Frequently Asked Questions

Skydive Hibaldstow is open Wednesday to Sunday and all Bank Holidays. In the Summer months of June – August, we are open 7 days a week.

Our reception/booking office is open everyday 9am to 4pm or if you’d prefer, you can book online. 

Tandem Skydiving

When you book a date for your skydive, you will be allocated an arrival time and this will also be printed on your confirmation email / letter.

For our weekend sessions, the first arrival time is 8.00am.

Later sessions are scheduled according to demand with staggered arrival times. Please note the arrival time is not the time of your jump, you are booked as part of a session spanning a few hours. Therefore there is no need to arrive before your scheduled time.

Jumps are made on a first come, first served order based on your arrival time.

Can I choose when I arrive? Unfortunately, we do need to fill the morning sessions first, however you are welcome to express a preference.

Accelerated Freefall

Courses start promptly at 8.15am so please arrive by 07:45am to give yourself time to register and have a coffee before you begin.

Please note that the solo training courses can be mentally and physically tiring and it takes the best part of the day. We advise students with long distances to travel to arrive the night before.

British Skydiving was founded in the early 1960’s as a result of the growth of civilian parachuting from military circles after World War II. As our national governing body, they strive to reduce injuries and fatalities, progress and promote the sport and set standards for safety at their affiliation centres.

Skydive Hibaldstow is an affiliated member of the British Skydiving and works closely with them to ensure our customers enjoy their high standards.

Spectators are welcome, however dogs are not permitted on the airfield as we are located on active farmland. Please do not bring your dogs to the centre or leave them in your cars.

Many of our skydiving customers bring their families and friends along to watch. If you have young children, they must be supervised at all times.

There is a cafe on-site serving hot and cold food and drinks daily from 8am.

Please view our page about accessibility which gives information regarding our buildings, services, facilities, public transport options and other details to help customers and visitors determine whether Skydive Hibaldstow dropzone meets their access needs, and to best plan a visit to us. 

We have a fantastic cafe selling hot drinks and food as well as a licensed bar. You can find out more here.

Please note, you cannot consume alcohol prior to doing your jump.

When you take your first skydiving course, the feeling will be completely different to what you were expecting. In freefall, the feeling is similar to the floating sensation you have in a swimming pool. Some customers are scared that there are similarities with the sensation of going over the edge on a roller-coaster. This is not the case. Skydiving is an exciting and exhilarating experience and one you will not regret.

We could not successfully operate our business if we did not adhere to a strict set of safety practices laid down by our governing body. Skydiving has far less injuries proportionally compared to other adventure sports such as skiing, snowboarding, horse riding, white water rafting, rock climbing, etc.

To give you an idea of how safe parachuting actually is, here are a few points:

• There are four levels of checks before you make each parachute jump – when the parachute is packed, when the student puts it on, a check from the instructor on the ground and another check just before they leave the aircraft.
• We are affiliated to British Skydiving, the most safety-conscious skydiving association in the world.
• Our Chief Instructor (CI) and in-house examiners participate in the improvement of safety nationally.
• Every person who jumps on one of our learn to skydive AFF courses is equipped with a main and reserve parachute, helmet, altimeter and fully automatic opening device should the student not open their parachute.
• Regular checks and maintenance servicing of our parachuting equipment by our qualified British Skydiving rigger.

Contrary to some opinions, you can breathe during your skydiving experience. Even though you will be falling at up to 120 mph, it is easy to breathe. The wind that enters your lungs does not enter at full speed. It is slowed as it passes through your nose and mouth. Lastly, we skydive up to a maximum height of 15,000ft where there is plenty of oxygen available.

This is a very commonly asked question. Answering this is simple – parachutes are designed to open. However, if the main parachute does not open fully or correctly, there is a secondary reserve parachute which acts as a backup. On the Accelerated Freefall (AFF) course, you will be taught how to operate these. On the Tandem course, your instructor would carry out these emergency procedures should they be needed.

The reserve parachute is packed by our rigger who is a specialist and is certified to do so. In addition, there is also an Automatic Activation Device (AAD) which will open your reserve parachute at a lower altitude. AAD’s are there to act as a backup to the tandem instructor and AFF student.

In our experience, many of our customers have been frightened of heights. This has not stopped them from enjoying our sky diving courses. Our instructors are trained to make you feel at ease. They will tell you what is expected of you during your jump and help you to enjoy the experience.

Some parachutists have even begun the sport to overcome their fear of heights. At 15,000ft you don’t get the same vertigo sensation as if you were stood on top of a tall object.

Skydiving is a weather dependant sport and we cannot guarantee that conditions will be suitable for parachuting every day. On some occasions rain, heavy low cloud or strong winds can prohibit jumping. If you are unable to skydive, then we are happy to re-arrange it for a mutually convenient date and you have 12 months from your first visit to the parachute centre to jump at no additional cost. For full details please read our Terms and Conditions.

Please note that AFF ground training takes place as scheduled, regardless of the weather, as all instruction is classroom based.

We provide you with goggles, headgear and a jumpsuit to go over your clothes for your first skydive. It is advisable to wear loose fitting comfortable clothes. Layers are advisable as you can always add or remove them.

Flat soled shoes or trainers should be worn. Slip-on shoes, heels and boots with eyelet hooks are not suitable.

If you cancel your jump after 14 days of purchase, you will be able to have a refund minus the £75 non-refundable deposit (£149 for AFF). If your jump is postponed by us, due to the weather or other circumstances beyond our control, the jump can be rescheduled for up to 12 months time

Prices vary according to the type of skydiving course, but please view our full price list.

You can book your UK skydiving course over the phone or online.

Once you have booked, a confirmation letter will be sent to you by email.

1. Firstly, you will need to make sure that you fit within the tandem and AFF restrictions for the course you are taking. Please have the names, ages, weights and heights of all the jumpers in your group ready. To secure your place on a course, we require a non-refundable deposit of £75 per person ( £149 for AFF). We accept most forms of debit / credit cards and cash. We cannot accept American Express.
2. If you book over the phone (01652 648837) one of our team will take all the details and confirm available dates. The booking is finalised with a deposit or full payment taken over the phone.
3. Alternatively, you can enter all your details into our online booking system using your debit or credit card.
4. Once you have booked, a confirmation letter will be sent to you by email. See section below for printed gift vouchers should you request one.
5. On the day of your jump, all outstanding balances must be paid.

Yes, skydiving gift vouchers are available with pre-payment and are an ideal Christmas or birthday present. Vouchers can be issued for all types of skydiving courses that we offer.

Gift vouchers are valid for 12 months and can be extended by a further 6 months for an additional fee if necessary. To redeem a voucher, simply call or email us and arrange a jump date.

Full terms and conditions can be found here

If your asthma is under control, you should be able to do a parachute jump, however, we ask that you get a British Skydiving Fitness form signed and stamped by your doctor and bring this along with you on the day.

You can take your normal medication before and after the jump. It is even possible to take your inhaler on to the aircraft within a pocket on your clothing. Please advise us when you book your skydive if you have asthma.

Skydive Hibaldstow has been pleased to help numerous customers with varying levels of disability skydive with us. Over the past few years we have offered our tandem courses to those who are:

• Blind
• Deaf
• Quadriplegic
• Paraplegic
• Suffer from Multiple Sclerosis
• Have lost a limb

If you have a disability, please call and speak to our Chief Instructor on 01652 648837 or email info@skydiving.co.uk. In all cases, a British Skydiving fitness form will need to be signed and stamped by your doctor and we may ask to see you in person before your jump. Kindly note that a maximum weight limit of 75kg may apply to those who have limited mobility.

Testimony: Phil Smart proves that disabled skydiving is not only possible but enjoyable. He has now completed over 20 tandem skydives.

Phil Smart started jumping in 1998 and has done 20 tandems to date. He is paraplegic, but this has not stopped him getting the bug for jumping. He has learned how to do 360 degree turns and even do some tracking (forward movement) with his instructor.

“I would describe skydiving as a ride of a lifetime, a real rollercoaster ride. I have done 20 jumps now and it is my ambition to build a large formation of people around me on my next jump.”

We would like as many customers as possible to take part however there are some age, weight and height restrictions to parachuting. These restrictions vary depending on which course you have chosen so please see the relevant page:

• Accelerated Freefall
• Tandem Skydiving

Yes you can, we think it is great way to remember your skydive with us. We offer photo and video packages for our tandem and AFF customers.

There are a variety of accommodation options available if you wish to stay with us before or after your skydive.

Camping: This is available to regular sports jumpers and AFF students on the large grass field at Hibaldstow dropzone.

As well as free camping, we offer free access to our shower and toilet facilities.

Bunkhouse: We have a variety of king, queen and double private en-suite rooms, as well as shared rooms. Prices vary from £10 to £45 per night.

Hot showers and toilets are free to use.

Bed and Breakfast / Hotels: A range of good B&B’s and guest houses are available in the nearby area. If you are looking for something more comfortable the closest hotels are the Red Lion in Redbourne, the George in Kirton Lindsey plus various options in the market town of Brigg.

Please view our full list of local skydiving Accommodation.

By now you have completed your basic training and are wondering what to do next. There are many options open to you. Firstly, we recommend continuing your training with one of our B-Licence Progression Days. The content of this course is to help you learn more about controlling your parachute safely and jump master responsibilities.

Skydive Hibaldstow is more than just a centre for skydiving. We are a community, where skydivers come to relax and make fun jumps with each other. At a weekend, there is 1-on-1 coaching available alongside larger organised jumps. We have formation skydiving, freefly and wingsuit coaches on hand to help you. In addition, if you want to try something different, we can organise tracking jumps and hybrids.

The dropzone is also recognised nationally as a training centre for teams competing at National and even International level. Many of our regular jumpers are involved in 4-way teams and you can easily find yourself becoming involved in these.

Whatever your sky diving desires, we can help you find something to interest you.

Once you have qualified as a skydiver under the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) scheme, you will receive your A-licence. This shows that you have passed all the basic requirements to allow you to do freefall skydiving. Providing you are a current skydiver and can show your documentation, there should be no reason why you cannot skydive in other countries.

If you have qualified at our centre, we will be happy to give references over the telephone to other centres should you encounter any problems.