I just got back from my second visit to Ocaña, completing my AFF and getting most of my consols done this week, and I'm really impressed. Pros: This DZ is really friendly and well-organised. The training is slick and safety-oriented, and all instructors demonstrate shared responsibility for the students (AFF and beyond). There are two sets of students/instructors, the English-speakers (mostly British) and the Spanish - but most instructors are bilingual to various degrees. I am impressed by how the instructors and other staff all continue to show interest in you once you complete your AFF - all the instructors are happy to talk through consols, demonstrate further techniques, etc. The people who run the manifest are helpful at including a mix of people on the planes so even once you're a fun jumper you're not crowded out by tandem jumpers or AFF students (having two planes helps - one tends to be mostly used for tandems). There is a strong focus on safety; for example, while we were there last time, someone on a consol did something pretty stupid in the air - no harm done, luckily, but all the students got brought together immediately to be briefed again to learn from this, in a non-judgmental way. They're also very strict on things like consol jumpers being fully briefed and checked before boarding the plane, for example. The DZ benefits from the great weather of central Spain, and they use this plus their two aircraft (Pilatus Porters) to maximum advantage, with good organisation meaning they get many loads up each day. It's mid-November now, and I managed to get five consols in today, for example. There can be 25+ loads a day going up in the summer, other students tell me - they sent up something like 15 today, despite being on hold for high winds for an hour. Very efficient use of daylight! The airfield is shared between the skydivers, a gliding school and stunt pilots, with clear airspace boundaries for each. There are plenty of rigs available for hire - we have been there for a total of 13 days and only had to share a rig once and that was today, a Sunday, when it was really busy (although it is November). The packers are very slick and it's perfectly possible to get your rig packed quickly to go up on consecutive loads if you ask them nicely. The DZ is really good for students in terms of being a very large area of completely flat, soft fields with clear demarcation by roads and easy orientation from the sky. There are also great views all the way to Madrid visible under canopy, though I guess most DZs have nice views! In terms of facilities, the on-site cafe does drinks and a limited range of snacks (we took packed lunches) and the airfield buildings have a separate cafe too. There is fairly fast wifi all round the DZ buildings. There is decent student accommodation available pretty cheaply in the nearest town, with transfers to and from Madrid airport available plus daily pickups from the student accommodation. Cons: The local town, Ocaña, isn't exactly a centre of nightlife and the restaurant options aren't amazing but we worked out quite easily how to get by bus to Aranjuez, the next nearest big town, and there's a lot more there. On site recreation is quite limited (ping-pong table plus the cafe, and I gather there's a pool in the summer) but I guess you're there to jump. I would take a laptop or something for down-time, though (the wifi is pretty good) and I might take a frisbee next time... The toilet block is quite basic and I'm not aware of there being showers there. Overall: I really enjoyed my time at this DZ and fully intend to go back again in future. The team are friendly and inclusive. There are many loads every day thanks to the favourable local climate and the DZ being well-organised. The safety culture is evident here, and equipment is readily available for hire with an efficient re-packing service. Highly recommended!
