CONTENTS
- INTRODUCTION
- WHO CAN SKYDIVE IN THE UK?
- TANDEM AND CHARITY JUMPS
- SKYDIVING TRAINING
- THE BEST DROPZONES IN COUNTRY
INTRODUCTION
What is skydiving?
Skydiving is the kind of thing that, logically, you should never, never do. After all, what’s to be gained from jumping out of a plane? Having said that, it’s also absolutely something that you have to try! After all, what could be more exciting than jumping out of a plane? Its beauty is its simplicity. It goes like this: you, the jumper, get into a plane and rise thousands of feet into the air then jump out.
What follows is known as freefall, the state where you are completely untethered and unsupported. You accelerate towards the Earth until the braking force of drag cancels out the pull of gravity - at a speed of about 120 miles per hour. The physical sensations, not to mention the views of the Earth far below you, turn your body into an adrenaline factory. A word of warning before we continue - it’s highly addictive!
Skydiving centres are often referred to as dropzones. They are located at airfields and aerodromes up and down the country, which usually means that they are found some distance from cities in relatively flat landscapes. At the end of the article, we’ll give you tips on how to pick the best one for you.
Is it safe?
A skydiver’s key piece of equipment is their parachute. When this is opened, usually at a height of about 5,000 feet, it slows the descent of the jumper and allows them to control their direction of travel. Parachutes are highly reliable. Each one has a success rate of 99.9%, and a reserve chute is carried on each jump. This, combined with the strict checks and procedures in place at licensed skydiving centres around the country means that there has not been a single death during a skydiving experience in the UK from 2003 to 2022, the last year for which data is available.
A small number of minor injuries is sustained by skydivers every year. Most of these occur when landing and are preventable. Whatever kind of skydiving experience you choose (see more about the options below), listen very carefully to the directions of your instructor and you should be fine. All things considered, skydiving is safe.
WHO CAN SKYDIVE IN THE UK?
The safety regulations that govern skydiving in the UK determine who can take part in a jump. One of the factors to consider is age. Alongside a few others, skydiving is a sport that operates on the principle of informed consent - essentially, that the participant must know what they’re about to do, understand the implications, and want to do it all the same. You can give your consent yourself if you’re 18 or above, and with the countersignature of a parent if you’re 16 or 17 years old. And the upper limit? If you’ve read our article, Is 40 too old to go Skydiving?, you’ll already know. When it comes to tandem jumps, there is no upper age limit! If you want to undertake training, you need to be under 55 years of age.
To give your consent, you’ll complete a form which also includes a medical self-declaration. You’ll respond to questions about certain conditions and health and fitness indicators and, according to your responses, you may be directed to contact a health professional prior to completing a skydive. Weight is also a factor, as it is in any activity that involves flying. A general rule of thumb is that a weight of over 15 stone (around 95 kilograms) could rule you out of skydiving. However, your height-to-weight ratio can make a difference, meaning that tall individuals of up to 18 stone (roughly 15 stone) are able to jump at some dropzones.
TANDEM AND CHARITY JUMPS
The perfect introduction to skydiving
The vast majority of first-time skydivers face the thrills and challenges of the journey from aeroplane to solid ground with the help of an experienced and qualified skydiving instructor. And it’s more than just hands-on, you will be strapped to the front of your instructor from beginning to end. This is known as a tandem jump and it allows you to enjoy the ride while a professional takes care of the details - leaving the plane safely, assuming the correct position in freefall, opening the parachute at the right time and landing back at the skydiving centre.
For your average person, who goes to their day job, spends time with friends and family at the weekends and doesn’t often break out of their routine, a tandem skydive is a truly exhilarating, possibly life changing, experience. And there’s no reason to be put off by the scale of it, because you have control over the height of your skydive. Tandem jumps in the UK take place from altitudes of 7,000 feet to double that - 15,000 feet above the ground! If you’re interested in learning more about the different options, including how much time you’ll spend in freefall at each altitude, check out our article How high is the sky? Altitude options for your skydive in the UK.
The huge number of tandem skydiving experiences that take place in the UK every year includes a large number of charity jumps, in which selfless folk complete a skydive to raise money for a good cause. What makes skydiving such a popular choice for fundraising? It’s a double edged sword: the extreme act of jumping out of a plane for charity is enough to make people open their wallets, while the knowledge that people are making donations based on the assumption that you'll go through with the jump is the extra motivation you might need to commit to this hair-raising experience!
On the day
In general, when you organise a tandem skydive, it’s booked as a day experience, despite the fact that the actual experience (from take-off to landing) only lasts around 30 minutes. The reason is that the skydiving centre will have multiple jumpers booked in on the same day and aim to welcome them all and deliver a basic training session in the morning. Following that, flights will take off carrying several jumpers at a time throughout the day, weather permitting.
Some centres operate on a first-come-first-served basis, others will have staggered arrival times, the point is, you can’t be given an exact time for your jump in advance and you may have to wait on other participants and the weather before you get to jump. Don’t worry, you’ll find comfortable seating areas and usually cafês on site.
Multimedia packages
Skydiving is something that you’ll spend weeks or months getting excited about, and then find it’s all over in the blink of an eye. That’s okay - as we’ve said, a skydive fills you with adrenaline which will stay with you long after you’re back on the ground and memories which will be burned into your mind’s eye for even longer. But if you want a souvenir that will make the jump last forever, purchase a multimedia package as an additional extra and take home photos, videos or both.
There are various options offered at different dropzones around the country. A basic option will see your instructor capture either photos or videos of the skydive with a handheld camera. If you’re willing to pay a bit more, you can arrange for an aerial photographer to jump with you and the instructor and take images and video of the whole jump from a third-person perspective. You can purchase these packages on the day or, occasionally, in advance. It’s important to note that you will not be able or allowed to film the jump yourself.
SKYDIVING TRAINING
Static line
For those who dream of completing a solo skydive, it’s essential to undergo training. One option for a jump that doesn’t involve being harnessed to an instructor is a static line experience. If you choose this experience, you’ll jump alone with a parachute which is activated by a cord - a static line - attached to the plane. This means that the parachute opens automatically once you’re in midair.
A static line jump takes place at a lower altitude than that of an ordinary skydive, around 5,000 feet, and doesn’t involve freefall, but it does mean that you control the parachute and execute the landing all by yourself. Before the jump, you will spend most of a day in ground school preparing for the thrilling descent.
Accelerated Freefall (AFF)
But you’ll need an official certificate to fully cut the apron strings and become an independent skydiver, so look out for AFF courses. AFF stands for Accelerated FreeFall and is the training programme for aspiring skydivers. The course is divided into eight levels and takes several days, usually spread over a period of weeks or months, to complete.
You don’t have to commit to the whole programme at once. Many skydiving centres offer one-day tasters which can see you completing Level 1 before sunset. Most of the day will be spent in a classroom, learning the theory behind skydiving and parachuting, and with the equipment. At the end of the day, you’ll ascend to jump height with two instructors and alongside them, but with your own parachute. The instructors will communicate with you during the jump, making sure you open your parachute correctly and descend safely.
THE BEST DROPZONES IN THE UK
If you’re reading this in the UK, you’re more likely to be in London than anywhere else, so we’ll start with skydiving opportunities for residents of, and visitors to, the capital. For obvious reasons - restricted airspace, built environment, etc. - there aren’t any dropzones inside the city limits, but there are a good number within easy reach. The closest is Headcorn Airfield, just beyond Maidstone in Kent. Leaving London to the North can take you to Beccles Aerodrome in Suffolk and two airstrips outside Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. Hinton-in-the-Hedges Airfield in Oxfordshire is a similar distance away and, finally, there’s Old Sarum Airfield in Wiltshire. To learn more about these dropzones and what’s on offer at each, click here.
In the North of England, a top destination for skydiving is County Durham. Shotton Airfield is located at an old colliery, a reminder of the region’s industrial heritage, but the power no longer lies underground - it’s in the air. This is one of the places where you can take on the highest tandem jumps in the country, from a dizzying height of 15,000 feet. That means a full minute in freefall! Photo/video packages are on offer here, as is a one-day AFF course for beginners. Find out more and book your jump here.
Tilstock Airfield in Shropshire has been running tandem jumps for members of the public for longer than any other dropzone in the country. They’ve been in operation since 1964, so you know you’re in good hands when you skydive here. To join the long list of daredevils who’ve put their nerves to the test in Shropshire, follow this link.
Across the Irish Sea, your dropzone of choice in Northern Ireland is Movenis Airfield, in the area of Coleraine, County Antrim. You’ll look down on the beauty of the Emerald Isle, including areas such as the Giant’s Causeway and the Sperrin Hills - and that’s just from 7,00 feet. Choose a 15,000-foot jump and see even more. You can see all the options by clicking here.
Finally, we’re going to mention the surfing paradise of Cornwall. If the waves breaking on the beaches of Newquay leave you wanting more excitement, make a short journey towards Land’s End and you’ll find yourself at Perranporth Airfield. Here, you can skydive from 10,000 feet above the southwestern point of the UK, with or without photos and video, or undergo AFF training. All the details are just a click away!
Now that you’re in the know, it’s time to show you’ve got what it takes! Whether you’re jumping for the thrills or a good cause, doing something out of character or getting involved in the most extreme hobby around, visit our page for skydiving in the UK to find the right experience for you.
