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Dropzone: Europe: United Kingdom: North West Parachute Centre

North West Parachute Centre

Average Rating: 4.73 4.73 out of 5 based on 11 user reviews

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Dropzone Summary | Reviews

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Location:
Cark Airfield
Lat: 54.162778
Lng: -2.960278

Address:
Cark Airfield, Moor Lane
Flookburgh, LA11 7LS
United Kingdom

Contact:
015395 58672
01229 886516 (fax)
skydive-northwest@totalise.co.uk
http://skydive-northwest.com  (2949 Hits)

Last Updated: 2007-03-10
Aircraft:
PAC 750 XL - 17 PLACE!

Training: AFF, S/L, Tandem

AAD: Not Required

Hook Turns: Allowed

USPA Membership: Not Required

Rates:




Description:


Friendly centre, set in the beautiful lake district.

Read 5 Reviews Write a Review Bookmark Claim Listing

Location Map -

Facilities:

  • Gear Rentals
  • Gear Sales
  • Rigging Services
  • Covered Packing Area
  • Creeping Area
  • Team Rooms
  • Video Rooms
  • Coaches
  • Load Organizers
  • Accuracy Tuffet
  • Restaurant
  • Shop
  • Bunkhouse
  • Camping
  • Showers

Upcoming Events:

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Most Recent Photo

evening tandem

11 Reviews Written

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Friendliest drop zone I have ever visited!


North West Parachute Centre Rated 5 by: bigsteve5 on 2012-01-30

Pros: friendly , pac 750xl , beautiful scenery
Cons: not open mid week,

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Before I visited n.w.p.c I had heard that is was one of the friendliest places to skydive in Britain and after visiting several other dzs I always return home to this one , The staff although professional have a good laugh with students and experienced skydivers alike to provide a safe but learning environment. The views of the Lake District and surrounding areas are breathtaking during freefall. the Large landing area is a good size and free from obstacles apart from the odd farmers fence ! I cannot recommend this dropzone enough hope to see you there soon !!

6 of 40 people found this review helpful:
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(Review ID:7002)

My home DZ


North West Parachute Centre Rated 4 by: Justpin on 2011-10-14

Pros: Homely vibe, nice views
Cons: Very difficult to get to, cow pats in the landing area
  Professionalism
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This is my home DZ. So I am slightly biased towards this drop zone though I did not learn to skydive here nor did I qualify or do my consols here either.

It felt nice the fact that on my first day here a large number of people approached me and said hello without me approaching them first. The vibe is the best feature here, people stick around after jumping and make you feel at home. From the air the DZ is pretty easy to spot and the landing area is enormous. The DZ also is not a shouty type DZ whereby mistakes and errors are dealt with by a quiet word. I've made a few minor mistakes landing in the wrong field.

The fact that many university clubs are based here makes it even more interesting, the DZ owners are fairly young and don't come across as high and mighty as they do in some places. The resident instructors here who are very very easy going and actually have faith in you and your own decision making. Some might not like this if they prefer to be told but then its a bit like marmite tbh the fact that being told I've jumped enough to make my own decisions I felt was nice though.

They will put the PAC750 up without a full load. Other places absolutely insist on a 100% full load I suppose this is to keep us fun jumpers happy. They might break even but it keeps us coming.

It's not perfect though, kit hire is very scarce for the visiting jumper and all of the kits seem to be made for giants as the harnesses don't adjust enough for waifs. The landing zone and the fields beside the PLA have quite a few surprises. Surprises in the form of cow pats while fields adjacent to the PLA are filled with actual cows. The manifesting is very basic to say the least though. Its a whiteboard and some marker pens. There is also almost always a big audience for your skydives and canopy flight. Seeing as Cark is situated next to a giantic caravan park and actually has a caravan/campsite onsite, though camping is not free (their bunk house is though). Cark is also a bloody difficult place to get to from the motorway. It takes me about 90 minutes to get here from Oldham.

Finally the low wing loading of the PAC can be a bit off putting to some jumpers I've met. The other things I've jumped out of PC6, Dornier G92, Airvan, 206, 186, Islander, SMG, 208GC. The wing is above your head and out of sight and out of mind. With the PAC its right in front of you. But you forget about it pretty quick, the door is a touch small though I've seem some pretty big formations go out the door here.




6 of 36 people found this review helpful:
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(Review ID:6852)

A nice tucked away DZ


North West Parachute Centre Rated 4 by: Tatetatetate on 2011-09-12

Pros: Nice scenery nice plane, good staff
Cons: Location, limited opening hours, V limited hire kit
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I like this place a lot. I have jumped at their southern competitor and there is massive rivalry between the two dropzones. And in all honesty I have to say this one is the better one for various reasons:

They use a PAC750 meaning everybody gets to sit on the benches rather than on the floor or sit on top of each other as at the other place. Although it is slightly slower to altitude its less of a problem as the plane is much less cramped and much much more spacious.

This does cut two ways though as having a 16 slot plane means lift turn round is not as fast as I would like as they have to manifest a lot of people.

They have dedicated tandem instructors and only three of them max. Each with a camera means 9 slots. Leaving 7 slots completely free to have some fun jumps a couple of three ways.

Cheaper jump tickets, bought enblock the kit hire and jump tickets are a fraction cheaper than the £20-£22 standard elsewhere.

Though there are bad points to Cark though:

It is very hard to get to as you have to come off the motorway and around various towns and villages to get anywhere near the airfield.

Its coastal so pretty windy at times.

The kit hire is extremely limited.

10 of 27 people found this review helpful:
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(Review ID:6762)

Fantastic atmosphere


North West Parachute Centre Rated 5 by: vikki_shadow on 2008-06-05

Pros: Really friendly staff, very welcoming to students and experienced alike
Cons: English weather
  Professionalism
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I learned to skydive here on a static line course through Uni, spend lots of time not jumping due to winds but always felt welcome and though I didn't know anyone I was never short of someone to talk to.As I progressed there was always plenty of people on hand with advice and support,though I have been away from the sport for 6 months or so I felt as welcome when I returned as I did when I started.

The bunkhouse is basic but it does the job and is warm even in the depths of winter, the cafe sells a limited range of food (main complaint is lack of veggie/healthy food!) but does fantastic full breakfasts which really set you up for a days jumping.

The plane is fantastic, and they are happy to put up a half full lift rather than waiting for it to be full like some places, communication is good and there are a lot of people there who will go out of their way to help.

All in all a great place to jump!

5 of 47 people found this review helpful:
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(Review ID:4559)

Very friendly people, we felt welcome immediately


North West Parachute Centre Rated 5 by: CaTo on 2007-05-27

Pros: The Views.... man, what a view!
Cons: The English weather and only open during the weekend
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Very nice little center, with an unusual airplane: XL 750. It flies fast, has space for 18 and has a left door, almost like a Cesna caravan.
The people at the center are welcome, and pay attention to newcomers and regulars, first-timers and 1000+ jumpers.
We were lucky with the weather, blue skies and not too much wind on the only day we could visit the center. We would certainly visit again.

0 of 47 people found this review helpful:
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(Review ID:3884)

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