If you’re reading this trying to decide whether to skydive or not…do it. It is the single most amazing experience you will ever have.

I’ll be honest though. It wasn’t my idea to come skydiving. My mate Dean said “would you do it?” at approximately 2am after loads of alcohol in front of a group of attractive women…there was only one answer I could give (yeah, yeah I’m so weak!). What I didn’t appreciate was the affect this sport could have on my life.

The instruction is fantastic, both in it’s structure (with video analysis of every jump) and it’s quality. I was lucky enough to be trained by Tim and Andy, who both helped me progress quickly so that I managed to qualify in 6 jumps, but the focus was always on ensuring I had as much fun as possible. ( My remaining AFF jump ended up being a formation skydiving coached dive ) . All the instructors are great and they always seem to know exactly what to say to make you improve.

The key for me was getting over the “Fu*k me I can’t believe I’m jumping out of a plane” factor to find a calm focus that helped me relax…at 125mph this is not as simple as it seems. However this is one of the key things about skydiving. You have to overcome what Andy calls “The Ancient Fear” we have inside all of us as human beings, that falling to earth is a time to panic. Once you’ve overcome this you find that you can control yourself in the air far more than you ever imagined…and once you’ve mastered this there is a real sense of self confidence that you can do anything (must confess it didn’t help my Spanish though!).

The location of the Freefall University is another of it’s great strengths.The City of Aranjuez is easy to find, close to the Airport and a great place to stay, with loads of places to eat and lots of bars to get hideously drunk in. In fact, like many of the skydivers we kept returning to Avalon which it would appear is fast becoming a centre for Anglo-Spanish relations…

This sport is amazingly addictive and the freefall university is the perfect place to get your fix…I’m going back next week!

Mike