Restrictions


USPA membership Not Required
AADs Not Required
Hook turns Allowed

What it costs


AFF courses available at 380 GBP
Tandem jumps from 250 GBP
Jump tickets at 25 GBPto 12000ft
Video available at 150 GBP

Kent's only full time dropzone situated in Headcorn, Kent. Experienced skydivers, students and tandems always welcome. Weekday tandems boast a £20 discount (£230 total price)

Aircraft


Cessna Caravan, BN Islander

Facilities


Where we jump


Lashenden Headcorn
LAT: 51.156944
LNG: 0.650556

Contact Us


Headcorn Airfield, Headcorn, TN27 9HX, United Kingdom
01622 891 670
Website
E-mail

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BigWoz

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Ok so the first time I rocked up I was greeted by a girl on reception who was to be honest fairly nice. I was happy until the owner walked it and somehow all the morale in the room (including the staffs) was immediately sucked out, this set the tone for pretty much every visit since. The owner is probably the most arrogant, rude, and miserable person I've ever met. I really cannot see why anyone would return, especially as the prices are so stupidly high...... I think people only return because some of the staff there do just enough to sometimes make up for the managements incompetence and complete lack of customer service. Honestly if the owner had talked to me like I over heard her with others she'd have had a shot across the bows immediately, and unfortunately this attitude seems to have caught on with a couple of her staff. The cafe is crazy overpriced and to be honest an embarrassment, it also seeing pretty much zero customer service and effort.

The aircraft aren't anything special, but honestly aren't bad either, no real variation but hey they work so can't complain too much.

The manifest system is different, writing your name in pen on a board and then waiting to be added to a computer system (not too bad for me, but surely it would be easier to just check in at a manifest window?). The system that displays the manifest is only up in the cafe, and has no indication as to when your lift will be, you sort of just sit around checking the screen every 5 mins until you're on call.

A few times I've overheard a member of staff (don't recall his name) briefing up jumpers like they were kids, not professional and if he'd done the same with me he'd have soon regretted it, but not my business and rather than cause waves, I bit my tongue on that one. Judging by the looks he got, a few people won't be jumping there again.

The opening hours are stated but in my experience they are often late

I could go on and on as I've seen some really terrible attitudes and bad service flying around there but I best just sum it up....... Expensive for what it is (much cheaper and better places available), customer service the worst I've seen (besides a few staff - sorry to you guys about this), Owner is obnoxious and arrogant (lowers the mood of the entire place), overpriced dz, overpriced cafe, no morale and flat atmosphere, not punctual and late to open

On the plus side though, the wings bar next door is really good, cheap, nice ale, and run with a friendly service
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MattyJam

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I came here a few months ago for a charity Tandem. It was great! The training was professional and well explained. There was a very bossy woman which others appeared to have mentioned she seemed quite rude. Only one aircraft which had a 30 minute turn around. I got my call to get ready, put on my jumpsuit, harness etc then got told the weather was bad and waited about 5 hours for us to go up. Though there was only 2 weather updates in this time and some of the time the weather cleared up but still apparently not good enough. There was a bit of a sense of "they're only tandems" type attitude. Nice cafe though! My instructor was Clem, funny guy with some unique jokes. Let me control the parachute for a while which was fun, I didn't know it was allowed! I'm thinking of doing AFF here, the students who were doing it who I spoke to said it was brilliant and I watched a few students getting trained. Overall pretty good experience though have nothing to compare it to!

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wodybode

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I jumped here for two days whilst in the area as a low experience (135 jumps) jumper and found it a relaxed and friendly DZ. Paperwork checked and logged onto the manifest system followed by a DZ brief and kit check was done smoothly. A little bit of waiting around for slots but was made to feel welcome and was given help and advice when asked for. Bunkhouse facilities were good I thought and there are also plans to refurbish them. There is a large and easy PLA with an accuracy target and a swoop strip. Post jumping there is a pub on site too.

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Aarondouglass

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I just completed level 8 of the AFF course at headcorn. Woohoo! :) my brother also trained at headcorn and has now completed 270 jumps. He loved it at headcorn and it started him off on the career of a lifetime! I'd recommend it to anyone looking to train to skydive. There's a really good crowd of staff and fun jumpers. If you're going to headcorn to do a tandem skydive I have one thing to say. the guys are doing their best to get you up in the air, trust them to do their job and wait your turn. They want you to jump just as much as you do!! And... it is always, always worth the wait.

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lukejordan

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I've started the static line course at Headcorn, some jumps in now and loving it.
I was pretty nervous turning up for training, a group of people I didn't know and the imminent threat of being thrown out of a plane.
The training day was long, and a bit dull, and I left muttering "look,locate,cut-away,reserve,arch" but it was well organised and we had Clem as our instructor who made sure the cutaway drills had sunk in and we knew what to do when we were in the air.
Jump day had great weather, there was lots of waiting around still due to Heathrow, clouds, birds of some description etc.
Everyone was friendly and answered questions however you did get the impression that everyone there was very "cool" and all students/tandems were definitely not "cool", for anyone who has found the place to have bad customer service this is probably your problem. Be cooler. Apparently you are "Cool" once you've spent a minute having a six point 4 way with a midget.
Seriously though, as a way of getting into this sport Headcorn seems perfect, safety is clearly their main priority, kit always seems well packed and good condition and the reserve chutes work reassuringly well if needed!
I'm doing the static line course, I have to admit I will probably change to AFF course. Unless you are a secret skydiving ninja it will probably be the quickest cheapest route to A license.

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Skullface1

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Hi,

We have just had our first mayor experience with the headcorn skydiving club. We chose the static line parachute course. We are both very disappointed with how this place is run. We are very easy going people and we don't need 5 star service, just a fair and decent service. 

So where shall we begin.....

Firstly, arranging the training, booking, etc. took our money without any problems. When we tried to call to ask some questions, we got a moody lady, who was quite rude, abrupt, obnoxious and a bit patronising. It turns out this was Jane Hopkins the MD. (We've never jumped out of a plane before Jane, and spending over £500 for us to both do it, obviously we had a few simple questions. Rudeness was not needed!!)

We did our training, which we felt was very good. The next day went to do the jump. First names on the board. Arrived at 08:30 when they said to arrive. Waited til 09:30 before anyone even showed up!! Then waited all day, only to be told weather conditions where to bad to jump that day. Fair enough, british weather hey.

So we went back 2 weeks later, 1h30mins drive each way, 4 kids on board with us, my mum so that the kids could be watched while we went up and picnic food for all of us because the cafe there is completely overpriced, small meals, food isn't even decent. Just a rip off. Made it even worse that the 2 ladies behind the counter where just moody and had no customer services!!! So we finally arrived at 10:00am. Got told we were late so would have to wait for our revision training and that could be anytime in the day!!! Fair enough. Ended up waiting til around 4pm before we jumped. Funny that we couldn't do our revision training, which took all of 10 minutes, even though loads of staff where sat around chatting and doing loads of jumps thereselves!!! Staff never came over to let us know what was going on. We had to find them to ask what was going on. When we did, we felt like they were just annoyed by our questions and recieved obnoxious, patronising answers!!!

The vibe seems to be carried on from the top leaders of the centre down. Jane hopkins is not a very happy person. Didn't seem happy to help. No customer services at all!! Other staff seem to adapt the same abrupt attitude when she was around as well!! We felt that this creates and continues to create a dull vibe at the centre. We kept feeling like we where just an annoyance to the main staff.

The tannoy system that they use to let customers know what is going on, is very quiet and doesn't cover the whole of the skydiving areas. How are you meant to know what is going on if you can't hear it.

Finally the most positive things about this place are just a few of the instructors and some of the other skydivers who where there or on our course!! The four instructor that really played a positive part in our experience at headcorn where Del (good sense of humour, good bloke), Simon (new instructor, very good guy), Yanis (had a lot of good chats with him) and Peter (saw us out the plane and made us feel safe beforehand).

It's a shame that this place is run like this. It has some good potential, nice location, interesting history, but the way it is run, the prices, the attitude of the higher staff, the organisation and the moody vibe REALLY lets this place down. No need to keep people waiting this long or treating like this. A bit of politeness and patience would go a very long way at this place!!!

Finally, have to say that Del's jokes gave us a few good laughs.
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PearlP

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So we all head off in 3 cars to watch my Daughter do a tandem skydive for Help 4 Heroes. Arriving after my Daughter had been for her briefing , everyone waited in the overpriced canteen, the girls behind the counter need some customer service skills and they really need to reduce the prices. 7 hours & well over £100 ( spent in canteen on food for the children & drinks, 9 of us made the journey but only the children ate)we finally got to see the event. At no point did anyone give any information without us going to look for them. The tv boards could & should give better information & to be honest we were all ( including my Daughter) a little deflated by the time it all happened. I can honestly say that I would not recommend this venue, the management & canteen staff need to shape up & recognise that people who are doing this for charity have choices & will choose to go elsewhere. Having said that I would recommend the instructors who were marvellous & recognised how special it was for those taking part.
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execdetailing

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SHOCKING! RUBBISH!!Booked this in for the 6th August 2012, Waited ALL day, don't even try say first come first serve as I was the first person in your office, From my judgement the people whom purchase the £150 DVD got first priority! 4pm came and still waiting like a div. NO ONE came and spoke to us so me and the others waiting like lemons had to approach a member of staff and ask what was happening. Was told the weather was to bad to jump.Fair point as safety is paramount. So after spending a whole day with the family which included 2 kids under 5 spending money in the well over priced cafe I got the option to re book at the next available date. 24th November, Weather was bad so I called the centre at 08:00 no answer, Ok I'll wait till after 09:00 again no answer! left 3 messages for Jane the director/manager to call back. No response. Calling all this week and called numerous times today, yep you guessed it, No answer! Emailed, No answer. OK, these must be closed down? Called the Headcorn Areodrome who confirmed that they was in and that they are alive. So obviously ignoring my calls. Called Virgin who again tried to call them whilst I was on hold and yep, they to got no answer. Looks like once they have redeemed your voucher for £325.00 they don't give a.... Please don't waste your time and money on these lot. Not the first bad review either by the looks of things. Don't go down the same route guys. Stay well away!!!
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pugwash42

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Completely different experience to other review, in spite of the booking agent giving me the wrong information, and giving the skydive centre even less, the lady manager promised to sort it all out whilst we had our briefing, and she duly did and we jumped and had a great time. Thanks to all the staff and jumpers.

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chloegoodhew

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I brought a tandem jump for us both as a special birthday present for my husband.

After visiting the place once we were not able to jump because of the bad weather which was fair enough We were told we had 6 months to complete another one and that in the weekdays they are quiet so we would be able to phone up that day if the weather is nice to arrange to come down. All good so far.

Unfortunately ,the day after my father in law was diagnosed with cancer and later on passed away. Not being a priority of ours we didn't think to re schedule our jump until 5 months after. When we phoned up to book our preferred date (about 2 weeks later) we were told that they were full up and we would have to pay another £100 to jump after our 6 months were up.

I explain the situation to the manager, I asked her if she could be sympathetic to the situation and to imagine how someone might not prioritize arranging a sky jump just after there father had passed away, or even they would not even feel like doing a sky jump.

She replied " I did a sky dive 2 days after my father passed away, as that would have been what he wanted, you have had 5 months to re schedule". I was so shocked and hurt by this reply I didn't know what to say!

I also asked her about the misleading information that they are quiet in the weekdays and she said "yes we are in March". this was not the information we were given (she didn't care).
She was very un polite in explaining all of this and at no point did she apologise or try to understand, they way she dealt with me was unbelievable.

By reading the other reviews I don't know how the people here still have their jobs, they are losing customer and I would never go back or recommend as the MANAGER IS A DISGRACE AND EXTREMELY RUDE.
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Nevige

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Went to Headcorn as its my local DZ and been going to Spain to jump the last couple of months. I did not expect the welcome I got there it was great I got four jumps in on Saturday and could have done more and that was with a lot of cloudcover delaying jumps. Thanks to Chris for the DZ brief, julie for sorting my admin and Dell for packing for me. I will def be jumping at Headcorn again very friendly jumpers. Blue Skies

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jumper2020

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This is a really awful dropzone. I have been to a lot and it really is the worst.

Some of the staff are okay, but others are very unfriendly. They absolutely love being officious as well - just to show you who's boss.

One other bad aspect is the very long wait time. I commonly wait 2.5 or 3 hours for one jump. Very tedious.

Might as well drive a little while longer and go to a decent DZ.
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The-Kevster

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I completed my AFF at Headcorn last year and have been jumping every other weekend since. The site is well managed with great facilities including a new shower block and revamped accommodation. The regulars are friendly and always willing to help as is the staff.

I would highly recommend Headcorn to anyone who wants to learn to skydive, have fun with other experienced jumpers or visit while away from their local DZ.

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rocky42

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I went to buy an altimeter, popped into the office, had docs checked and introduced to the chief instructor, who showed me round and then found myself on a load - 'cos there was a slot'
I was about to leave when the tannoy said there was a slot on the next lift and although the rig I had hired was not packed, they let me use its identical twin - I had to go then due to family, but went back for more of the same the next day..
If you are near Kent give it a go, you may be pleasantly surprised.

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gnasher70

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I did my first jump here ages ago and have been back and forth on occasion just to see if it got any better. In the 17 yrs I have known the place its just got worse as the staff get more and more ancient and grumpy every year. They have no idea of customer care and I guess they think they don't need any as they charge what they like and the one off tandems who don't know until its too late keep rolling up back and keep them in business. If another DZ opened in the South East this place would fold overnight. I tried to talk a friend out of doing a tandem here and he went ahead and jumped. What should have been one of his most exciting and memorable days of his life was ruined by obnoxious, rude and unsympathetic inefficient staff. Please don't give these guys your well earned money. There are so many better DZ's around where you will be welcomed. Its worth the extra travel. If you have a good time here and for some weird reason enjoy the non existent social scene then you are very very much the exception. This place should be avoided at all costs. Oh check out the safety record too. Enough said. STAY AWAY!
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jumphog101

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Having been fleeced for membership, jump tickets, gear check etc I had to repeatedly ask for a DZ briefing, this was a major effort and quite honestly pointless- unless of course you like to listen to an ego talk about himself. Having jumped at a number of UK DZs I was suprised to be treated so badly. Although the weather seemed fine they were not prepared to put the plane up until more customers arrived, they never did, now I can see why. I sat in the cafe drinking nice coffee, the one up side of a day at Headcorn. The staff seemed more interested in packing reserve parachutes than running the operation, maybe they are paid so bad that they need to supplement their income, I just wished they had of told me this before I spent my money. What a waste of a day, the bathrooms were under construction, the whole place needs a major face lift including some new staff, struck me as a bunch of old no hopers with no idea of customer service. My advice is to get in your car and drive North, avoid this place at all costs, I heard from a couple of jumpers in the cafe that the place has the nickname Deadcorn, it really is dead. I threw my jump tickets in the trash on the way out and wont ever be returning. The owners should take their heads outta their ass's and go see what other DZs offer..Goddamn what a dump.
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coops316

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I started jumping at Headcorn after doing my AFF abroad, they were quite welcoming and quickly got my to my A licence as my AFF was uspa.
Has all the facilities to get jumping but a big criticism sadly is some of the staff attitude, rude and obnoxious. I get the impression I should be honoured to jump with them as opposed to being treated with respect as a paying customer. Majority of staff are friendly and helpful, its just a few bad apples that spoil it.
All that said, Headcorn isn't that bad, good equipment, manifest works well with a 10 min notice, canteen is ok but don't expect a gourmet meal! 2 planes (1 goes to 12k the other to 10k)Lots of air displays from aerodrome whilst your waiting. Good landing zone as well.

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damustang

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What a dump, if your not a tandem student don't bother and even they get treated like crap. Prepare to be barked at by the management even when you want to give them your money. The most depressing jump zone in the country, the staff thinks it great but they all seem to be old has beens. Can't get a packing lesson for love nor money unless you pay 30 quid. The facilities are awful, the canteen food is pure rubbish. There is no club atmosphere at all, most jumpers are complaining about the cost the wait and the lack of courtesy from the staff especially the management. Follow everyone else and jump at other uk dropzones where your custom is appreciated. what a dump.
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Live2Jump

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Headcorn charges the highest prices in the UK for one of the lowest altitudes but still wont put the plane up unless it is completely full. Some staff are friendly but that's the exception, most are rude and unapproachable. There are very few jumpers going there now leaving the place almost entirely tandems.

The Caravan jump plane is very squashed and expect to get shouted at by the tandem masters everytime. Although they are usually in the wrong spot causing the problems with fun jumpers being able to get to their seat belts.

Expect to often wait 3 hours for a lift and only get a 5 min call. So don't go anywhere.

On the positive side reasonable sized packing area, car park, and canteen. The canteen in over prized and the worst tasting food and drink I have come across on a dropzone. Staff there are robotic bit like a call-centre.

The dz is very close to a train station making it easy to get to.

Conclusion - Go elsewhere if you can. If you go expect rudeness and long waits with little indication of when you will jump.
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F22poplar

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Had it not be for the 25% great staff this place would only attract one time visitors, and after experiencing the wrath of management tongue, the shortness of instructors patience and contradictory practise I to would have been one of them if I simply didn’t love the sport so much.

The set up is lovely, lots of planes going up and down and showing off, sheep on the landing area and large picnic space.

Jumps and gear hire is average but don't dare ask for management for something, they assume you should know and bite your head off for asking.

Catering facilities are ok, the serving staff MUST be on minimum wage with their lack of sense of humour, however the bread pudding (homemade) is a nice touch.

My advice to anyone looking to jump regularly here is- get licensed (minimum A license) somewhere else (abroad where you jump loads) get your own gear or learn how to pack, then when you go to Headcorn you'll deal with management and certain instructors less, making your time here far more pleasurable.

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swoop2pin

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I've been jumping at Headcorn now for a couple of years since I started my AFF there.

They will quite happily keep frustrated students hanging on all day without any feedback as to why they cant jump (wind over 15knots etc) and bite students heads of for those that dare to ask.

Some of the staff are very nice and approachable but these are the exception and not the rule.
The general attitude is that everything they do is an absolute hassle and that jumpers should thank them for allowing them to take our money.

If you cant pack then steer clear of this place as if its got the plague.
There are never enough packers and you have no hope of learning to pack there as the packers they do have are already over stretched.

I once asked a senior member of staff if they had thought about running packing lessons on an evening as there were many who wanted to learn and they could probably make a decent amount of money on the side.
This was met by an aggressive "do you know how hard we work? how many hours a week do you work?"
I havn't mentioned anything since.

Most things are done in a half arsed manner.

They advertise themselves as the only full time drop zone in the south-east. I hope for their sake this stays the case. If another drop zone opened up anywhere near I think Headcorn would go out of business the next day.

I'm saving my pennies to go to Spain next time.

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followmeeee

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Having read some of the reviews I have to agree with the majority of the jumpers.Headcorn is World famous for being crap.It had a bad name in the 80s and nothing has changed even some of the staff.Basically you kiss arse there you will do well oh and pay out good money to do so..Please get in your car and go north as clubs there are so so much better.The south east needs another DZ Good luck Jumpers...
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head-umop

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Turned up at Headcorn, to be told they wouldn't let me jump, because I'd trained elsewhere. (Part way through student progression, Category 5 or 6 at the time).

What's the point of being a BPA club if you won't respect the abilities of instructors at other accredited clubs? But no: you want to jump at Headcorn, you learn at Headcorn. Preferably AFF.

When pressed, one member of staff admitted that this was for financial reasons. "We didn't get the money for your first jump course, so why should we have you doing progression here?"

Get a clue. People who learn to skydive while at university often find themselves at the wrong end of the country, all summer. We need to complete our training too!

They said "no deal" so I had to drive a hundred miles north, and train at Sibson instead - who made me very welcome.

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bellies

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  • 4


Vibe:
  • 5


Aircraft:
  • 4
I think this is the best DZ that I have been to the staff will allways help you. People will just start to talk to you.
The only down side is the showers but just drink some more and then they look ok.

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RandomLemming

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  • 4
Professional:
  • 4


Services:
  • 5


Location:
  • 5


Facilities:
  • 5


Vibe:
  • 3


Aircraft:
  • 5
I live in London, and Headcorn is actually the quickest dropzone for me to get to. In summer, this is a 5* dropzone all the way, going down to 4* for winter.

During Winter they operate a Beaver for most lifts and I just can't love the thing. I have no rational reason for not liking it, I just don't. Maybe I've been spoiled with the Turbolet at Headcorn and the Pac750XL at Hinton :)

It can get a little busy and the manifest seems to work on a fairness basis rather than first person to put their name on the board gets on the next lift. I think this is partly because the board is split into multiple columns for different things, but I could be talking rubbish on this one. This bothered me at first but after a few visits and watching people, it actually seems to be a good way to run things. Everyone gets on a fair amount of lifts and seems happy with their count at the end of the day.

Most of the staff are really great, and this is one of the things that I love about the place. They've dealt with me as an individual jumper, not as an A license jumper with X jumps. They do have a few hard and fast rules (like radio on all jumps below 50, and you must have an AAD if you're on an A license), but other than that they don't seem to have any arbitrary rules that don't make sense, unlike other places I've been to - they talk to me, work with me, evaluate where I am and seem to be interested in helping me progress. For some things, this means doing things earlier than at other dropzones, and for other things it means doing them later. But they're open and communicative all the way through as to what and why, and I get a lot out of that.

The pricing initially looks very expensive for a student / someone renting gear. However, when you look at the credit system, the costs are actually there to incentivise you to learn to pack and pack your own gear. They run packing courses fairly regularly on bad weather days, so it's not like you have to wait forever to learn either. The other costs that look expensive go down again when you move from your A to your B license. Again, this is to try and convince you to keep working on progressing I think (although the full face helmet privilege is more of an incentive for a blind guy like me :))

The crowd there can be a little standoffish, but I've always had positive experiences when I initiate conversation. I'm there to jump out of an airplane, talking to strangers isn't going to kill me ;) I've met some very cool people there and they've taught me almost as much as the staff.

Their training (packing, CH2, JM1, etc.) is really good. They also offer rigging services, and I've been happy with all the work they've done on my kit. While your gear is in for rigging, they have the best rental gear that I've used in the UK and out of everywhere I've jumped in the world so far, their gear is second only to Lodi.

In closing (yeah, yeah, finally, I know), come to Headcorn and have a blast. Arrive with an open mind and be prepared to chat to random people for no good reason and you'll probably have a great time.

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