james88

I have a Sabre 2 170 and with my body weight it's quite lightly loaded (0.8 ish). This has proven to be a great canopy for myself (a beginner) who has now donw around 45 jumps on it. It's my first canopy and have only jumped student gear before, apart from one jump on a Spectre 170 (which was also a good ride). Having just completed a canopy control course with Brian Vacher - I now prefer to open really high 5,000ft as I am now learning to FLY it as opposed to using it just to get down to the ground safely. Performance design canopies rock!

We found ourselves in the South near Oxford and needed to jump. As Weston-on-the-Green was closer we went there first and 15 minutes later or so were on our way North for 30 mins 'ish to Hinton (see review for Weston). Yep, Hinton is the right vibe for me. Very friendly, great for families to let their kids have fun, no attitude, everything that a Skydiver looks for in a DZ. I usually jump at Cark and Hinton now also has a PAC XL750 which is a beauty of a plane (2nd one in the country). Hinton has a vibe very similar to Cark and both are 10/10. Personally, for me Skydiving is about the people on the DZ and the jumping and Hinton is great. I was soon to be offered a 2-way to spice up my first jump there which would have otherwise been a solo (cheers Gordon). If you're near Oxford, go there! If you're in the North - Go to Cark! The nearby Weston-on-the-Green isn't a stitch on Hinton where skydivers and non-skydivers will have a fun, friendly day out. Thankyou for Geoff(Jeff?), Dorian and 'Emmo' for making me feel so welcome. I'll be back.

Unfortunately I wasn't too impressed with this DZ. For me, the enjoyment of skydiving is not just about jumping, its just as much about the vibe and how welcoming the place feels. Having visited around 5 DZs in the UK now, I found Weston to be the most unfriendly welcome by far. I arrived and was greated by someone who seemed 'put out' by the fact that I'd like to jump there. I was then directed to find someone who was tall, stocky and with short hair to check in with which on a RAF based setup didn't really narrow down who I was looking for. Cutting a short story even shorter, we had a cup of tea and left 15 minutes later for Hinton where we had a fantastic day. The best thing about this drop zone was that my Nephew (2yrs old) enjoyed watching the gliders and we had a good cup of tea. We'll be going to Hinton from now on should we be in the area.

I came to Z-Hills over the Boogie Week and had a week to remember. I arrived on Monday and 7 days later left with my AFF Cat 8 (& A license) having done 5 jumps on my own gear and $140 down from buying beer. Great week and weather. All the staff were fun and friendly. I was picked up a few times by the Skydive wagon due to off landings in nearby fields (nice touch!) and enjoyed many a Corona with lime after sunset by the fire which seemed to have an endless supply of logs. On site there are packers in Nylon City ready to do outstanding pack jobs for $6, 22/22 soft and on heading openings - ya beauty... not to mention The Sunshine Factory - a cool shop for all Skydiving needs - great Staff (hi to Dave Ruffell :-) and Co.). All in all, if you want a chilled out week and like buying people beers, Z-Hills is great. I'll be going next year for more jumps, fun & Corona.

I had a fantastic day at Cark a few months ago for my first tandem jump. I jumped with Brian Shaw who was very reassuring and friendly, the jump was filmed and photographed by Gary Turner who did an amazing job. The whole day was simply amazing. Very friendly staff (Stuart & Co.) and jumpers. I have since done a few static line jumps there, another great day out. Thank you very much to Steve Nolan for such thorough instruction on this. I look forward to more jumps there once I have completed my AFF in Florida. Cark is a great DZ.