Skydiving in UK..any good?

[Olmed 0]

Or is the weather in general too bad..?

[freeatlast 0]

Depends on the time of year - obviously the weather plays a part but there are several DZ's and some cool jumpships.

These include Grand Caravan's, Dorniers, PAC 750XL, BEECH 90 and a Twin Otter!!

Plus with wind tunnels number four and five in the pipeline it's better than ever

[Olmed 0]

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Depends on the time of year - obviously the weather plays a part but there are several DZ's and some cool jumpships.

These include Grand Caravan's, Dorniers, PAC 750XL, BEECH 90 and a Twin Otter!!

Plus with wind tunnels number four and five in the pipeline it's better than ever

Hei, thanks for the reply..
So I guess getting a minimum of 100 jumps per year is no problem..

[Remster 24]

The weather can really suck.

The 1st year we were there, we had a magnificent summer, and were wondering why people bitch so much about british weather.

The 2nd and 3rd, we didnt have a summer lol

100 jump should be achievable. BUT, considering flights from the UK to Southern Europe are pretty cheap, and that the jumps there are somewhat cheaper (not much tho) lost of brits do spend quite a bit of time in Empuria and other DZs down there.

Also, if you aren't from Europe, be ready for expensive jump tickets (thos Canadian tickets arent cheap either).

Finally, if the weather sucks, take the opportunity to visit Europe as a tourist.

Remster

[llloyd 0]

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...and that the jumps there are somewhat cheaper (not much tho) lost of brits do spend quite a bit of time in Empuria....

Not any more. With the current £-€ exchange rates, jump tickets in Empuria are dearer than the four UK DZ's I jump at...


...better weather though, I'll give you that

[demoknite 0]

Not sure if we can put websites on here but ukskydiver dot co dot uk has some good info. If you go to the east of england, they usually have better weather than the rest of the country. I dont think the weather is as bad as the rumor mill would have it. The summers are glorious as are the springs and autumns.
None of the DZs will have the capacity of a Perris or Eloy (who does?) and most are very tandem oriented. For example, if you have one rig and pack yourself, you might get 3 to four lifts a day. Sometimes more, most of the time less. Mostly due to tandems, and the "cuppa tea" syndrome that is pervasive at many places.
There is a little issue called FS1 but I wont even get into that. Some of the nicest, friendliest people you will jump with are from the UK.

[freeatlast 0]

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None of the DZs will have the capacity of a Perris or Eloy (who does?) and most are very tandem oriented. For example, if you have one rig and pack yourself, you might get 3 to four lifts a day. Sometimes more, most of the time less.

Absolutely - no UK dz is in the same league for lift capacity per day except possibly Hibaldstow with it's 5 Dorniers (although I doubt that they generally run all 5 at the same time usually)...

3-4 lifts per day would seem a fair average although as stated it's definitely possible to do more at some UK dropzones but tandems etc do have an impact.

Also there are some Boogies where you get the opportunity to crack out more jumps if you want to because of a higher than normal lift capacity and more people to fill the plane...

[mr2mk1g 10]

You can get the jumps in if you want. We don't necessarily have quite the same rules on weather as the US either so broken cloud which might shut operations down in the US can can be a good jumping day over here.

[Joellercoaster 6]

As people have said, the weather is not awesome (although 100 jumps a year without going overseas is not unusual).

However, there is a lot else that goes into skydiving than just weather... I could live in Australia, but I choose to live in the UK. The skydiving I can do here has a lot to do with it.

(Also, three wind tunnels with a couple more on the way helps, as does having Spain a short plane ride away.)

--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

[Linas120 0]

I moved from Madrid to London last summer due to work reasons. I was surprised, that as a weekend jumper, I was making roughly the same amount of jumps in UK, as I did in Spain. My last jump of the season in 2011 was in mid December and first jump of this year was mid January. I don't think this is too bad.As usual, I'm looking forward to 150-200 jumps this year.

[Tatetatetate 0]

Contrary view ALERT

In a microcosm the UK is a mildly OK place to jump (and I mean Hibaldstow nowhere else). IF you can put up with some of the stuff which goes on....

I can't put up with the things which go on, and I'm outspoken about it. Which made me a total pariah. I'm quite sure many people on here will fill you in on this. But alas I don't care since I don't jump in the UK, not that I can jump in the UK anyway!

But in a wider view of the whole skydive community, like Europe and the USA. Even holy fuck how much is it for a jump ticket, you're kidding me right? Japan.

Then the UK is not a very nice place to jump.

[bluetwo 0]

Maybe after the olympics?

_______________________________________

[freeflydamo 0]

Quote

Contrary view ALERT

In a microcosm the UK is a mildly OK place to jump (and I mean Hibaldstow nowhere else). IF you can put up with some of the stuff which goes on....

I can't put up with the things which go on, and I'm outspoken about it. Which made me a total pariah. I'm quite sure many people on here will fill you in on this. But alas I don't care since I don't jump in the UK, not that I can jump in the UK anyway!

But in a wider view of the whole skydive community, like Europe and the USA. Even holy fuck how much is it for a jump ticket, you're kidding me right? Japan.

Then the UK is not a very nice place to jump.

Of course, there's always going to be a contrary view I've experienced pretty near half of the DZ's in the UK, and found all of them friendly and sociable - albeit to varying degrees! You make what you want of skydiving in the UK, but as the saying goes "If you're not on the DZ - you're not jumping". Hence, I spend a lot of time on the DZ and I manage to get in a good amount of jumps per year.

The Jump Shop

Simply the Best Parachute Equipment

[cpoxon 0]

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not that I can jump in the UK anyway!

Not true.

Skydiving Fatalities - Cease not to learn 'til thou cease to live

[Tatetatetate 0]

You don't count! Your business is based at the DZ. Thats like Bill D at Lodi saying he's always at there.

[freekflyguy 0]

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Contrary view ALERT

In a microcosm the UK is a mildly OK place to jump (and I mean Hibaldstow nowhere else). IF you can put up with some of the stuff which goes on....

I can't put up with the things which go on, and I'm outspoken about it. Which made me a total pariah. I'm quite sure many people on here will fill you in on this. But alas I don't care since I don't jump in the UK, not that I can jump in the UK anyway!

But in a wider view of the whole skydive community, like Europe and the USA. Even holy fuck how much is it for a jump ticket, you're kidding me right? Japan.

Then the UK is not a very nice place to jump.

Leon, do you get some perverse pleasure out of making yourself out to be "a total pariah" when the reality of it is that very few people know who you are?

You had a bad experience at one DZ in the UK, which you have been very vocal about, but other than the fact that you made an arse of yourself on UKSkydiver no one really cares.

OK so you may not be welcome at that DZ, but you were certainly welcome at my DZ, I know that because it was me that made you welcome.

As a CCI I sit on STC every two months with all the other CCI's from UK DZ's, as a member of the BPA Council last year I was at every Council meeting and at both STC and Council I recall the subject of you not being allowed to jump in the UK cropping up a total of ZERO times.

Grow up, stop giving UK DZ's and skydiving in the UK a bad rep and get on with enjoying it.

The only person stopping you jumping in the UK is you.

It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.

[freekflyguy 0]

Olmed,

Jumping in the UK can be fantastic, but it can also be dire, largely based on the weather and the DZ you go to.

There is a pretty good choice from large DZ's with multiple fast turbines Langar/Dunkeswell/Hibaldstow, to tiny DZ's running small piston aircraft Tilstock (my DZ)/Bridlington/Cornwall with all and sundry inbetween.

Customer service may be different at some DZ's in the UK compared to what you may be used to if you have jumped at Empuria or in the USA but generally speaking skydivers are skydivers and you will have a good time at most DZ's.

The weather does play its part, but it isn't as bad as people make out, I think we had 11 days where we didn't fly due to weather at Tilstock last year and we only open Friday and Saturday.

Try it, you may like it ;-)

It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.

[freeflydamo 0]

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You don't count! Your business is based at the DZ. Thats like Bill D at Lodi saying he's always at there.

Surely if I am based on a DZ that qualifies me to speak about my experience at whichever DZ that might be, and at the very least I can report what the weather has been like??!!

It's a fact that being on the DZ in the UK is hit-and-miss regarding the weather. However, in my opinion, we get a lot done considering some of the challenging weather conditions that we sometimes face!

Again, in my experience, I've spent many hours on the DZ waitng to jump when the weather hasn't been great, and I have to say that the vast majority of those hours were spent in the company of good friends and colleagues. Then, when the weather was good, which was pretty often, we jumped our asses off!!

It's what you make of it.

The Jump Shop

Simply the Best Parachute Equipment

[Joellercoaster 6]

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It's what you make of it.

*DING*

--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

[Tatetatetate 0]

I don't need to give it a bad rep. Unless you think I've got 2000+ fake user IDs. An awful lot of DZ.com people seem to be in general agreement.

I simply choose not to jump in the UK.

I said it once and I'll say it again. I don't like the UK scene for a number of reasons.

I know I cannot change it.

So I do the next sane thing and take flights out to places I consider better.

You said it yourself on the retention thread. There is a sharp relief on those who have experience of jumping overseas and those who jump in the UK. I see a chasm.

I mean as an indicator, look at the UKS retention thread. You've been group wanking over that for 7 months.

What has changed?

I know and you know that if I were ever to return I the stuff I do whatever that happens to be would not be allowed.

And I would again have to look for non existent coaches.

I mean FFS Alex. Hib has a lack of them.... your DZ may offer one slot coach jumps but a lot of people are....... well lets say they won't complain to your face about it.