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Average Rating : 3.21/5

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OK and getting better

North London Skydiving Centre Rated 4 by: demoknite on 2013-01-31

Pros: Huge Landing Area, Only Twin Otter in the UK
Cons: Slow

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It's been almost a year since Ive been here, but my view from a fun jumper perspective. I believe it used to be quite the tandem factory, but with the twin otter and cheap jump tickets they are trying to attract some fun jumpers. However they are not quite there yet so they do the loads in cycles of 2 wherein they shut the plane down after the second load while the instructors pack the tandem parachutes back. So between them not having packers and not very many fun jumpers this makes for slow turn around even though they have the otter. If you come at first light leave at sunset you might get 4 jumps perhaps 5.

North London is a bit of a stretch as it's in the Fens. Almost every DZ in the UK could use the name. Fun jumpers know to bring their own food and drink so no complaints about the canteen from me. Never had it.

Landing area is massive. You can land anywhere in the fens and they will come get you.

The staff can be a bit grizzly and full of themselves depending on the day. They all take part in packing, collecting money, cleaning up, etc so they are usually very busy. The other club jumpers are some of the friendliest Ive ever met and will change suits just to jump with you.
This could be the UK's Perris Valley or Elsinore once they get a few logistical kinks worked out. If they still even have them.

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(Review ID:7798)

Why I'm never going back to Chatteris...not that they will care.

North London Skydiving Centre Rated 1 by: RealFood on 2012-11-23

Pros: Large plane and other fun jumpers are pretty friendly
Cons: Very discouraging and negative for recently qualified jumpers

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Have just had an unbelievable experience at Chatteris today and not in a good way.

I did my AFF ground school and Level 1 with them back at the end of June 2012 but as the weather was so bad and because I had got the bug, decided to go to Freefall Universtity in Spain (which was amazing by the way).

Came back to UK and did another 10 jumps at Chatteris and then when their twin Otter was out of action (and I was told I wouldn't get any lifts in the other plane due to Tandems) went and did some jumping at Headcorn. Subsequently went back to Spain for a week at the end of October and then last weekend a couple of jumps at Headcorn, before returning to Chatteris today with 65 jumps completed.

On arrival was told that the rental rigs I would use were out with AFF students but they might come free later on, so I hung around for 2 hours. Eventually Gary asked to check my docs and log book and then asked what I weighed. I am 6ft 5" and weigh 16.5 stone, which he knows, as this was an issue at the time of booking my AFF level 1. Nevertheless, he put me on the scales (fully clothed with winter gear and shoes on) and said since I was slightly over 17st, I couldn't jump!
I know there are weight limits and had gone through all this as an AFF student, but I am utterly staggered that after 65 jumps (including 10 at Chatteris) and being exactly the same weight as I was back in June, that suddenly this was not OK.

I can only speculate as to what happened here - maybe they resented the fact that I went to Spain to complete my AFF; maybe the fact that I recommended Freefall University to another Level 1 student (who they had just told not to bother coming back until he spent some time in a wind tunnel) who subsequently took that advice and has now got his A licence; maybe they had just decided to get rigorous with their rules (although being explicit on what basis the weight limit is measured would be useful), but if so it would suggest negligence prior to today. Of course its possible that they just didn't like me, but this would of course be a very unprofessional way to drive out people you didn't like.

Overall, my experiences at Chatteris have been OK until today, although as far as I am concerned they are not particularly enthusiastic about progressing recently qualified jumpers. If you are still renting a rig, they always seem to make it difficult and they don't like any communication prior to coming up to try to make sure equipment will be available as they rather expect you to make the journey and take pot luck.

After today , I will never be going back, even when I have my own rig, as I feel that the treatment I got today was really shabby and at best seriously inconsistent. I don't suppose they will shed any tears, as inevitably it is the tandem factory that is their main focus, although whenever I meet other skydivers in this very small community, you can be sure I will be communicating exactly what I feel about them.

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(Review ID:7724)

One large con

North London Skydiving Centre Rated 1 by: konstantinovs on 2012-09-10

Pros: Friendly staff, to an extent.
Cons: Poor business practices, overpriced food, poor service in general.

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First of all, let me just express my amusement at the fact that this place is called the "North London Parachuting Centre". Being north of the M25 (by quite a distance I might add) does not qualify as north London. I live quite near to Scotland, but I'll start telling people I live in North London from now on.

I originally booked my tandem skydive for June 2011, paying �195. We were told in the run-up to the day that we should turn up to the centre no matter what the forecast, as the weather can change for the better at any moment. Sure enough, the forecast was very windy and rainy. But we did as instructed and turned up in hope.

The accessibility of this centre is poor, to say the least. If you don't drive then you're in a pretty bad position. We had to take the first train from London as well as a taxi from the station which amounted to �50, and we arrived at 10am, solidly at the bottom of the jump queue. Of course we could've come the previous day and stayed in the centre's accommodation but that would've amassed even more costs.

Upon arrival, we were told immediately that it was almost certain that there would be no jumps that day, and we were free to stick around or go home. Good on them for telling us the truth and I appreciate that they have no control over the british weather. But they proceeded to tell us that we could've phoned the centre in the morning before setting off to see the forecast, which could've potentially saved us the journey. So why did they originally tell us to come to the centre no matter what the forecast? Very poor communication there!

Because I was not in the country for the rest of the year, the next opportunity I had to jump was June of 2012. I was told to pay an extra �25 because I had waited more than 6 months. This I find unacceptable - people who are forced to reschedule because of bad weather should not be penalised. If anything, they should be given preferential treatment at the least. There was nothing I could do about this so I had to pay the 25. However, the jump was called off AGAIN due to windy conditions, thereby putting travel costs and time to waste.

I rescheduled again for September 2012. Again, it was cancelled due to wind. I had to pay an extra �10 because I was over 15 stone. I am not conscious about my weight at all but I can imagine for some other people it would be very offending to be weighed in front of everybody else in the reception area and then told to pay the "fat-tax". I'm not sure why this "fat-tax" must be paid before the jump given that a large number of jumps seem to get cancelled. After the jump was cancelled I was not refunded the money until I was driving away and remembered to ask them myself. I can only imagine the number of people they've conned with that little trick.

Three times I have wasted an entire day travelling to this place only to find out it was cancelled. The total cost is approaching �300 now, in addition to all the time spent travelling. The fact that they are totally unaccommadating with regards to financial costs is quite insulting. Most of the people there on the day seemed to be people returning after cancelled jumps so it seems their jump percentage is very low indeed. What baffles me more is that the centre is surrounded by wind turbines - so the area is obviously prone to winds...

I will not be in the country for the next couple of months, so it looks like the next best opportunity I will have to jump is spring 2013. This will probably mean another �25 charge. I fail to understand how this makes sense, and it certainly does not encourage customers to return for another jump, or to promote the centre to friends.

On top of this, the "cafe" is extremely overpriced and seating is severely lacking indoors for those days when it is too cold to stand around outside.

On a more pleasant note, most of the instructors did seem knowledgeable and friendly. However, this did not make up for all the shortcomings of this centre.

12 of 21 people found this review helpful:
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(Review ID:7605)

Best experiance ever!!! Shame I didn't catch my instructors name.

North London Skydiving Centre Rated 5 by: xxcarinaxx on 2012-07-29

Pros: Amazing experiance!
Cons: Amazing experiance!

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Can't believe the amount of complaints. 'I had a blast!'. I did arrive first time, we got training, had to cancel and go back home due to bad weather conditions. 27th July 12 was my day :D shame I didn't catch my instructors name. He made my experiance more special and exciting. He really made me feel at ease. The staff are fun, crazy, polite and chatty. Reception friendly and helpful. Just like we had expected. I am sorry to the guys whom got a bad experiance from the centre, but I believe and my collegues that it is not as bad as people are portrait it to be. I will defiantly be going again.

11 of 20 people found this review helpful:
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(Review ID:7505)

Hope to jump here for years to come

North London Skydiving Centre Rated 5 by: Tea on 2011-12-11

Pros: Large plane, v. good training, some cool people there
Cons: Staff may seem rude/intimidating to the average bloke, food prices, distance from London

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I've only done one jump, so count this review however you wish.

First impressions of the site had me a bit worried. Superficially, it's not the prettiest of places BUT it has everything you might need: Canteen, huge bloody plane, rigs, grass runway - errm, a friendly cat.

So anyway, I was trained for my AFF L1 by a man who clearly knows his stuff. This experience brought with it a bit of an ego but I'd prefer to be trained by a supremely confident person when my life is in their hands. I left the AFF Groundschool ready for anything.

The morning of the jump came, but not before several weeks had passed. I had been ill and I live in London (This DZ is nowhere near London!). Terrified, I had my preflight briefing and morning training with the chief instructor of the DZ. He was less than impressed with how badly I had retained the information and how my nerves were interfering with what I had learned, and he made no attempt to hide this fact.

We drilled, drilled and drilled again until he was satisfied. Some might have called his demeanour rude and intimidating but you never know, his honesty and kick-up-the-backside attitude might have saved my life. I hope every beginner who can't recite every aspect of their training to the letter receives the same treatment - it really drives home the importance of everything.

I was on the first lift of the day with a bunch of tandems, a regular skydiver, a recently qualified and two other AFF (Consol 6 and L4) students. I was terrified. However, one of the instructors was chatty and pretty much said that what I was feeling was normal.

The jump went well. One of my fellow AFF student had to help me with my rig in the absence of any staff. I had to wait quite a while for my debrief as well, but this is understandable as the weather was closing in and the DZ had to do a few more loads (they are a business after all).

Debrief went well, and was very honest. I had some weaknesses, but I passed my L1. I will be back for sure in the new year.

Don't be put off by the apparent egos, attitudes, etc. These people are literally dealing with life, death and rank amateurs (like myself). What matters is the quality of the training (excellent), the facilities (good), the experience (life changing) and the feedback (honest, thorough, relevant).

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(Review ID:6946)

Fun place, with friendly helpful staff

North London Skydiving Centre Rated 5 by: pumpshackle on 2011-07-18

Pros: Close to home, big plane, freindly staff.
Cons: none come to mind

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Recently did a tandem skydive there and absolutely loved it.

I decided to write a review of the place as I feel many of the previous reviews are totally unjustified and unfortunately, people usually only write reviews when they want to write a bad one.

Like many others I was unlucky with the weather the first time but guess what.... that's just the way it goes, skydiving like many other adventure activities is weather dependant. Yeah the cafe is a bit pricey and the food is quite rubbish but if you don't like it, nip down the shops like I did and get your own stuff. Easy.

Yeah sitting around waiting for good weather is mind numbingly boring, but the staff are in the same boat except in their case bad weather means no money.

The place is great and the instructors couldnt have been more helpful or professional. I absolutely would recommend this centre to anyone, just check the weather before you travel.

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(Review ID:6589)

A bit more honesty

North London Skydiving Centre Rated 2 by: BangTheBOmb on 2011-05-12

Pros: Nice location
Cons: Lots of waiting

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I have been here twice now for a tandem skydive for charity - both times I've not been unable to jump due to the weather (low cloud/wind).

I've re-booked for the third time but as my original jump was on a Wednesday (which is cheaper), I can't get another jump until July, which is not exactly ideal, especially as I'm jumping for a charity.

However, we live in the UK and have to expect the weather to not be great at times so I understand this.

I do however have several reasons why I would never go here again (once and if I do finally get a jump).

The main one is that they are not up front with you. The last time I was there all looked good, until we went in for training at around 9am, when the instructor said the immortal words 'if we jump today'. I should have read more into this at the time as I ended up spending all day sitting in my car, before going home at 630pm. We heard absolutely nothing from the staff until 12pm when we had a weather update that it should clear up by 4pm. At 4pm we had a similar update - should be better about 6pm. It wasn't. Again I know the weather can't be blamed but they must know from experience what to expect. I think they are more interested in making money from the cafe (were it is made VERY clear no contraband must be eaten or drunk there).

If they had been more honest from the start and said at 9am 'look - there is a good chance there may be no jumps today' it would have given people an opportunity to leave earlier. (I had a 2 1/2 hour drive each way).

When booking in I was told (not asked) to get on some scales and charged additional as I was 'overweight' at 15 stone 2 pounds - Again to a degree I understand, but it was quite embarrassing as was done in front of everyone.

The 'cafe' does not offer much and is very expensive.

The website advertised hovercrafts for use on a track during the day - these were not operational.

The wind tunnel did not seem to be available for use (although I never asked, it was never offered).

As we sat around bored for hours, some of the staff were chasing each other around and mucking about in a very unprofessional way - They could have spent more of their time getting things working as above, or at least giving more regular updates.

The cost of photo's DVD's and VHS video's ?, seem to me to be very expensive (not far off the cost of the jump itself).

One poor girl there was in the office when I was and was upset because this was the 6th jump she had turned up for but could not do, and her ticket was barely up to six months old, meaning they had to pay an extra �25 to extend. She had paid for train fares/taxis each time and the people in the office would not budge one bit - you would think they would have at least offered her one more jump slot free of charge as a matter of decency.

In general, you can't blame the weather, but the place doesn't offer you much in the way of activities or customer service and there are signs all over the place basically saying 'don't moan or you will be kicked out'. They seem to be there for your money I'm afraid.

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(Review ID:6394)

My Best Advice is DO NOT BOOK with this centre

North London Skydiving Centre Rated 1 by: tality on 2011-04-07

Pros: Cheaper than other places
Cons: Bad attitude, no refund, expensive canteen

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I bought my boyfriend his first sky dive for his birthday yesterday, and he took a day's holiday off work so that we could get the reduced rate that you pay at this centre if you attend on a Wednesday (I'm a student, so this rate -�165- is still a lot for me actually, but I thought an experience like this would be worth the cost).

After a long journey and having to stay overnight in a guesthouse nearby, we arrived at 7am and were second in the queue. We had been told beforehand that if the weather conditions were right, jumping could commence at 9am. However, the staff took a long time to get everyone registered and only took my boyfriend in for training at around ten past 9 - at which point the weather was fine for jumping (as confirmed by a member of centre staff). After a lot of faffing around and trying to sell him a video (for �140), they got him into his suit along with a bunch of other people. At five to ten they were finally ready to board the plane, and as they were about to get on, one of the centre staff called them back. It took a while for us to find out what was going on, but it turned out that the wind had literally just picked up too much, and it was no longer safe to jump (the limit is 23mph, and the speed had gone from 23 to 28mph in the time it had taken for them to train him and get him ready, all of which SHOULD have been done BEFORE 9am).

Had the centre staff been more organised, he would've been able to jump yesterday. Instead, we ended up sitting around for an entire day to see whether the wind would drop, and finally being told to go home at 4:30 after having waited for nine and a half hours. I wish I had spent the �250 it has SO FAR cost me (counting train fare and overnight at a guesthouse as well as the �165 I have so far paid to them) on something else.

Now, I understand perfectly that these people can neither control nor predict the weather, and that's fine. However, the entire process of jumping takes about 15mins, and they had a window from 9 till 10 when the weather was fine for jumping, and they missed it because they were not organised enough. Furthermore, I found their attitude quite rude towards their customers. For example, there are signs up all round the place that are pretty appallingly worded - one says 'Food/drink not purchased in the canteen is not allowed!!!!!!!!!!!' and I am not joking about all the exclamation marks. It seems a bit rich to make you have to buy their canteen food after you've paid so much money to be there already, especially when all they sell are pretty expensive burgers and chips (which I really didn't want given how unhealthy it is), and it's �1.50 just for a cup of tea. There were also signs up which said sky-diving is a weather-dependent activity and if you can't handle that, then don't book in the first place. This, to me, indicates a failure on the part of the centre to understand and respond to the needs of their customers. Obviously, if we had attended, waited, and been turned away in any manner it would have been disappointing. However, there is a complete lack of empathy from the staff about the situation, and you are given very few alternative options because you are NOT ENTITLED TO A REFUND.

All you can do is come back again and again in order to try to jump again, most probably having the very same experience several times before actually managing to jump. Plus, if you want to jump on a different day - because, like us, you have booked time off work to attend mid-week, but can't afford to do so again - they charge you more money (another �55 on top of what you've already paid) to attend at the weekend, so there is absolutely no attempt made to make it easier on you next time given what a rubbish time you've had of it already!

They do say on their website and in their paperwork that it is a weather dependent activity, I'll give them that. However, I believe they do not make clear just how unlikely it is that you will be able to jump on your first attempt. I assumed that, say, 80% of the time you will be able to jump, but we spoke to numerous other people yesterday, and most of them were individuals who had attempted to jump three, four and five times, without success. I'd say you probably only have a 20-30% chance of jumping first time. If I'd realised it was that unlikely before, I would never have booked this in the first place. And now I KNOW how unlikely it is, I'd like to get at least SOME of my money back so that we don't have to pay rail fare and bed and breakfast fees to most probably have to undergo the very same TERRIBLE experience yet again. I would much rather take him out for a plush meal somewhere than ever return here.

As I say, I appreciate that they cannot control the weather and that is fine, but a little more warning about the unlikelihood of jumping first time would've been appreciated, as would some empathy when people are disappointed. The opportunity of being able to eat our own food while waiting for nine hours just to be turned away, would also have been appreciated, as would the opportunity to claim back at least SOME of the money spent rather than being roped into either (i) losing all of it for nothing or (ii) returning again for, most probably, the very same experience. I wouldn't have minded losing my �50 deposit, for example, but I paid an extra �115 yesterday to sit there and drink expensive tea in a horrible environment. Should one hire equipment to go scuba diving, and be unable to go because the sea is too choppy, it is equally not the fault of the people who hire the equipment out to you that you cannot make use of it, but they GIVE YOU YOUR MONEY BACK, and I don't see why sky diving should be any different. They haven't spent any money on aeroplane fuel etc., the staff man the centre ever day anyway, and they've made fairly extortionate amounts out of you by insisting that you buy their food and drink from their rubbish canteen. I imagine many people do not bother coming back here after their initial experience of the place, which means they make �200 or so out of each individual, and in many cases do not deliver what has been handsomely paid for.

My advice would be: unless you live somewhere fairly close by, from which it is relatively easy and inexpensive to get to, and unless you don't mind returning on several occasions before actually completing a jump, do NOT book with these people. Don't give them the business, they are undeserving of it. Ideally, if you are going regardless of my best warnings against, drive there and take CDs with you and food to eat in your car, and, as I say, only go if you don't mind the almost certain prospect of return.

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(Review ID:6310)

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Average Rating : 3.21/5