Paracentrum Texel

All of the staff are there to ensure that you have a great time. Is it for your first tandem or AFF/ SL course, or for your team training and you want to get your jumps in.

It requires a ferry to get to the island, but once there, you feel like you're on vacation. if you have your rigs, you can make 14 training jumps in the fast Supervans bringing you to altitude in no-time.

Being on an island, there are the occasional high winds, but the landing areas for the experienced and inexperianced jumpers are very clear and free of obstacles.

Relax in hot tubs or near a fireplace after a day of jumping. At events the staff organise lunch and dinner and after jump drinks.

I've been there on a visit with a friend. it's a nice place with indoor-packing, fast aircraft and friendly staff.

Checking in was sort of my biggest worry, but none of the unusual, after checking paperwork and a short briefing I was good to go.

in the evenings everyone's off to a restaurant/hotel that have some awesome steak. the local beer ain't bad too! :-)

the only negative i could think of were the strong winds, but given it's location, that is to be expected. in case of outlandings there's plenty of open fields.

Paracentrum Texel is a well-established, family-run business on the Dutch island of Texel. It has two Caravans and a flock of C206s for pleasure flights which can be adapted for skydiving when it gets really busy. It has two landing areas, neither of which are great: one is for experienced jumpers and is in front of the main building, which houses the shop, packing area, rigging area, classroom, etc. This is awkward, particularly due to the frequently high winds and the turbulence which comes off the buildings. The student landing area is miles away on the far side of the main runway. Hazards include ditches and a motor-cross track.

Tandems are clearly the mainstay, with a small local fun-jumper community. The centre also hosts skydiving competitions. The owner is a friendly guy and the operation is slick and well-run. Club gear is in good condition and there is plenty of it. There is a large and often transient staff, who might stay for a season or two and then move on.

The views from altitude have to be seen to be believed; the island is situated in the north sea and is very pretty.

However, there are negatives. The Dutch instructors and staff can be quite distant and aloof, even sullen and unfriendly. This may be cultural, as they seemed more friendly with Dutch jumpers. They often drink in a nearby hotel, but are very cliquey and won't engage with visiting jumpers. Luckily there were a couple of foreign instructors to help explain the slightly confusing manifest system and provide DZ briefs, etc. One of the DZ controllers was arguably the most pugnacious and unpleasant staff member I've met; a surly, aggressive type who thinks nothing of physically pushing people out of his way. Weather is also a problem: the island is prone to high wind, rain and cloud due to its location.

Be aware that food, drink and accommodation are expensive on Texel and budget accordingly. A jump at altitude with gear hire will cost 41.50 Euros, which isn't cheap, so bring your own gear if possible. Having said that, this is a good DZ and certainly worth a visit.

Getting there was not easy as you take a ferry (which is only 3 euros round trip, and the ferry is great with an inside store and cafeteria) and a bus afterwards but its all worth it! My home DZ is back in the Caribbean in Puerto Rico and its one of the most prettiest DZ's close to the US and with that in mind, Texel is just one rare jewel! It's a small little island which you'll see from coast to coast at altitude. They have a nice caravan and a whole lot of space for packing. The store was quite amazing with some cool souvenirs too. As for the people, its the most hospitable ive met so far. I couldn't stay for the night but they offered me to go out for a drink, a ride to a nearby hotel and dinner but sadly I had to decline as I had to go back to Paris that same day. Anyways, the people there are just great and worth the while to hang out and fun jump with. The scenery was amazing and the experience was one of a kind! Ill be back next year for sure!

Ok, I am from Florida, so learning to jump in The Netherlands is opposite logic, but it is how I roll.

Aside from the weather, which is normally NOT good, this place is the perfect location to learn.

The instructors, especially Rutger (his English is native) and his ability to anticipate your questions is uncanny (I am sure he has taught thousands of AFF newbies, so he has heard it all). Tsjelle (sp?) and Hans seem totally awesome, but we didn't have much interaction, but I heard a rumor Hans has like a gazillion jumps, yes.... gazillion.

This spot is the place to be for tandems too. You are able to easily identify stuff from maps in real life and the SEA is right there! So it is a twofer.

Professional and fun staff. It seems like this business really couldn't run any other way, but I hope experiences elsewhere at least match or exceed these paracentrum standards.

First-off I'm writing from a beginners 1st dropzone point-of-view so I have no points of reference. That said I must say that the over-all expericence (not just the jumping) was well organised, friendly and professional.

The ability of the staff to deal with English speaking students and the level of attention and encouragement even during busy week-ends was impressive.

The island itself is a little quite but with a little hunting a social scene is uncovered. The local hotels and campsites are excellent and the overall experience was a joy...

The only downside I can see is the initial costs are relatively high but for a beginner such as my self the attention to detail and freindly atmosphere was worth the extra.