Sky High: Notts Skydiving Centre Records 6,000 Jumps in April as Post-Lockdown Experience Economy Thrives

 

SKYDIVING CENTRE COMPLETES 6,000 SKYDIVES IN A MONTH AS POST-LOCKDOWN EXPERIENCE ECONOMY THRIVES

chimera skydive

 

Adrenaline junkies, bucket listers, birthday celebrators and charity fundraisers have all been ‘descending’ on Skydive Langar this month as the skydiving centre completed a record 6,000 jumps in one month thanks to lockdown relaxation and the thriving experience economy.

 

The regulations around outdoor sports were amended at the end of March and since then, Skydive Langar has welcomed:

 

  • 209 tandem skydivers

  • 268 student skydivers, learning to jump by themselves

  • 5,519 sport jumpers

  • 5 skydiving teams, training for events coming up later this year

 

Though Covid-19 had a marked impact on Skydive Langar’s ability to welcome customers and therefore grow as a business, the investments made in its infrastructure and practices have reaped rewards, with the Notts based skydiving centre making more jumps than any other in the UK in April.

 

Josh Carratt is the Operations Manager at Skydive Langar and also a skydiving instructor. He said:

 

“It’s fantastic to see so many people coming to celebrate the end of lockdown by jumping out of an aircraft at 14,000 feet!

 

“We expected to see our regular jumpers back in full force and hoped that new jumpers would come along too. To see so many tandem skydivers and student skydivers is a real pleasure for us and we’re thoroughly enjoying seeing their faces and their responses when they make their first jump and take the ultimate leap into post-lockdown life.

 

“Throughout the Covid-19 lockdowns, we’ve had to assess how our business has been affected but we have always maintained a confidence that operations would pick back up once ‘normality’ returned. This means we’ve been keen to keep investing in things like our buildings, our Cafe, our wider facilities and our team.

 

“We’ve also invested significantly in Covid-19 safety measures and will commence daily testing of our staff at the beginning of May.”

 

Laura Hampton is part of skydiving team Chimera, who train at Skydive Langar and who are currently preparing for the World Championships at which they will represent Team GB. Speaking of the return to jumping, she said:

 

“It’s been amazing to get back in the sky and we’re so grateful to the team at Langar who’ve made it possible.

 

“The past year has been tough for us as a team as we haven’t been able to train, beyond working on our individual fitness and watching videos. With various events (hopefully) coming up later in the year, it’s fantastic for us to have a world-class skydiving centre right on our doorsteps where we can train and also fun jump.”

 

Alex Rastin is a Nottingham-based solicitor who started skydiving in 2020 as part of a charity fundraising event. She said:

 

“I got the bug for skydiving after I did a charity tandem at Skydive Langar to raise awareness and funds for the Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust back in September 2019. I have to admit, the tandem was on my bucket list but the thought of doing it terrified me. At that time, I wanted to get the thing over and done with, raise loads of money for a charity very close to my heart, and get on with the rest of my life.

 

“Little did I know that I would become completely obsessed with the mental challenge and thrill that skydiving was going to bring into my life.

 

“After my tandem, I spent a few months debating whether to sign up for AFF. The fear before the jump was real and it was exhausting but the feeling I had after the jump was not going to be ignored and I couldn’t let it go. One thing I have learned about this sport (and fear in general) is that the more you think and procrastinate the less likely you are to do what excites you and makes you feel alive.

 

“At the beginning, skydiving felt like a very small part of my life so the lockdown did not seem so bad. Nevertheless, as soon as the DZ reopened, I was there jumping as much as I could. Before I knew it, I was spending my days looking at weather apps (picking the app with the most favourable forecast as the app of the day!) and planning my life around jumpable days.”

 

Skydive Langar is commencing daily Covid-19 tests on its staff from the 1st of May and is welcoming skydivers, both old and new, now. To find out more, visit https://www.skydivelangar.co.uk/

 

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