StuartStevens

I've been jumping at this dropzone for over 3 years now but it is time for a change. I am well placed to give an accurate account of the dropzone. The average wait time from manifest to getting on the plane is often about 2 hours. After sitting on the dropzone today on a sunny no-wind day, I had to wait approximately 4 hours before being able to get on the plane. It is widely accepted among club members that the manifest system is among the worst anyone has ever seen and people regularly leave early because they cannot be bothered to last the wait time. The 3 planes (C208 D Caravans), are good as it goes but Nethers regularly chooses not to run enough or all of the available planes, even when there are enough people to warrant it. Smaller dropzones with fewer planes clear more loads of people with ease. There is now no semblance of anything close to resembling a club bar. Club members reminisce over the 'old bar' because of it's legendary atmosphere. That all finished when the club moved hangars several years ago. Since then, Nethers has struggled to have a bar with what the members call 'atmosphere.' This year the club bosses have made it clear that they have given up entirely on having a club bar by moving the bar into the canteen. While the pessimists will never be pleased, the most upbeat optimists will tell you is that 'you get used to it.' The realists however explain it best when asked when they describe it as an 'utter disappointment' and ‘inexplicable.’ The cheap disco lights they turn when the ‘bar’ opens tend to fool no-one however inebriated; it is always evident that you are sitting in a canteen. The facilites are great, with a massive packing area, mock ups and a spacious canteen (come bar). Nethers should also be commended for the attention given and improvements made to the changing rooms and shower facilities. However, you will get used to these facilities, as you spend so long on the ground waiting for anything to happen when jumping at Nethers. The bunkhouse, while clean and free which is great, is often misused until late into the night by members which makes it an impractical option for regular members who attend the dropzone. Despite being regularly informed of the problems, Nethers has done nothing to rectify or address the issues. If you want sleep, bring a tent and pitch it far away from the bunkhouse. Being over Salisbury Plain, jumpers have a massive dropzone to aim for with typically good skydive views. One would expect this to be a positive reason to gain qualifications and A licence here, were it not for the costs. Nethers used to boast a friendly place to jump with good rates, and even better rates for students. This created a lively and youthful club atmosphere which was balanced well against the military presence which forms the backbone of the club. However, this year, Nethers took the decision to increase the military fees by only £1 while increasing the student fees by around £10 per jump. Further Nethers did not address the change in the coach pricing scheme that resulted form this. Military FS coaches almost half the price of civilian FS coaches which leads to students sitting around hoping for a military coach, whilst able civilian coaches go unused. Civilian coaches are often dropped by their students for financial reasons when military coaches become available which hampers both continuity in teaching for the students and disrupts civilian coaches scheduals after they have given up their time on their weekends for their club. ‘Us and them’ as ever. This has lead to a noticeable outward flux in young and student members which has had a demonstrably poor effect on the general atmosphere of the club in general. The student presence had helped to quell the overall feeling of the ‘military clique’ that had existed at Nethers. Without the student balance, non-military jumpers have been heard to mention that they feel an ‘us and them’ vibe to the place. This is not helped by the fact that almost everyone you encounter in ‘the bus’ overseeing the dropzone is military which leads them to often be short tempered and abrupt with their civilian paying members. A thick skin is often warranted which is not ideal. The coaching staff at Nethers are great, particularly wingsuiting. Nethers regularly has large flocking jumps which are organised tremendously and as a wingsuiter myself I have been very grateful for the excellent wingsuiting made available here. Coaches are friendly and approachable. However as student and military coaches charge differently under the Netheravon scheme, there is often hot demand for military coaching with civilian coaches falling by the wayside. Again the issue also turned on manifesting, student progression is hampered terribly when the students are forced to wait hours between lifts and get half the jumps they would at a better run dropzone. After sitting on the ground again for so long on a sunny no-wind day, I do find myself wondering if a change in dropzone is necessary. One does like to jump occasionally at a dropzone but jumping is always a rarity at Netheravon.