault though, and I would have got peeved off at me a long time before that, but they stuck by me and I finally managed to get it! Huge grin from Rory my instructor as he was filming me being completely stable for the first time, a great feeling...

The bar has just reopened, after some legal ranglings have been going on, so that was good, the pool is empty at the mo, but seeing as it doesn't get over about 15 degrees celcius at the moment, who wants a swim anyway! With respect to refunds, I didn't really have any worries, as if I didn't jump my tickets I'd be back quite soon anyway, as I loved it. Even on Christmas Eve they had a little (well, not that little) knees up in the bar for all the people who were away from their families at Christmas, would you get that sort of thought from other DZ's? I doubt it...

I managed to fit in a ground school refresher, 11 AFF jumps, and 15 solos in the space of Monday to Sunday, although the last 15 were done in the last 3 days, including a glorious sunset load. Just beautiful. And the student area has such a nice softness that it doesn't matter how you land, which is good as my flaring accuracy leaves a little to be desired sometimes, I have had some funky landings I can tell you, but I've always walked away!

The only bad thing I can say about it is the gear rental does bump the price of a jump ticket quite high, but if you've got your own kit then there's not to worry about!

Can't wait to go back, even looking at Easyjet prices for the start of Feb!

Just try the place, and if you think it sucks then go to Ocana. There's word about that they'll be opening a subsidiary DZ in Portugal soon as well, so I may have a wander over there too, but not until I get another couple of days jumping in Lillo first!

Thanks to all, Marcus, Kathi, Rory, Jason, Vinni, Mikey, Rory, Joachim, Danny, Ianoa, Edu and all the pilots, packers and people who I never found out their names, but know their faces! Can't wait to see you all again.

Was this review helpful to you?    

---

(Review ID:3681)

10 of 16 people found the following review helpful: Great DZ, looking forward to going again. Rated by: dawoofie on 2007-02-10 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Skydive Lillo, Madrid, Spain Swoop Pond   Pros: Nice Aircraft, Professional Staff, Friendly Cons: Could be a bit windy at times

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

Only went once when Ocana's plane was bust (again). Very impressed. They guy gave me a full chat about the place and landing etc. Nothing was rushed. Then he checked my brand new rig and papers etc. The closing loop was too long and the stows from a previous pack job were too short. The chap adjusted the loop and re-stowed the lines. Being a new jumper he advised me about the problems, put them right and that was that. Docs in the office, gear up and up we went. A very friendly chat in the bar with 10 people I had never met before ensures I will go to Lillo for some jumping in the future, maybe even my FF1 with Louis and Rob. Big thumbs up.

Was this review helpful to you?    

---

(Review ID:3513)

26 of 34 people found the following review helpful: I long to return! Rated by: morris on 2007-01-11 (user profile) (user reviews) Review of: Skydive Lillo, Madrid, Spain Swoop Pond   Pros: Felt like home Cons: None that I know off

Professionalism   Vibe   Aircraft   Facilities   Services   Location

For the last seven years I´ve been the videographer on the German national team and therefore I´ve been many times to many different DZs like almost all the major ones in the US and of course the bigger ones in Europe and Germany, so I got something to compare. At the moment I´m focusing more and more onto CanopyPiloting and came for that reason to Lillo - you can be sure, I´ll be back! First off: Jumpers wrote bad opinions about their facilities in this forum and while we´ve been there toilets and showers have been running, been open and clean. About three times per day I´ve been asked by different staffpersons if everything would be ok or if there´s something that could be done any better! Everybody was Very friendly, including the excellent pilots (by the way: spot always perfect, additional altitude many times). One day I wasn´t happy with my last jump ("don´t wanna end the day like that") and they fired up another load for me - in the last daylight! Accomodation was clean and for reasonable prices, same goes for food in the village. It doesn´t matter that the place is "in the middle of nowhere" cause every night jumpers ("first-timers" included) gathered at local bars having a good time. Someone called the landingarea a "demo" - I´m not sure if twice the size of a soccerfield with perfect grass on it just qualifies for being a demo, I think it makes a good landing area. Inexperienced jumpers - who may find the mainlanding for whatever reason too challenging - will find many other options all over the place. The pond has been in excellent condition with the official accuracy course set up and I´d call their rigger "a very good one". Prices for coffee, softdrinks and sandwiches at the DZ where cheaper than I expected and of good quality. The only thing they didn´t take care of were the weatherconditions - they didn´t have to - those have been perfect.
UPDATE:
Now I´ve been there again, this time in early January.
Further improvements have been made: There´s now a very nice little bistro run by friendly spanish locals!
For the swoopers:
The pond is about getting even better (in preparation for the SpanishOpen/CanopyPiloting).
Weather conditions during wintertime:
Way better than expected! Perfect blue skies, almost no wind at all and comfortable temperatures in the afternoon.
I´ll be there again soon...
2ND UPDATE:
Now I´ve been there two more times...
In February we´ve experienced a bit of wind but for anything but swooping it was no problem at all to keep on jumping.
Swoopers went groundlaunching! There are excellent places just 10 miles away. One site is shaped in a way that it almost looks manmade, you can launch in ANY direction, so the direction of the wind is never a problem. Give it a try - you´ll love it!
During this stay we could see that further improvements for the bistro and bar were on their way...
Next visit took place in April. By this time the bar and bistro were almost finished, the area is very nice now!
During this visit the SpanishOpen of CanopyPiloting took place. I´ve been very impressed by the organisation of this international competition. I´ve been to four Worldchampionships, a Worldcup and an Europeanchampionship, the Malevskycup in Russia and several Nationals and what Skydive Lillo managed to bring on its way with this event was just - WOW! They had FAI-Judges on site, a dream of a plane from the Spanish Army (CASA 235, fits 60 jumpers - for 16 swoopers!) and the pond and courses have been in such a perfect condition that they even could have had there a Worldchampionship or Worldcup for CanopyPiloting... !
See you in Lillo!

Was this review helpful to you?