brinary01

As no one has made a review of Lillo in a while seems like a good time to do it. I think it is important to keep the reviews on this one current, because as with any poorly run organization turnover is high, and things tend the change quite a lot. What is more, most of the reviews here are from our Jr. brother and though valuable I think the opinion of someone who has a few more destinations under there belt is important.

Location: like most DZs this one is out there. It is in the middle of a desert in central Spain about and hour and a half from Madrid by car. Car is the only good way to go. Bus is possible but cumbersome when you are carrying all your gear. That said once you are there you are pretty much set there are some good staff that will help out with getting around.

Facilities: Though there is everything you may need, not much better than a well-established club. With that there is a good packing area, grass landing area if you have 100+ jumps and decent aircraft.

-Student and low number jumpers beware. Gear rental is expensive, the highest I have seen in fact and €25 a jump, and the student landing area can be pretty nasty in places.

-Take food with you unless you want to pay your first borne to the gypsies that run the bar.


Staff: There are some awesome folks working at this dropzone. Unfortunately this is the minority and there is a lot “Big fish” in this little pond. I have never seen student have such a hard time getting help, unless they are willing to pay a lot of money, and the mentality “you are old enough get out of the house” is used far to often with AFF Students.

People: I love all of the fun Jumpers at this DZ but they have their circle and just because you are a skydiver it is not enough. Expect a really strange vibe, nothing to worry about if you are going with a group of friends but if you are flying solo I recommend making your way to Skydive Spain in Sevilla, or Empuriabrava north of Barcalona, in fact I live in Madrid and that is what I do.

Summary if you are paying all the money to come to Spain for a skydiving holiday it is the same or less money to go to Empuriabrava, or Sevilla. Note on that more experienced jumpers may prefer Empuria in the summer, and check the event for Skydive Spain in the winter there is always something scheduled. And the do Skysaver days search the website. Less experienced jumpers may prefer Skydive Spain as they tend to have more friendly winds for the novice jumper.

Tandems beware!!! Many of the tandem instructors here do not have a current and proper flight physical as required by the equipment manufacturer and the USPA. I have even seen one go down and be carried away in an ambulance for kidney problems right before getting on a load with a passenger. Many of the Camera flyers are not very good or even do not meet the minimal requirements for flying video with tandems. This is your big moment do not accept less. Look at Skydive Spain, Empuria, or Skytime Castellon.

This review has been a long time in coming, as this was the first DZ away from my home DZ I visited I wanted to visit a couple more and develop a base line. Now that I have been to a couple of more DZs and gotten an Idea here it goes.
The first thing I want to mention about Skydive Utah is the folks jumping there. Skydive Utah is a pretty small operation, you want find a bar, restaurant or swimming pool, but you will find some very friendly skydivers, in fact being away from my home (and in UTAH!) for the 4th of July would have be quite boarding if it were not for the regulars at Skydive Utah.

As for facilities as I mentioned before it is lacking, but they have the most important stuff. Carpeted covered packing area, good mock up, enough of a gear store to cover the basic stuff you may want to buy at the DZ, and a good King Air. I did not rent gear because I have my own, but the rental gear I saw was pretty good for rental gear, including some FF Friendly stuff.

As for the tandem operation I ended up there initially because of carrying family and friends for tandems which as many DZs is the blue chip. First I want to describe the tandem progression at my home DZ as this is the measuring stick that I am using. At my Home DZ the tandem ground school covers lots of stuff that was in my first jump course including malfunctions, and how a ram air parachute works. And the TIs continue mentoring the student all the way to the ground. Students leave the DZ more knowledgeable about the sport weather they pursue an A license or not. Now I trust the TI’s here to the point that I would take family and friends here for tandems in the future. I don’t think there tandem brief covers enough though. They don’t cover malfunctions, which in my own humble opinion is quite important. Now is there anything a student can do about a malfunction? No but they should be aware of the potential risk as well as the likely hood that it may happen without having to pay for the first jump course.

That said the whole staff as well all the fun jumpers are very safety minded and I trust the lives of my friends and family with their Tandem and AFF instructors though none of them have continued the learning progression. Jack and Debbie are both very welcoming, and most of their staff is great. In fact there was only one staff member that rubbed me the wrong way, and Phil’s love for money over the love for the sport would probably not be nearly as annoying if it was not paired with his micro managing, sky god mentality. Wanting to make money for the DZ is ok for a DZ manager, but this guy has far too much ego, to mentor and lead the way a good DZ manager should he is the one thing that cost this DXZ the fifth star, but this one guy is not enough to keep me from returning to jump with the great folks who jump at this DZ. If you are in SLC check them out. Blue skies!