18 Jan 09 Skydiving tips from a skydiving noob
I’ve found a new passion lately and no Scott, this doesn’t involve video games, Mac mods, or poker. Skydiving has caught my fancy ever since I saw my college buddy’s home-made video of him (along with some friends) taking a dive in California. However it took me around 5 years to actually convince myself to go try it. It’s not because I haven’t had the balls to do it years back, it’s just that work along with my other personal responsibilities have been pushing these plans further and further down my list of priorities. It’s not until some months ago when a coworker went asking around for people willing to join him in his sky diving trip did I get an actual opportunity to do it. To cut the long story short, I opted to join my officemate Matt and some of his buddies from London to a skydiving trip, and the rest is history.
Ever since then I’ve made around 10 or so jumps and each one was more exciting than the last. Despite the hoopla around skydiving being dangerous and all, I have yet to actually witness anything outside “fun”. Of course it may be because I’m still new to this sport but as it stands, I can’t see how you could get yourself in trouble AS LONG as you follow the safety SOPs. Basically there are three things you should do before you actually jump: 1. Check if your gear’s all set up; 2. Have your jump partner check it again for you, and; 3. Give it one final check.
There are various things to consider first when planning for a skydiving trip. Of course you’ve got to hook yourself up with a seasoned sky diver so you could learn all about its do’s and don’ts. After that make sure you have the best (not necessarily most expensive) skydiving gear. Common sense also dictates that you shouldn’t be under alcohol/substance influence on the day of the jump. Finally, just to avoid getting overwhelmed by the sheer adrenaline rush of plunging towards Earth on near soundspeed, it’s advisable to visit wind tunnels. Wind tunnels offer an awesome opportunity to rapidly advance your skydiving skills and are a great environment in which to learn.
Not all these preparations would rid you of that heart-gripping fear the moment you step near the plane’s door to dive though. It’s a frightening (and sometimes vomit-inducing) sensation that’s guaranteed to knock you feeling cold and dizzy. The key to overcoming this is to NOT try to overcome it. Really, don’t think about jumping, just jump. The more you think about how you should jump the higher the probablity of you chickening out. It’s best to just let adrenaline take over and enjoy the ride. Here’s a guarantee though - the more fightenened you are before you dive, the wilder and more exhilarating the sky diving experience will be!
14 Dec 08 Skydiving is the new black
I’m not what you could call athletic and my sense of adventurism has never taken me any place outside Europe. I also have never been a fan of extreme sports. However all my aversions against adventurism and adrenaline overdose-inducing activities vanished when I got a whiff of skydiving. Yeap, the one guy who’s always steered clear off danger has gone nuts over an activity that dare challenge the concept of “security and safety”.
There’s a big misconception about extreme sports though. I’ve been a guilty of this myself when I used to regard bungee jumpers, sky divers, etc. as irresponsible people who have no regard for their life and the lives of people who care for them. It turns out I couldn’t get any more wrong. Various safety measures have been made over time making these sports not any more dangerous than, say, driving to and from work. Skydiving for example, has seen much less accidents than universally considered safer sports such as basketball, ice skating, and (facepalm!) boxing.
A bout with skydiving exposed me to an adrenaline rush I’ve never felt before. The feeling of the wind rushing through your body, the strenght of gravity pulling you towards land, the majectic sight of Earth’s surface from thousands of feet above - these all add up to quite a phenomenal experience. I can’t even begin to describe the intense excitement once I dove from the plane. It’s an experience that no string of words can give justice, one has to try it to fully appreciate it. Now excuse me while I live out my current more “dangerous” and loads more exciting life!
04 Oct 08 North London Parachute Centre
North london parachute centre ( NLPC ) is based in a hard to access air field in March - Cambridge, not in London as the name would suggest. Our overall review of this centre is a poor 1 star.
They advertise to offer three different experiences for beginners.
Tandem skydive - This is basically where a newbie or student skydiver is connected to an expert who takes control of the jump and is generally considered one of the safest ways to get into the sport.
Static line square parachute - This is a solo jump where you will undergo a minimum amount of training and then jump alone with a large and generally stable square parachute.
Accelerated freefall courses - If you’re looking to become a independent and capable skydiver then this is the ideal course (in principle). You will be taught extremely quickly to be a competent skydiver although comments on the internet about the north London parachute centre tend to suggest that they’re much more interested in bulk high priced tandem dives and don’t nesseacarily dedicate the time they should to these courses.
The manager of the parachute centre is Martin Crossley. They use an airbus and take up approx 8 people at a time.
Outside reviews of the North London Parachute Centre:
…I’m truly fed up with the north London parachute centre. As with everyone else, I’ve now had my 4th visit to the place without being able to jump…
…You’d think by now they’d actually realise how many people they can realistically put up in one day but alas no, they’ll still tell you to come and then send you home after waiting for about 8 hours…
…I wish I had seen all these reviews before shelling out the money for this ‘experience’…
…After trying 4 or 5 times you will loose patience with the company, but don’t expect a refund. There staff are well seasoned at answering questions about refunds and will quite frankly tell you to just sod off and try another day…
…The instructors were fantastic and the actual jump was great but the people who organise the day and the customer service is terrible!…
…The manager was exceptionally rude. I was invited into the office by an organiser so she could explain why they had messed up the schedule. The manager then came in and aggressively told me to leave the office which I was invited into…
…If you are a serious jumper or want to learn, DO NOT go here. All they are interested in is getting as many tandems up as possible, making it pretty impossible to get a jump in…
“…but beware, they have a tendancy to overbook…
…My advice to anybody considering going to this dropzone is to go elsewhere (I’m now trying to find another dropzone, where they treat their customers with a little respect!)…”
Tags: london, parachute centre, review, skydive
02 Oct 08 Skydive London
This re-furbished jump site is located out in the sticks of Swindon. It has on-site food which is extremely useful if you forgot (or just couldn’t be bothered) to take your own packed lunch.
Although the club and facilities are notably small they’re very well praised on the level of service and the professionalism of the staff. These are the traits you really want to see when you put your life i their hands for a skydive in london.
Unlike many other clubs, the staff who work here do it out of the joy of helping overs get into the sport, not simply to feed their ego or for the benefit of having free jumps. They use an 8 seater airvan and they seem to put up between 40 and 80 people a day which is pretty impressive numbers for such a small club.
It might not be a club you’re going to invite all your friends to but its a perfect little weekend jump spot at a reasonable price.
Tags: london, sky diver, skydive swindon
29 Sep 08 London parachute school
London parachute school are based in Oxfordshire, to be specific the first part of their postcode is OX49.. this will allow you to use online weather check services.
They run a charity tandem skydive, this basically means that you raise money yourself for a well known charity such as cancer research, give blood or such like and then part of the money goes torwards the cost of the jump and the rest goes to the charity. So you’re raising money and having a great time!
If you wish, you can also carry out a static line jump, this basically uses a square canopy which are known to be easily manoeuvred and loved by both new and experience skydivers.
If you’re from the london parachute school and would like to send us more information for this review then please see our ‘about’ page and send as an email 
Tags: london, parachute centre, review, skydive
