Skydive Headcorn

I feel Headcorns getting a harsh press and had to speak up. I started jumping in May 06 and have had nothing but great times. If your willing to chat you will be welcomed. Yes the staff are busy on sunny days when there are back to back lifts but speak to the members too!!

It would be great to see you at Headcorn!

I remember going to Headcorn the first time (a few years ago)- as I arrived, I met an experienced jumper from Russia who was upset with how he had been treated by the staff. I was pretty sceptical, and thought, '..can't be that bad.' But after visiting a few times, I came to the same conclusion. The staff are relatively inexperienced, and really up-their-own-asses - they are kings/queen of a sh%!-heap. Just go elsewhere if you want to jump (you'll be waiting, and waiting, and waiting at Headcorn), and want to have fun.

Headcorn is a strange DZ,can be so slow.You could actually put your name on the manifest,get in your car and drive to Sibson/arrive/jump/pack and drive back to Headcorn and still not get a kit up call. Jump there occasionally as its nearest to me,but would rather drive to Langar or Sibson.Some of the staff are ok others however need a reality check.To sum up then to much attitude and not enough altitude,if your a jumper go elsewhere.

I really liked the vibe at headcorn, i met some cool people and made some cool jumps from the Let410 (which had seats!)

I turned up and had an in depth DZ brief and got to jumping. The turna around was slow but only had myself to blame not being able to pack.

I was shocked that students where on radio up to 50 jumps but really impressed at the same time. It was very safety orientated.

The DZ is on a pretty small airfield that is quite busy with air traffic. Sometimes your left floating around waiting for traffic to pass by but always got the 12k.

The student gear on hire was very good (ignoring the fury) and i had a great time playing with a silhouette 190 which was brand new.

I enjoyed myself and met some very nice people at the end having a beer, if you havnt been check it out. I had a brilliant time.

I first went to Headcorn in 2000 seeking to do an AFF course. After several hours trying to get some advice I was told if I paid for a course I'd have to turn up and see whether there were instructors for a slot. I understood that it was weather dependant but that is ridiculous paying up to £1800 to jump if they think they can fit you in!

Since then I have been back annually and been thoroughly disappointed with the level (or lack of) service. Staff are at best stand-of-ish and at worst downright rude. It's very dificult to get any help when trying to learn, doing WARP or other basic instruction - I can't believe how the RAPS course students put up with it.

This year the prices have become one of the most expensive in England, although staff are more friendly in the cafe the prices are a rip off and the overall inability for the HEADCORN staff to recognise that we are all customers has led me to vote with my feet and spend my money elsewhere. It's actually cheaper to fly to Spain for 4 days to jump than at Headcorn!

Try another dropzone if you haven't yet and see the difference, staff are friendly, people help you out without having to be paid or worshipped, you can jump without wondering what altitude you will end up with and having to pay full wack anyway (no other dropzone does this). When you land you won't be avioding lion pens, model gliders, helicopter blades or small achievers egos!

Other dropzones don't make you pay membership to be able to buy tickets, it's up to you, and most importantly, most other dropzones recognise that you are an important customer and do what they can to get you in the air and enjoying yourself - that way you will come back!

I have just completed my A licence via AFF with this club at time of this review. I found the club very helpful and the staff and members will always give you time with a query or advice if you make the effort to ask. I too read a lot of poor reviews on this website but I had already started. I love the place although it can be frustrating for students as the number of staff members able to get through the vast quantity of students and tandems means it can be a long wait to jump. All the aircraft rock, I love the Let for its comfort, speed and big door. The Beaver because its fast and fun and the Islander has its own charm too. The landing area is fine with plenty of safe off landing places. The packing shed can get quite busy when they are putting a lot of loads in the air. Because of London air traffic only expect 12,000 feet. The best bit is on a clear day, when they open the door, you can see France on the horizon. As its also an airfield for pleasure flying you can expect your own personal air show during your time there from WW2 to modern aerobatic aircraft. Some of the people there are really good skydivers although you wont hear them talking about their achievements. Don't neccesarily assume the tandems are a bad thing, I have been down numerous times where if it wasn't for the tandems booked in that day there wouldn't have been a lift, paticularly in winter. Come on down and enjoy it!

I arrived alone in the evening and while waiting in the clubhouse for my friends to turn up, I was greeted by the DZO and introduced to the staff and club members. I immediately felt welcome and well looked after.

The loads were well organized, the landing zone lush green, and the Let 410 big and comfortable.

In the evening there was a party atmosphere, fuelled by a well priced bar and good food.

This is a friendly club. The owners, staff and club members made my group feel very welcome, and I would not hesitate to recommend it.

I agree with a number of the previous reviewers- I started jumping when I was living abroad (US and Asia) and was pretty shocked by the overall attitude of the staff at Headcorn. It is a tiny DZ, but the staff I met have huge egos! Amazing to compare with the staff at big DZs like Perris or Lodi in the US, where the staff have no noticable egos at all!
My advice- avoid Headcorn, and go to a real DZ!

skydivers!!! if you haven't tried yet,don't bother,spend your money jumping in a better DZ and atmosphere.

not as busy as it should be with no other competition in the area,this club needs an injection of cash, and some new blood. There is a good Let aircraft.

the jump tickets have recently risen from 18 to 20 gbp in April this year, and are now at 21...which is above uk
average.

I was really put off from going to Headcorn after all the abuse that it seems to get, even though it is technically our local DZ...

The first time we went there we arrived at 3pm (in the middle of winter) and even though we had less than 30 jumps at the time, they were really welcoming, gave us a DZ brief and we were on a load within an hour!

I've been there loads of times since then and I've always felt welcome. Everyone's always been helpful, giving us advice and packing lessons and that kind of thing... To be fair i haven't been to many DZ's but as a newbie i've experienced nothing but good things...

Generally this is a great DZ. It is friendly although some staff can get a bit tetchy when it’s busy. Some of the instructors are champions in their field and can teach, which isn’t always the case. On a good moderately busy day you should get at least 5 lifts. The Let410 in the summer is great, in the winter – as with most of the UK it’s a real gamble with the weather. Accommodation is low cost and facilities to match. Shop a bit expensive but good bar at reasonable rates help the evenings. Overall – definitely worth a visit.

Appauling customer service, high jump prices, you never get to jump, the staff think they are world class skydivers but in fact are some of the worst I've ever met, water logged runways and landing area, bad food, unprofessional, the kit store will rip you off, and super cliquey scared low jump number skydivers and staff.

I started my skydiving journey at Headcorn on their S/L course. I found the staff professional and friendly. Very safety-consious, obviously a very positive point. After my first jump I was hooked forever.

I jump regularly abroad, mainly in Eloy, AZ. Comparing to bigger DZ's Headcorn has an amazing aircraft LET410 for the summer lifs. Landing area is quite small but nice and smooth, made me learn good canopy control right from the start.

I would definitely recommend visiting Headcorn DZ. Make a little effort to meet people and talk to the staff, they run a small DZ and get very busy at peak days of the year. Even the experienced jumpers there are extremely friendly. Be prepared to sit and wait a few hours for the good ol' British weather to clear.

well after reading the other reviews i had to add my comments as i just haven't had the bad experience that others have detailed.

I have only done a few jumps and yes al of them at headcorn so have nothing to compare with but.....

staff have been more than helpfull and have been friendly, strict in their checks and encouraged me to come down even on crap weather days and they will provide help, answer questions and let me watch training videos etc...

Experience jumpers have made the effort to speak to me and chat about experiences, this really helped and i didn't feel a tit being the new boy in me boiler suit!! ;o)

yeah ok facilities aint great, food is so so and toilets are well......hhhmmm nuff said.

oh yeah the sheep shit... makes you get that flare right pretty quickly!!!

Having had negative experiences at other UK DZs I found Headcorn to be pleasant and willing to accept me as a noveice Cat 8. I was therefore surprised to see the negative reviews on this site as they don't match up to my experiences of the DZ. If you're near London, give it a go. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Well, after a few years of not jumping, an opinion formed by starting off at Headcorn ... I went to Eloy and thought, "my god, it's all rather good fun this skydiving".

Went back to Headcorn afterwards ... still just as bad, very unfriendly, hated the attitude, hated the tea, hated the place ... stopped jumping until I can save up enough money to go somewhere more friendly ... the UK isn't the place for me.

Not the easiest of DZ's to visit as an outsider. Staff are v thorough with checking licences & kit (thumbs-up from me) but leave you in no doubt how brilliant they think they are. When I jumped there the whole DZ was COVERED in sheep shit - do not fall over when you land! There is a helicopter school here, with complete novice heli pilots whizzing about at ground level. It was enough to put me off jumping here again.

staff good, local staff on site,wings bar on site happy hour 7 8pm till 11 that abount it and a beer fridge in manfiest mmmmmm yom

I've jumped there at the Southern Regionals/Grand Prix for the last two years. They organise an excellent party (second best during a competition that I've experienced after Netheravon).

However, they are greatly let down by the facilities that they share with the flying club. The shower (singular) is dirty and unhygienic (I drove to Maidstone), and the less said about the toilets the better. Also, £1.20 for a (pretty poor) coffee will give you some idea of the cost.

Started a static line course there over 4 years ago and have used it as my local dropzone ever since.

Had some excellent times there, made some brilliant mates

Headcorn is a really great DZ. There is a really good atmosphere with some excellent instructors and very good safety practices.

Large camping area, showers, bunk huts, close to the station, cafe and bar make it ideal for the weekend or any length of time.

The only negative comment that can be made is the office closing at 5pm. Jumping continues untill sundown (which in the summer can be as late as 8/9), but unless you bought a ticket before 5, jumping becomes very hard.

Other than that though, thumbs up all the way :)