Army Parachute Association - Netheravon

i think nethers could be a great dz if it shed its old habits
like slow turn around, slower manifest, old style and accuracy jumpers running the show etc..
the aircraft arent too bad its just that they're never around- they get maintained somewhere else(why???)
the military jumpers over the last 3 years have had a 50% increase in jump ticket costs for nothing(less than nothing, i do less jumps per day there every year)
ive never met the 2 army guys that run the place
its just seems like if it changed its managment it could be great but it is a bit of a lame horse right now
why doesnt a civilian firm take over the APA?

my two pence anyways

Wow there are some pretty negative reviews about Netheravon on here!

I am unfortunatly going to have to side with these reviews. please take into account that I havent jumped at Netheravon for sometime so my experience of the DZ might not reflect whats going on there now.

While I was at Nethers I allways found it to have the potential to become a really great place to jump and hang out. But because of various personalitys and the way things are done, Army time!
I suppoes Nethers is always going to be good for the military guys but maybe not for civilians. For the same price Iwould, and did go somewhere else without the hassles of Neters which have already been made public on this site.



Imagine skydiving with a ball and chain around one foot and that should give you some idea.




All this pains me to say it because there are some great people who work and jump at nethers but in the words of popye its more than I can stand and I cant stand no more! Peep peep!

Check it out but be warned.

The manifest is real bad. They've put in a computerised system that no one knows how to work. your also likely to get a window closed in your face when it all gets a bit too stressy!

Windy as hell. on top of a big hill and allmost always over for inexperienced jumpers, Unless theres a few tandems to get up and then theres no stopping them.

There is a good FS school there now that is in my opinion wasted on a turkey like Nethers.

Its staff seem neglected as much as the punters. this results in a poor operation run by unmotivated staff. Unmotivated! who can blame them?

To give you an example of how bad it is there. there are three demo teams who are stationed at Nethers and neither of them do any training or work there?!

no wonder everyone has moved away! I hope they can get their act together for 2006.

This is obviously one of the mentioned disparaging and negative review coming from a ex customer. Seems like all the negative reviews come from the customers and all the defensive reviews come from staff to me. Sad how people trying to give there honest opinon are branded as trouble makers.

no body expects the Spanish inquisition!

Just out of AFF (done at Nethers) and never having jumped anywhere else I can't provide a comparative review. What I can say is that the AFF course is run with an extremely high level professionalism, leaving you in no doubt whatsoever that you are in good hands. Having jumped with most (if not all) of the AFF instructors there, I can safely say that they are each as professional as the next. From a students perspective, that's hugely confidence building.....something I was definitely in need of prior to my first few jumps!

The bar's great, people are friendly and the facilities are adequate (after all it's the jumping you're going there for).

On the negative sides, I'd have to be really picky to find much worth mentioning. Reading through some of the other posts, it seems as though getting through the guard house is of great concern to some....personally I'd compare it (effort wise) to having to go and get a pay and display ticket in a car park..... not exactly a real problem!

I'd certainly recommend jumping at Nethers (unless the 60 second delay signing in at the Guard House is too much for you!)..

Great DZ, people were very friendly and always happy to help. Fantastic aircraft, landing area and packing hall.
I went for a canopy coaching weekend with the PD team which was fantastic value for money and very well organised.
Easy to jump, screens all around the DZ showing all manifested lifts and time of departure. If you want a quick ride to altitude check out the Turbine Islander! Great plane!
Well worth my 6 hour journey, can't wait to go back :-)

Let me start by saying that I trained at NLPC which for training I rate second to none, they gave me the confidence to try other dz's even though i was half way through my consoles.
I contacted nethers as they are only an hour from portsmouth, their directions to the dz were clear and concise on their website.
I did however contact them due to being on my consoles. I was directed to call Rob by a very polite lady who had returned my phone message.
After talking with the instructor I was looking forward to my visit, even though it is a military dz in the main.
The gate Mod plods :) were very courteous when i arrived and on initial contact with the dz staff I was nothing but impresseed with the proffesionalism of them all.
The aircraft were superb and i felt confident with the jumpmasters organisation within the aircraft.
On arrival to the dz it took a grand total of 45 mins before i jumped (excellent) i got another lift an hour later then the good ole clouds came a rolling in these cleared but i had to leave early that day. The next day i was mustered within 30 mins of arriving, I also liked the fact that tandems in general went on a seperate a/c.

the only thing i would critiscise( mr picky :)) as a newbie is that the directions for packing hall, kit issue, canteen etc could be revamped/introduced and much more visible so you know where your going (new visitors board perhaps) also an intro to the aircraft (door exits etc).

Ok, I'm the main load organiser there so technically I'm biased too! But I had an 8 year relationship with Netheravon before that, and I haven't always loved it as much as I do now!

I did all my training at Netheravon in 1997 (loved the place for a few years) then stopped jumping there in 2000 for a number of reasons.

In Autumn 2004 I cautiously returned and found a dropzone that made me feel like I'd never left. Friendly faces, great parties and a real club atmosphere that made me want to come back again and again. The new management (aka Robin Durie) is forward thinking and really committed to making it a dropzone that people have a great time jumping at.

When I was asked to organise there I didn't even have to think about it.

As with anything, choice of DZ is a personal thing. While Netheravon will always be a military dropzone with staff that have to change on a regular basis (sorry but do we want our army lads trained or not???), regular jumpers, load organisers and coaches will welcome you. Come and find me and I promise not to be too scary! ;)

Oh and one more thing... don't leave until you have checked out the sunset across miles of stunning wiltshire countryside (preferably while under canopy on one of our max altitude sunset hop 'n' pop loads)!

C.

I first turned up at Netheravon in May 2004. At the time I didnt have many jumps but I had seen alot of Drop Zones around the World having grown up in the skydiving world. At the time the DZ was having trouble with Manifest and things where slow (I think i managed two or three jumps in an entire day) but hey when I returned a year later things had changed!!

As soon as I arrived there where people willing to jump. These are people who I had never really met before and just wanted to have fun. This is one of Nethers core features. The jumpers there want to help you out and make you feel welcome. Since the change of APA Management and a new Manifest system the DZ has got busier and faster. Dont let anyone tell you different! All DZ's have their bad days and yes Nethers does. The majority of the time however, it rocks, pure and simply.

This DZ has everything you could want good people, excellent managment on both the military and Civilian side, high quality load organising, Multiple aircraft formation bigways, good coaching and great events. What more could you want? Not only that but the bar is cheap and the parties have to be some of the best around.

Don't take my word for it check it out for yourself.

hi there world
i did my first tandem skydive at netheravon because i live fairly close - Amesbury

the skydive was incredible but the people that work there treated me very badly

i had to wait all day and was bossed around like a soldier

my drill sergeant as i thought of him made me very scared in the airplane and just made fun of me when i said i felt ill

if this is what skydivers are all like then i dont think i want any more of it

Having worked as a member of the junior staff at Nethers a few years ago I have seen how punters and staff are continualy let down through poor managment and a lack of "get up and go".

With a constant flow of staff members coming and going, there will allways be periods of inactivity at the centre, leading to a slow and disjointed operation.

Netheravon will allways have the best parties, just not the great parachute program that it likes to think it does!

Under private ownership I think the site would have great potential.

Im sure there are some very loyal die hard Nethers jumpers who really enjoy the whole Nethers scene. I however do not fall into that catagory.

A few years ago it seemed as if Nethers was on the boil! A super good summer and the right people with the right jobs were working there and everything was rosey! This was it seems a passing phaze, soon after the staff that ran nethers that year were posted somewhere else thigs began to crumble.Most DZ have there ups and downs but Nethers seems to engineer its own downs.
After staying with Nethers for aslong as our group could, enough was enough and we moved 50 Mile up the road.

Ill put the problems down as points. reading the other reveiws many of the points have allready been covered in some detail.

Poor location.
Big attitudes from the Guard services at the main gate.
Poor customer service.
favoritism (groups/individuals manifesting).
manic manifest.
too many token managers who seem to just sit around and try and turn Nethers into their own private, military funded club.
inefficent comunication between the manifest, ground control and the pilots.
lazyness from some staff. ( Not a generalisation)
poor organisation.
Super windy most of the time.

I think that about covers it?!

Its such a shame that Nethravon is torn between two masters. Im sure that place has loads of potential and would be a truely great place to jump under different managment.

Problems started as soon as I tryed to get in side the airfeild gates.( Nethers is a millitary dropzone ) I encountered bad, undiplomatic and pedantic attitudes from the airfeild police who seemed to enjoy making it hard for me to get through the front door!

Arriving at the airfeild andTrying to find the main offices alowed me to meet some of the most misreable dropzone staff Ive met in a long while.

Afterspending 2 hours, soking up the most negative environment imagineable and basicaly being neglected by the office staff, I decided that neathers is probably not the dropzone for me. Didn't even get the rig outta its bag. Shame. I can only sympathise with the local jumpers who have to endure such a slow and unmotivated parachute operation.

I think this is a shame really as it is one of the closer DZs and Looks like it could be a good place, but I for one am not going through half hour of aggrevation just getting on the camp, to sit and drink expensive tea.

It looks like I will be enduring the drive up north to jump in the future.

a couple of years ago(2003) nethers by one means or another got its act together and started to resemble an progressive dropzone!

but- the state of things now is somewhat different...

the managment is either absent of disintrested most of the time and the lower level staff have been given no motivation whatsover to help things turn around. (they cut all of the Staff incentives this year for them to contribute to productivity and the general feel of the center).

the location is probably the most ideal, for kite surfing in the UK (on top of a hill in the middle of a plain) ( Edward Sissor hand house, Ref)

they just cant get thier act together and frankly dont seem particularly concerned, i think its partly due to the confusing nature of the organisation ie... APA, JSPC, Pilots, and anyother Tom Dick or Harry all thinking that they have exclusive controll of the center.

despite recent efforts the manifest system is achaic and ineffiecent. They actively recruit and retain staff there that are totaly unsuited for the basic task of writing a manifest and communicazting with DZ control. If they cannot cope the window gets slammed in your face so they can have a little breather from the high stress environment of running a manifest!! Fair one!

its not a case of bad managment or leadership, its a clear cut case of NO managment or leadership

just because someone has made the right jestures, nudge nudge wink wink, doesnt neccesarily mean that they are capable of running a comercial operation(business backround, hmmmm....)

its almost bizare in the fatalistic view of some of the people(IMSHALA like) in the senior staff, if things dont turn effciciently its gods will not due to any action or inaction on thier part.

this all leads to apathy with the staff
dissillusioned jumpers going somewhere else I.e. enduring a drive up north to jump where people are actualy interested in skydiving.

if they could get thier act together then id be more than happy to comeback, but to be honest I dont think that;ll happen in my life time.

I did my training at Nethers, so could be considered as biased... I then went to some large US dropzones and was amazed at how professionally things could be run! I moved around the world a little for work, so hadn't been jumping in the UK for a couple of years. Now that I'm back, I thought I'd check out Nethers and Langar, both being dropzones with sensibly sized planes (Caravans) all year round.

I have to say, not only did I learn how well organised a dropzone can be run, but so did Nethers. Robin, who runs the show at week-ends, has invested in a computerised manifest system with screens around the DZ (so you don't need to bother the manifesters as much), wireless internet access from your own laptop (for those who have to post between jumps!) and soap in the Ladies (sorry - a bit of an in-joke), so the overall facilities (including hot showers and indoor packing area) are very good.

He has also arranged for load organising of all skill levels, with free camera slots for bigger groups, there is free-fly coaching, FS coaching (not just for your FS1), there is a canopy school and if you really want it, we have got a resident style coach if you want to learn more about the classics. Most importantaly it has a cheap bar and good bunkhouse (for those like me too lazy to put up a tent).

I found that there is less politics here than at some other DZs in the UK, mainly because a lot of the jobs are done by the military, so the rivalry for who does (or doesn't!) do the necessary things (re-fuelling planes) just gets sorted out behind the scenes.

Not all dropzones can be all things to all people, so if it's not for you, we don't mind and hope you are happy and safe somewhere else. If you do like it, we want to see you again and again to be able to watch you learn more about your chosen (or changed to) discipline and improve yourself the same way us regulars on the DZ do.

OK - so I'm a bit biased, this DZ being practically on my doorstep but I feel I have to stick up for it. As UK dropzones go, Nethers has alot going for it - huge landing area, excellent aircraft, great social scene and most importantly of all, fantastic people.

Since starting as APA sec this year, Robin's done great things organising events and activities - how many UK dropzones have Deland Majik, Icarus Team Extreme and the PD boys visiting for coaching this year? Things don't always go smoothly (yes there was a problem with the manifest system for 1 day but it's sorted now :-)), and where folks encounter problems or can see better ways of doing things then the staff are always open to a bit of constructive criticism.

The weather's not always the best but that's part and parcel of being in the UK - they can't do a whole lot about that and the guardroom is a cross we all have to bear, but everything else more than compensates for these …err…irritations!

As UK DZs go, Netheravon is undoubtedly one of the best.

The facilities are excellent - large indoor packing area, good canteen, cheap and fun bar, large bunkhouse and hot showers. The landing area is enormous!

The aircraft are well looked after with occasional novelty aircraft/extra aircraft being brought in for special events. Turnaround time between loads tends to be pretty quick.

Staff are friendly, helpful and professional and there is coaching available in pretty much all disciplines. There is weekend FS load organising from basic up to experienced level.

This is a great DZ with a friendly atmosphere where you can enjoy good skydives in good company and will always be made to feel welcome.

Did I mention that the parties rock?!

Nethers has always been referred to as an unfriendly DZ, and many people have said that it has a stiff military attitude, WRONG! In fact, I can truthfully say that Nethers is the only DZ in the UK where I have felt really welcome and comfortable. They have a great staff that are always willing to help and are always consistent and professional. Manifest is very good and last but not least they are also the cheapest DZ in the UK, not to mention that they also give you the best altitude in the UK. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

well i have to say, nice dropzone. we did have very sunnny weekends except one till 2 months. if you really want to jump, this is the place to go... even though if you are a student on static line, you might find your time very very boring.. if you get grounded for a .3 knot off limit. but keep faith and you might graduate after a couple of good weekends..
my full respect to the staff who is really dedicated to the sport and their members and striving year after year to bring even more to it.. when will we get a swimming pool??

sincerely...

Impossible to land off - the dz is massive!!! Great place to hang out - especially as we're talking about a military dz, open to us civvies from friday pm through the weekend. Services tea & dodgy bacon butties notwithstanding - excellent atmosphere (not a tandem factory as some of the civvie dzs) so manifesting is not a long laborious exercise. Come over sometime - might even get to jump with the Red Devils....