British Parachute Schools, Langar

I have started my static line course....initial training was SUPERB! Dylan our instructor was fab...plus he's gorgeous as he looks the spitting image of my 80's heart throb 'George Michael'! ha ha (he is going to kill me for putting this!ha ha)
Am doing my 3rd S/L jump on Thur.if weather permits!
At 45 I would never have imagined I'd be able to take up a sport like this...but the staff at Langar have encouraged me 110%.
Determined to get to freefall...can't wait.

Disclaimer: I've never jumped anywhere else

Note: contrary to an earlier review, AADs are now mandatory for all jumpers unless you get explicit exemption from the CCI. (You will need a good reason)


Aircraft: two Cessna Grand Caravans (C208B). Appear to be well maintained, in great condition.

Pilots: friendly and efficient.

Instructors/coaches: numerous, experienced and helpful. If they can help, they will. I've never had anyone say no without a very good reason. I loved learning from these folks, AFF and FS1. Some of them do regular (daily!) trips to wind tunnels too.

CCI: approachable, patient and thorough.

Cafe: this is where you buy your bacons. Yay bacons!

DZO: friendlier than his reputation would suggest, very experienced skydiver and DZO. Probably doesn't get the respect he deserves. I have received one of Dave's famous bollockings, but frankly I did deserve it. Dave went *well* out his way to help when I sprained my ankle last year. Much much more helpful than I'd have expected.

Shop: surprisingly well stocked given its size. Offers rigging services and AFF too. Quick turnaround for rigging work (such as new linesets, reserve repacks). Has a steady turnover of used gear.

Showers/loos: usually spotless.

Packing area: carpeted, usually large enough. But I wish everyone else would remove their muddy shoes before walking around on the carpet :-/

I qualified here a few months ago and only got round to writing this review.

Its a nice place, the landing field is absolutely massive,don't worry they have trucks to pick you up if you land far far away.

The aircraft are all nice and spacious and almost everybody gets a seat and Dave isn't uber anal about lifting without a full load.

The vibe is nice, within a few minutes of arriving experienced people came and spoke to me. Which doesn't happen in some places where groups stick to their own.

Post jump socialising is fairly decent with an onsite bar open after jumping and it gets fairly lively at weekends. Weekdays is a little quiet but this place does open almost everyday.

One bad point is that it is quite isolated compared to other DZs. Cockerham is 2 miles from the M6.

Hibaldstow is 5 miles off the motorway. But Langar to get to the M1 you need to go through Nottingham and about 25 miles of dual carriageway countrylanes and satellite town roads out of Nottingham to get to the village the DZ is located in. Not a massive deal but if you're short on time it counts.... I used to think Cark as far away from the motorway but this felt a very long way and was tiring at times.

As having newly passed AFF out in Seville thanks for Skydivespain last month I applied for my A cat and received it through the post. Instantly wanting to jump I headed for the closest DZ to me, Langar. The weather was planned to be up and down all day, it was all down all weekend. That did not stop me. Having filled in all the required paperwork I was ready to jump in a moments notice. I soon got talking to the natives and got a nice welcome from all. Having not jumped, but with the chance of jumping the next day I asked if I could grab a bed in the bunk house so I was able to partake in a few sly cokes or two ;-). I was able to grab a nice hot shower in the morning before trying again to jump. However the weather (wind) still killing the fun, I was then able to do a pro packing course to pass the time away before having to leave for work. I look forward to my next visit. Fantastic DZ even for not jumping.

Great location, good student kit, great instructors taking time to teach each stage. Safety is high on the agenda. Big PLA.

Obviously there are some highly experienced skydivers at the DZ but this felt in the vibe of the place.

Safety is very important and from a previous post yes you expect to get a rollocking if you screw up...what you don't expect is a person screaming every swear word under the sun in your face. Any attempt to discuss the matter and ensure you get it right the next time or Dave will have you thrown off the DZ so be warned.

If somebody did the same thing out on the town you would flatten them...even if they were 70 odd.

I have seen Dave 'attack' quite a few people and does not make people feel welcome at the DZ hence the overall rating. Minus Dave it would be a 5.

I cant believe this dz has good reviews. I only jump here when I have to. first thing is the staff, mainly the owner. Beginners are brushed to one side and the general attitude of the staff is poor. Its not too bad when you get them on a good day.

I noticed one review mentioned the load time. he's spot on, 9.00am start so why wait until 10.00 for the first load and yes! they do stop early because the staff want a pint WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF US.

I'm an experienced jumper with over 2000 jumps under my belt. one thing I don't like at langer is the newly qualified jumpers don't get any help or guidance once they've finished their AFF i.e they've had their money. I've personally witnessed a guy with 20 jumps ask for help with leg turns. The instructors response was 'pay for a coach jump and I'll show you' I think that is shocking. WHAT A WAY TO WELCOME PEOPLE TO THIS GREAT SPORT.

Maybe I'm over reacting. I seem to base my standards on America and New Zealand. The customer service there is second to none. Truly amazing places to jump with no arsey staff.

I've also noticed that if you search this site for 'unfriendly dropzones' it only finds results for UK dropzones.

I know I've been moaning but i hate bad customer service. I think with a little effort langar would be great. after all we are paying customers. Would you expect the same service from a hotel?

I went down just for the hell of it during the week. The people couldn't have made my friend and I feel more welcome, it was the week before the Boogie aswell and they still had time for us.

I recently graduated an AFF course in Spain, and after a poor reception at another DZ (Sibson)I tied Langer.

Within minutes of arriving I was introduced to the CCI who checked my log book and signed me off student status and welcomed me to jump anytime. Which I did.

This DZ has amazing views, the aircraft are fast to altitude. Everybody there had a friendly attitude and I will be using this as my home DZ.

I start Skydiving and involved in Skydiving activities with Langar skydiving center the last 5 years, the instructors are superb, the best people and skydivers out there.
My personal instructor make heroic efforts to learn me skydive properly and keep me in the skydiving.
All the people are welcome in Langar to learn to skydive.

Otherwise for the experienced jumpers or studend parachutist,

In Langar you will find:
1) Many of the BEST AFF, Tandem FS-FF Instructors-coach-organizers-camera team not in U.K, but in the WORLD.
2) Best and most reliable skydiving aircrafts.
Skyvan, Beech99, helicopters on boogies.
3) BEST pilots.
4) Best packers with 10000ands of pack jobs.
5) Best Riggers, skydiving shop available, with everything you need.
6) Free coaching in FS,CRW,FF,skysurfing,wingsuit etc
7) Some of the best prices in U.K and slightly more expensive jumptickets than France and Spain......but this is acceptable through Langar is one of few full time skydiving centers in U.k and must be cope with the strange (not bad) British weather during winter.
Winter only, from March until November, the people at Langar jump practically every day.
Then again accommodation in bunkhouse is nearly free and Bar and cafe shop is the cheapest you can find when in France and Spain you must pay a lot more for accommodation.
You must pay for coaching as well and you must pay your airtickets so at the end you pay much more for your jumps ( even in France and Spain jumptickets are 2-5 euros cheaper than Langar).
And I forget, Jump tickets in Friday are just £15 or 22 euros,maybe the cheapest you can find in European Union.
8) All jumps from at least 13,000ft but normally are from 14,000-15,000ft.
9) Midweek even with 5 jumpers in the Dropzone, the Caravan goes up, you can easily make 10+jumps per day if you have the money, and there are a few more people in the dropzone.
By the way, with 5-7 people on board, Caravan goes to 15,000ft at no time at all .
10) Not mandatory AAD if you are B certificate and above.
11) Welcome all students, for other drop zones or from USA, Spain,France etc.
12) Incredible landing area
13) No other air-activities in the area
14) No restrictions in altitude, higher than normal jumps can be organized any time and this is one reason Langar is the Home of British formation record Brit-100.
15) Best safety record for a so busy dropzone.....top safety, instructors and ground personnel check jumpers all the time.
16) Friendly people around.
17) Nice weather!!!!!!! if you don't bother to have the incredible fun to jump through or around the clouds ( some times).

Too bad I am leaving in 6 weeks this country.
I do my best to come back at least on the boogies and make 100s of jumps at this dream place called Langar.

I have been fortunate enough to have jumped all over the world, for that I count myself a very lucky person, however I can say that the best skydiving day I have had has been at Langar. It's safe, the facilities are improving on a daily basis, it has a good vibe, the peeps who jump here are nice, good pilots, and they have the bollocks to bring in airframes from other places from time to time. I love the place, it's just a shame that it's located near Nottingham and not near my house.

I've been a regular at Langar for 6 years, and while it was a good DZ for many years, it's done nothing but improve in the last year or so.
It used to be a private joke that you felt you should thank the management for letting you jump there... now it is becoming far more customer focused.
The brand new shower/toilet block is 99% complete, as is the renovated bar area (all indoor areas are no-smoking at all times, not just during the day), and free WiFi internet access is also available.
The only real downside is the rather expensive/low-standard canteen.

I have jumped at langar for 15 years. why, because i have not found a better dz in the uk.
Good lift capacity, good staff. They cater for all skydivers regardless of discipline.
Some dz's look at cf jumpers (like me) like a disease, langer, if you want to pay they will let you jump, all are treated with an equal amount of respect.
If a dz cannot accommodate you it is because they cannot run the dz properly.
Langar is the place to skydive.
Plastic

I'm on my consol jumps after doing my AFF at Langar. Thanks to people like Milko and Chris McCann, i had a wicked time and learn't to Skydive properly.

Nothing so too much trouble for all the AFF-I's and they are more than happy to answer all your question and listen to people like me saying how scared they are in the door.

The Dz owner can be seen looking after affairs at every level in a proffessional manner, always giving out praise where it's required, and a roasting where required also...but hey, you mess up, you get the roasting, no worries there

All in all, i recommend this DZ to anybody who wants to feel in safe hands

i started jumping at langar back in 99' i was 16 and was welcomed with open arms. i started working there not long afterwards and had a fantastic time. i left langar in 2003 to join the army, and miss everything about it. i not only learnt to skydive but made some outstanding friends. langar has got better and better over the last six years and is continuing to grow. i can assure you a good time. oh and they sure know how to party!

i though the lift capacity was incredible for the UK
the vibe was pretty good too
some of the staff can be a bit terse and give mixed messages
apart from that i was generally impressed

I've been jumping at Langar for 5 years.
It's location is excellent which makes it ideal to host UK events - of which we are seeing more and more. With two caravans and regular visiting aircraft the lift capacity is more than adequate all year round. Langar hold the only real boogies in the UK and there is usually something for everyone.

yes - I have a soft spot for Langar. Other dropzones in the UK taught me to survive... Langar's instructors taught me to skydive! I continue to learn and there is no better place for it than among some of the best instructors that the sport has to offer!

Come to Langar with an open mind, a friendly smile and a willingness to learn and you will never regret it.

Langar, at it's best, is arguably the finest dropzone in the UK. They have 2 Grand Caravans operating full time and often have guest aircraft, such as skyvans and turbolets. If the weather is good you won't have any trouble jumping.

There is an abundance of extremely qualified skydiving instructors headed up by Dave Hickling; himself and all other instructors are quick to give helpful advice to those who ask for it.

There are perfectly adequate indoor packing facilities and the atmosphere is very friendly among jumpers.

The cafe offers loads of variety perfect for jumpers after light bites in between jumps. In the evening the main lounge turns into a very reasonably priced and well kept bar.

On site accommodation is limited to a rather shoddy bunk house which, last I heard, were being upgraded so it may not be so shoddy anymore. There are plenty of camping and caravanning facilities; camping FOC I believe.

If there is a downside about Langar it is that you may sometimes wonder who the customer is. Manifest like to let you know who is in charge and the operation can be slow. If you want/need advice ask for it, it won't often be offered. If you are a beginner you will find yourself boiling over with frustration that your rig has remained unpacked for 3 hours and the single packer they have is jumping.

All said I go back there again and again and would recommend a Langar boogie week above any other.

Easy enough to find and only an hour and a half further away from my local DZ. Decided to take a run over midweek as my usual DZ is only open on Saturdays.

As a relatively new jumper, I felt very welcome, superb briefing on how to exit a new aircraft and general refresher training helped immensely as I had been waiting a month to do my first dummy pull.

Will definitely go back mid week as I know I'll be able to get a couple of jumps in.

I did AFF, 10 consols and a helicopter jump between August 23rd and September 4th at Langar, during their summer boogie.

I don't have anywhere to compare it to, having only ever jumped there, but I found the instructors friendly and professional. Jump-related facilities on site were good, the landing area is gigantic and easily sighted from the air. The atmosphere was extremely friendly both during the day and in the bar during the evening.

Did my tandem at langar, couldn't stay away from the place so started my AFF course there 2 months ago...can't really fault it really....everything's there that u need...video, rig room, canteen, bar (which is always a bonus), a dossing area when you feel the need to chill and take time out and decent lavatories!! the bunkhouse is adequate...but what do you expect?
staff are really supportive and friendly most of the time (weekends can be pretty hectic!!) and it takes pretty little time to warm to the regular skydivers there...(apart from the odd one or two!!- but hey, you would get that everywhere!!)
I decided to do my AFF here because i found the total price to be cheaper than the other dropzones in the UK, also because it is pretty accessible to get to (if you drive)..

the one thing i would say is if u don't drive and you like your tobacco, make sure you stock up because you're going to have a pretty long walk to get to the nearest newsagent!!

I've been jumping at Langar for the last 3 years, I did my AFF there and I've done bout 450 jumps there since.

Langar is a odd place. What makes it odd? Well maybe this is the same everywhere but too often it seems the will of the jumpers to jump is greater than the will of the staff to get lifts up. The first lift of the day is allowed to take off no earlier than 9am, so if there's plenty of people and the weather's good why doesn't it take off at 9am every time? I know that working in manifest can be tough and that come 7pm on a gorgeous Saturday evening they just want to open the bar and chill out but I STILL WANT TO JUMP!
Having said all that, there are a handful of dzs closer to where I live and I still make the 300 mile round trip as often as I can. Why? Well in the summer we have a Let 410 in addition to the Grand Caravan (both 16 places) and the 206. At the last couple of boogies we've got a Skyvan in and even when it's really busy you know you'll get a handful of jumps in. In the winter it's still busy enough to keep the Caravan going and on a nice day you can do as many jumps as you would in the summer.
More importantly though, Langar has a great group of regular jumpers and most of the staff are friendly most of the time. Busy weekends are normally the best time to catch people in a bad mood - don't start asking the CCI for a spotting brief as he tears around trying to keeping everying running smoothly!

If you're into organised stuff then there's normally a sheet at manifest where you can sign up for flat stuff. The freefly scene is a bit more relaxed, if you want to join a group just go up and ask! The quality of the jumps is good and getting better as we all jump together more and more. There's a handful of birdmen, some skysurfers, even the occasional freestyler.

The facilities: There's a canteen that's open during the weekend where you can buy bacon butties, there's a packing shed, somewhere to pitch your tent, a tv to stick your videos on. The bunkhouse is pretty basic and the showers resemble some kind of spider sanctuary but you're not there to pamper yourself are you? Oh and there's a bar that serves something called al-co-hol which can be consumed once the last lift is down.

Gus

Thanks to Langar and Dave Morris for making my tandem jump so great. I am now addicted and coming back to do an AFF course as soon as possible. I shall definitely be spending as much free time there as possible and looking forward to the parties!

Well the BCPA Freshers' Meet at Langar was a fantastic weekend, Langar is a gorgeous place with a wicked atmosphere, proper training rooms and cosy cafe/bar/slobbing area. Shame about the bunkhouse though! Tip: take a tent!

I got to Langar today after a 5 week gapm since my last jump.

Dean was a great help and possbily laughed at my freefall including backflips , sit downs .

First time in a 208 Caravan and I now see why gypseys travel in them and why people go on holidays in them.

Well I cant quite see the wife and baby wanting to go on THAT Caravan holiday.

THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU for been open and nice