Dropzones in France

[PlaneteerJohn 0]

I'm looking to bum around france in a campervan in July. Thinking of making some stops at DZs. Just curious about good ones to go to that'll let me park and used to international jumpers. Trying to pick up some French before the trip, but language will be an issue. Thanks

[Ralph_W 0]

Dropzones: http://www.ffp.asso.fr/ou-pratiquer/
http://www.idropzone.com/centres-ecoles/itineraire-et-meteo

You need to buy a french foreing license (License Etranger) for 12 Euro, which is valid till Dez. 31

Many French skydivers speak English.

Silence is golden. www.bt-ag.ch

[IJskonijn 45]

Also take into account that the French have some crazy strict rules on canopy size... http://www.ffp.asso.fr/dt046-nouvelle-reglementation-relative-a-lutilisation-des-voilures-principales/. You may not be allowed to jump your own canopy, because they judge it to be too small.

Then again, I've once been told by a French jumper to just fake a logbook with enough jumps if I was ever to go jump there... This is obviously not advice, just an anecdote on how some French view their own rules.

[Alexis_C 0]

The latest version of the canopy size rules document is this one http://www.ffp.asso.fr/dt048-reglementation-relative-a-lutilisation-des-voilures-principales/.

Rumor has it that these rules do not apply to foreigners but they actually do. They might still let you use any canopy in some DZ because you're a foreigner. I would recommend calling the DZ in advance if your canopy is too small according to the rules. Alternative solution is to rent the gear. It seems much easier to rent gear in France than in the US. It usually costs 8-10€ per jump.

"Good DZ" can mean a lot of different things. Do you want a nice scenery? Go to a DZ near the sea or near the mountains. Do you want to jump a lot? Go to a DZ with a lot of activity. Gap, Pamiers, Bouloc, Pujaut are some of the DZ that do the most jumps per year. But then you migh feel more welcome in a smaller DZ where the staff has less people to manage. Check the boogies if you feel like meeting a lot of people and partying!

I don't think any DZ is France is really used to international jumpers, but you should find someone speaking english in every DZ.

[PlaneteerJohn 0]

Thanks for the heads up about canopy size, I had no idea. Exactly why I started this thread.

Alexis_C

"Good DZ" can mean a lot of different things. Do you want a nice scenery? Go to a DZ near the sea or near the mountains. Do you want to jump a lot? Go to a DZ with a lot of activity. Gap, Pamiers, Bouloc, Pujaut are some of the DZ that do the most jumps per year. But then you migh feel more welcome in a smaller DZ where the staff has less people to manage. Check the boogies if you feel like meeting a lot of people and partying!

I'm an open minded guy, so any DZ a jumper on here had a good time at is reason enough for me to check it out.

[Tinley 0]

I've jumped in Gap. Great DZ. No issues with the language, canopy size or lack of a logbook.

[shorehambeach 9]

John,

Definitely Skydive Royan on the West Coast. (know as Skydive Europhenix) https://www.europhenix17.fr/en/

Campsite behind it - perfect for your camper van.

They run a Porter all day long...a lot of students there so the plane goes up :-)

The climb to alti is over the sea .....Beach a few miles away...

Great people and DZ.

I have spent a lot of time there !

Drop me a message if you need any help.

[PlaneteerJohn 0]

Awesome that's the type of info I was after, thank you

[SethInMI 174]

Wow. I would need 1k jumps to jump at my current 1.5wl, or about 500 more than I have. I can see doctoring a log book for a few jumps, but not that many.

I would be nervous about planning to do a bunch of jumping with my gear even if I had a verbal advance assurance from the DZ that the rule would not be applied to me.

It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

[richclive 0]

Glad to hear Royan is doing well - jumped there for a few years but had a couple of poor trips where the service was cursory at best. May well head back there as the views on the climb were glorious. More recently two other coastal (-ish) DZs are Mimizan which is good if you are in the south-west, and Vannes in Brittany is consistently great. Both had Porters on my last visit, both had English speakers, and no-one ever asked my canopy size.

[Kanienkeha4 0]

If you make it to the south of France, Paraclub Aix (sounds kind of like 'axe' in English) is a great group of people! Most people I met had a basic understanding of English, and my French is rusty, so I had a little bit of a difficult time, but it was great nonetheless. Google can help you translate their website, and they update their facebook pretty regularly for info. https://www.paraclubaix.com/index.php https://www.facebook.com/ParachuteClubDAixEnProvence/

[davenuk 8]

what's the 11% reduction about?

it looks like some sort of canopy qualification gets you more lee-way.

thanks

[piisfish 140]

It’s the downsizing you can get after canopy control courses

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[PlaneteerJohn 0]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I just got back. I made it to Paraclub Aix and OJB in Mimizan. Both places were great and everyone was super friendly and welcoming. I headed to a third place on the advice of a local and unfortunately wasn't able to make it to Royan.