New UK Skydiver - need some help and advice

[johnnycab 0]

Hello All,

I have not made my first jump yet. However, I am looking to do it within the next month or so. I have been wanting to skydive, forever since I can remember - so, I am pretty sure I will be hooked!

My younger brother has already done a jump at Headcorn in the UK. But, doing a search on this forum regarding this DZ - brings up a ton of negative posts. I want my first experience to be a good and enjoyable one - where I am given good advice to help me become a responsible skydiver. Where else in the UK is good for a new skydiver? Also, I cannot swim - would that have any bearing on me jumping at all or at some DZ's?

I would greatly appreciate any help, advice or pointers you can give me.

Thanks

[popsjumper 2]

I can't address your UK DZ questions but I can say that some DZs will require water training for certain jumps that you may want to do later in your career.

It would be a really good idea to learn to swim. It's really not all that difficult and it's a life-saving skill.

Good luck in your quest.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[Merkur 1]

Two hints for now:

1) update your profile, as a lot of people won't answer to anonymous requests

2) Rewrite - if still possible - your headline. Something like "UK-skydiver needs help" might attract the right people to answer your questions.

M.

vSCR No.94
Don't dream your life - live your dream!

[BannanaGirl 0]

Fill in your profile so we can see where you live and then guage which DZ would be most practical for you geographically.

I guess you must be somewhere in the southeast seeing as you mention Headcorn.

There are many DZ's around and all of them will have their pro's and con's. As far as it will be for you as student the standards of training in this country are first rate no matter where you go from my understanding.

You are picking a good time of year too to start training which is possibly one of the negatives of UK skydiving (weather and mainly winds with students). But another option would be looking into going abroad to do your course (although if going abroad AFF is all you should consider and not RAPS).

With going abroad you can focus on what it is that you want to do (skydiving) and forget about the humdrum of everyday life, and chances are you will have cracking weather especially in Spain. You could come back fully qualified with consols under your belt within a week!

Have you done a tandem yet? If you are looking at AFF you may think about a tandem to experience freefall first. It would also be a good way of integrating yourself into a DZ and talking to the actual jumpers there before you book up a course.

Good luck anyway with your task ahead and be prepared for the adventure of a lifetime!!!

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[pincheck 0]

As Andy said fill in your profile or as much as you can.

I find you have to make up your own mind about dz as everyone has differant perspectives off what they like and places changeover time so what was written may be out of date

I am sure your experiance will be good where ever you go here is a link to the Bpa website map showing locations for dropzones in the UK http://www.bpa.org.uk/dropzone/dzone.htm just clickthe red dot to find information. you can go along to headcorn as a spectator to watch others jump and it may give you a idea of what its like
I would second learn to swim but unless you are jumping onto a beach or demo jump, i don't think there is a requirement for water training. Some dropzones on the coastmay have some local restrictions on who can jump though so check first.

hope this helps you out

Billy-Sonic Haggis Flickr-Fun

[TrickyDicky 0]

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I can't address your UK DZ questions but I can say that some DZs will require water training for certain jumps that you may want to do later in your career.

It would be a really good idea to learn to swim. It's really not all that difficult and it's a life-saving skill.

Good luck in your quest.

This is not an issue at UK DZs. there is no requirement for water landing training at any DZ, or for any issuing of licences. The only time you might need it is for a water jump, that generally only happen on displays anyway.

Afaik, the only DZs with water safety issues are Jersey (land on the beach) or Cornwall (as the DZ is on a cliff next to the sea) but neither of them train students other than tandems anyway.

As for friendlyness of DZs go, Ive been to a few and I think they have all had students come through fine. Its more down to how you get on with the people there. I think the Headcorn reviews are old, and I know someone that jumps there normaally and she said its not as bad as it used to be (or used to be perceived).

UK Skydiver for all your UK skydiving needs.

[VampireGirl 0]

You may or may not live/work in London, but either way you may find out lots of info if you get in touch with http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/londonskydivers/messages

xx

Sarah

www.sneale-create.com

[johnnycab 0]

Thank you for your advice and words of encouragement - I really appreciate it.

I have updated my profile, and amended the title of the thread.

I hear what you are saying with regards to swimming - it is one skill, I know I have to acquire. However, at present skydiving definitely takes a preference, as I cannot delay it any longer. I feel that if I do not do it now, I will probably never do it! I can always learn to swim later in the year when the weather gets worse... ;--)

As my brother has been to Headcorn and done a static line jump - I am leaning towards the same. He had a pretty good experience there - so I might give them a shot and build my confidence.

[johnnycab 0]

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I can't address your UK DZ questions but I can say that some DZs will require water training for certain jumps that you may want to do later in your career.

It would be a really good idea to learn to swim. It's really not all that difficult and it's a life-saving skill.

Good luck in your quest.

This is not an issue at UK DZs. there is no requirement for water landing training at any DZ, or for any issuing of licences. The only time you might need it is for a water jump, that generally only happen on displays anyway.

Afaik, the only DZs with water safety issues are Jersey (land on the beach) or Cornwall (as the DZ is on a cliff next to the sea) but neither of them train students other than tandems anyway.

As for friendlyness of DZs go, Ive been to a few and I think they have all had students come through fine. Its more down to how you get on with the people there. I think the Headcorn reviews are old, and I know someone that jumps there normaally and she said its not as bad as it used to be (or used to be perceived).

TrickyDicky, Many Thanks for the above info - it is music to my ears :---)

[za_skydiver 0]

I jump at Skydive Weston (10 minutes north of Oxford), so im going to say come jump there, cause its the dz i go to :) The people are friendly, and there are also students there in various stages of progression.

Most dz will welcome students, and will look after you.

If you got the cash, do AFF, it works out to about the same as static line progression, but with static line the cost is spread over a longer period, and obviously takes a lot longer.

But wherever you go to to start skydiving have fun!

Blue skies

Some dream of flying, i live the dream...

[Joellercoaster 6]

Firstly, don't believe everything you read.

As a new skydiver, you aren't going to get sucked into the politics of various DZs and whatnot for a while. Treasure this feeling

Specifically regarding Headcorn and the negative press it gets... I can only tell you how I was treated there on the one time I went out that way (two days). It was great. Probably a slightly older crowd than some other places and it had its fair share of "characters", but basically it's a medium-sized DZ, and I honestly had a great time there. Students tend to get treated well most places anyway.

All DZs over a certain size have their cliquey element. It's really not that big a deal, and no worse at HPC than anywhere else as far as I could see. They have a Let. The Kit Store is great. Oh, and their bar is very nice
[edit: I don't jump at Headcorn regularly because it's a pain for me to get to. There are a zillion DZs in the UK though - where exactly do you live?]

--
"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?

[johnnycab 0]

I hope that Headcorn is good, as I might start there to begin with. It is also a pain for me to get to, from South West London. It might be easier for me to get to Oxford as za_skydiver recommends - which I probably will after my first few jumps.

I do not want to get sucked into politics of a place - it might kill the experience. I want to stay cool and just dive.

IIRC - my brother told me it costs around £250 for the first training session and the jump, thereafter the jumps are priced at £35. However, I might be wrong, I do not know the costs associated with an AFF - if it isn't considerably more - I will definitely consider it.

[jakee 1,280]

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IIRC - my brother told me it costs around £250 for the first training session and the jump, thereafter the jumps are priced at £35.

£250 would be pretty high for a RAPS first jump course. You should be looking at around £170 for that.

It is possible that a tandem first jump costs £250, but then you'd still have to pay for the RAPS course as well before getting the £35 jumps.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[Katherine 0]

Yeah, like jakee says, £250 is a bit high for a standard RAPS fjc and 1 jump. AFF is normally arround £1250 ish for 8 levels, but the websites of the DZs you are looking at can give you the exact amount.

Leeds University Skydiving Club
www.skydiveleeds.co.uk

[skytash 0]

from the south-west of London it's also worth looking into Netheravon. When I used to live in East London it would take me 1.5 hours to get to Nethers - 45 mins through London and 45 mins from the top of the M3 (and yes, I tended to be breaking the speedlimits ).

But as everyone else has said, it really is up to you, the different DZs in the South have different flavours and what some people love about a place is what turns others off!

tash

Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

[johnnycab 0]

Do people generally drive upto the DZ or catch a train/bus and hang around after a jump(s) to share stories over a pint or two?

I ask because I want to be able to share my experience. Although I have not started yet, I usually don't talk about my intention of joining this wonderful sport with my friends/colleagues, as they will never understand and will only try to tell me how dangerous it is and the number of people who die blah blah blah...

[jakee 1,280]

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Do people generally drive upto the DZ or catch a train/bus and hang around after a jump(s) to share stories over a pint or two?

Yeah definitely. At Netheravon there are usually some people in the bar on friday night and lots on saturday. Free bunkhouse and tenting area for staying the whole weekend too.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[simon_uk 0]

i agree with skytash, you should consider Netheravon, its fairly easy to get from london, just down the M3.

at Netheravon quite a few people stay for the whole weekend and sometimes (well quite often) on the sat night there is a party for one reason or another, if there isnt a party people still stay and chill out in the bar. most people drive to Nethers but you can get there by public transport it just takes longer.

you should come along to the london skydivers meet, it’s a good chance to meet other skydivers from around london and you might find someone who lives near you who could be able to give you a lift to a DZ.

University of Portsmouth Skydive Club

[Inthebuff 0]

Get your head down and earn some money.
Get a flight to Spain for less than £100.
The weathers more or less guaranteed til about mid October.
AFF Levels 1 to 8 will cost about a grand (£ ),maybe less if you shop around.Courses tend to be cheaper in the week.

Well worth it.
In my experience most students ( including myself ) usually pass their AFF in a couple of days, then you do the business on your own.
All very professional.

Not knocking UK dropzones, just if you really want to do it and you can afford it, Spains something you might want to consider.

Best £1000 I ever spent.

***********************************
Fly Like Zie Eagle, Not Like Zie Chicken !
Good advice from an instructor I know.

[wonder2006 0]

Do yourself a favour, take a week off work, and go and do it in Spain. Not only is it cheaper, but you have much better weather.

Only thing about Spain is that the majority of DZ's there only do AFF. If you can afford it, go for it!

You can do your AFF and all consols there easily in a week, where as I know guys out in the UK who have taken months due to the weather, or not taking time out to do it!

[Stumpy 256]

I agree.
Go to Spain - if you want i can give you contact details for some AFFI's out there who are really good (and english so they understand the BPA requirements) pm me if that would help.

Never try to eat more than you can lift

[johnnycab 0]

I think AFF will suit my personality, and the experience it provides is what I am after too. However, money is too short to mention at present - normally I would not even hesitate!

Nevertheless, I will most probably still go for AFF and judging by all your comments here, I might end up in Spain after I have entered at least 1 jump in my profile.

Also, a couple of years ago I was quite confident and would have got up in the morning, and headed to an Airfield without a thought! I missed that boat and at present, I just need a tiny bit of hand holding to get my first jump out of the way, and home seems more comfortable. Although, I am not frightened - the butterflies are killing me, and I haven't even made it to a DZ yet!

[yoink 321]

While learning abroad is an option, the surity you get in the UK is jumping and training with BPA qualified instructors to BPA standards.

Recently I heard horror stories of a jumper coming back from an AFF course abroad, 30-odd jumps and a signed-off A-license in his logbook. It turns out he couldn't even fall stable, let alone deploy in that position... It was a 'Pay your money, do x number of jumps and get signed off...' type of course, simply because the DZ offered a 'qualify or get a refund' advert. Really dangerous.

If you do go abroad, try and do some research into the instruction you'll get and who'll be giving it.

There are benefits to both the RAPS and AFF systems - choose whichever you feel most comfortable with.

[spanky39154 0]

Just bear in mind that you need to get your aff done by a BPA instructor out there otherwise you may not necessary qualify for your A-licience when you return to the UK, requirements changed earlier in the year. Also need to cover CH1 (canopy control stuff).

I have known a couple of ppl who went out this year came back with everthing bar CCI signature and had to ask UK CCI's to sign them off.

My 2 cents take the time and do it in the UK you wont qualify as quick but you'll learn far more just kicking about the DZ especially on Bad weather days, makes for a safer skydiver / more aware skydiver when qualified.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large Groups!!

[damion75 0]

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My 2 cents take the time and do it in the UK you wont qualify as quick but you'll learn far more just kicking about the DZ especially on Bad weather days, makes for a safer skydiver / more aware skydiver when qualified.

I wouldn't be too negative about going over to Spain or the US to get qualified, but make sure before you go that you know what you are getting.

There is at least one student training organisation that advertises 'We can teach you AFF, we have BPA qualified instructors' - which is a true statement because they have BPA qualified RAPS instructors who are USPA qualified AFF instructors. They are not lying but you may not be getting what you thought you were.

If you want to be sure of getting a BPA qual AFFI, ask for that exact thing in writing before you spend any cash.

***************

Not one shred of evidence supports the theory that life is serious - look at the platypus.