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This is always a very difficult question. Predicting the weather exactly is simply not yet very well possible. Especially if we look further than a few days ahead.

Luckily, we usually have quite a good idea of what we can generally expect. For this, we use the same information sources as people who do not fly and/or jump. See the links below to check the websites yourself.

When you call us to ask what the weather will be like, we will look at these websites.

Because we are located on an island, the weather is often extra difficult to predict. On the Wadden islands, weather can change very quickly, which makes it extra hard to predict.

One day in advance, at the end of the afternoon, we can have a reasonably good indication of whether we will be jumping the next day. But we are only sure right before boarding the aircraft.

Windfinder.com Buienradar.nl Yr.no

In short:

• too much wind
• precipitation
• thick cloud layer too close too ground

Limitations for a tandemjump are more lenient than for the jumps made by students in a parachuting course.

If you're in doubt whether your jump can proceed call us the day before in the late afternoon. At that time we'll have the best / most accurate possible answer for you.

There's not really a best time of year to jump as every jump is an unforgettable experience and every jump is different.

You can jump on a day with clear skies and high temperatures but also on a day that's very cold with snow covering the Island. It's down to personal preference what you'll enjoy more.

If your weight including clothing and shoes is over 100kg (but no more than 115kg) you maybe able to do a tandem skydive with us.

It's not a given though that we can stretch the weight limit for you though, there's a few factors involved that have to be just right:

• The windconditions have to be optimal. Not too strong, not too soft and from a certain range in winddirection.
• The jumper needs to have enough muscle in their upper legs. For jumpers with big upper legs and little muscle mass it can be quite painful to be suspended in the harness. 
• The jumper should be able to lift their legs for 10 seconds to an angle approaching 90 degrees. This is necessary during the landing.
• On the jump day there needs to be an instructor who is willing and able to jump with additional weight load.

If you think you meet the criteria stated above you can probably still experience the tandem skydive. But please be aware that there's a fair chance that you won't be able to jump, for instance if the weather conditions aren't suitable.

Definitely, but there's a disclaimer. When we're in the airplane flying to altitude your instructor will fit you with special jump goggles. If you wear contact lenses (no difference between soft and hard lenses) they practically always stay in place.

If you wear glasses we'll provide you with oversized jump goggles that fit over your glasses. It's possible though that these goggles come off in freefall. It's extremely unlikely but it's happened before. If that were to happen on your jump the jump will still be safe but you'll likely lose your glasses/ contacts.

So it's at your own risk but the risk is extremely small.

A fear of heights is often listed as the reason not to jump. Fortunately that's not how this condition works! 

As the airplane climbs so quickly you'll quickly be above the threshold altitude where your brain can register the changed perspective and translate that to a sense of altitude. Especially since you'll no longer be standing an a ground-connected structure.

There's a lot of examples of professional skydivers that suffer from fear or heights and still jump on a daily basis.

No you won't, not if you plan to do a tandem skydive. You will need one when you plan to do a course to learn to jump solo.

No, the statistics are definitely on your side. Driving your car to the airport is a multitude more dangerous. But keep in mind, although the changes of you hurting yourself are extremely small, skydiving is still an extreme sport with inherent risks.

Yes Paracentrum Texel is a member of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Vereniging voor Luchtvaart (KNVvL) organisation as well as the USPA.

Sure, you dog is very welcome as well. We have water drinking trays available on hot days.

There's a few house rules:

• The dog must be leashed at all times
• An adult must always supervise (the leash should be held at all times)
• Any mishaps are your to cleanup

Paracentrum Texel BV
Postweg 128
1795 JS De Cocksdorp, Texel

Tel: +31(0) 222 311464
Fax:+31(0)222 311414

info@paracentrumtexel.nl

By car:

In Den Helder you will take the ferry to Texel. The ferryride will take about 20 minutes, for which no prereservation is needed.

Once you get off the ferry, you need to ride into the direction of Den Burg. At the second roundabout you will take the first exit to the right (exit 10) into the direction of De Cocksdorp.

From there follow the sign indicating "vliegveld". You will see the airport on your right hand side.

With public transport:

You can park your car in Den Helder, take the ferry as a pedastrian and use the public transportation on Texel.

You can use a Texelhopper to get a ride from the ferry terminal to the Paracentrum Texel. It needs to be booked at least an hour before depature via phone under 0222-784 000 or online via texelhopper.nl.
The Texelhopper will be waiting for you to step in right in front of the pedestrian exit of the ferry.

Pay attention: the bigger busses such as Connexxion (lijn 28 and 828), will not pass Paracentrum Texel, but only ride to Den Burg and De Koog. To get to the airport on Texel you must take a Texelhopper.

The ferry leaves Den Helder every hour starting from 6.30am (7.30, 8.30, etc.) till the last ferry ride at 9.30pm.

During highseason (July and August), as well as on the weekends there might be additional ferry rides. For more information and detailed information for specific dates please check www.teso.nl.

The ferry leaves Texel on top of the hour starting at 6am (7am, 8am, etc.), with the last ride to Den Helder at 9pm.

At 'Texel International Airport' is a lot to see and experience.

TesselAir

• Rondvluchten
• Introduction flightlessons
• Check on Tessel Air for more information!

Aircraft & War Museum Texel

• A nice activity for everyone
• For more information check on www.lomt.nl

Restaurant 'De Horizon'

• Breakfast, lunch, coffee & tea, snacks
• Big sun-terrace
• Frehsly renovated interior
• Chargingstation for E-Bikes
• Big bouncy cushion for kids

Hotel Airport Texel

• Overnight-stays directly on Texel International Airport
• For more information and offers, check www.hotelairporttexel.nl

Glider's Club Texel

• More information on floating through the air you can find here:www.mzct.nl

Texel is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the Netherlands, hence there is a lot to see and experience on the island.

Check the website of the local tourism office VVV Texel
for an overview of fun things to see and do on Texel. To check for specific events, this Of bekijk de agenda:  will help.

A few suggestions:

• Icecream-Farm Labora  (A milk farmer, who sells his homemade icecream in a little farmer's icecafé)
• Paintball Texel
• Karting (only an outdoor ring)
• Sheep-Farm Texel
• Seal-Spotting Tours
• Golfing
• Beachbar 'Paal 17' (famous spot for Kite- & Windsurfers)
• Beachbar 'Paal 9'(famous spot for Kite- & Windsurfers)
• Beach-Café 'Kaap Noord' (famous spot for families)
• Ecomare (seal rehibilitation center)
• 'Jutter'-Museum Oudeschild (Jutter is the local liquor of Texel)
• One-Dat Trip to Vlieland (Vlieland is the small island next to Texel)
• Kitesurfschool Texel
• Surfschool Texel
• Sailingschool Texel

Texel has 7 villages and many smaller options for accommodations and overnight-stays. Texel International Airport is nearly from every location on the island easy to reach, so choose a location that is most comfortable for your to come to the airport from your accommodations for your jump.

The local Tourism Office VVV can help you making a good choice for your stay on Texel.

For our course participants we suggest "De Kievit" "De Kievit", "The home of the skydivers".

Tourism Office Texel (VVV) Hotel De Kievit

Yes, you can rent a bike at the Restaurant, unfortunately no cars.

Yes, there is an option to charge your E-Bike. However, not yet an option to charge an electro-car.

There's no strict legal age limitation for doing a Tandem Skydive. We do adhere to the following to determine of we can jump with someone: Minimum age requirements:

• Does the jumper physically fit a (children) harness ?
• Does the jumper fully understand what a Tandemskydive is?
• Does the jumper really want to jump?
• Is a parent or legal guardian available to sign the Legal Waiver for Minors?

Maximum age requirements:

• Can the jumper lift his/her legs sufficiently to execute a safe landing?
• Is the jumpers physique sturdy enough (read: not too fragile) to make the jump?

As a general rule of thumb you can assume that in order to be able to jump you'll have to be at least six years old and not require a 'walker' to move around by yourself. Tandem skydive liability release (waiver)

No, you do not need any completed courses or any kind of skydive experience to be able to jump in a Tandemskydive (this is only needed for AFF or a FJC). Nonetheless, you will get short instructions right before the jump. This will:

1. prepare you, so that you know what will happen and what to expect
2. add to your own experience, so that you fully understand what you need to do during flight and jump.

The instructions are simple, easy to remember and take about 10 minutes of your time just before your Tandemjump.

If you are 18 or older: absolutely nothing (to increase the fun-factor family and friends are always welcome). If you are under 18 you need to be accompanied by your parents (at least one parent or a legal guardian). Your parents need to officially approve to your Tandem parachute jump and need to sign your "reliability release waiver", before getting into the airplane.

You will exit the airplane at a height of 9000 feet, which is approximately 3 km above the ground.

Tandem passengers can leave their personal belongings and valuables in lockers on the dropzone. You can lock them with your personal numeric code, with which you can also open it again. So no worries, your belongings are absolutely safe, while you get your adrenaline-shot.

Yes, you will be able to breath during free falling. Some people may experience it as "harder" to breath, but this is usually due to the adrenaline felt in the moment.

The temperature is decreasing around 2 degrees per 1000 feet when climbing. This means that the temperature at exit height will be 15 to 20°C colder then on the ground.

The temperature difference can only be really felt once the door opens. However, the door only opens right before exiting, which means that you will be busy with completely other thoughts and not pay much attention to the temperature around you.

While free falling you will excellerate to around 180km/h.
Wil je meer weten over de natuurkunde die er bij een parachutesprong komt kijken? Bekijk dan dit Youtube filmpje waar alles goed in wordt uitgelegd.

If you want to know more about the science behind Skydiving this video will help you understand what exactly will happen during a Skydive.

The time is dependent on you exit height. This means, you will be able to enjoy a free fall of around 30 seconds, when exiting the airplane from 9000 feet. This will nearly double to 60 seconds, if you choose to exit from 13000 feet.

No, you are not pulled upwards. Videos may give the impression that the Tamdenjumpers are pulled up, however, this is due to the fact that the cameraman keeps falling, during the opening of the tandem.
So from the perspective of the camera, the tandemskydivers leave the frame upwards. Yet, the tandem is now only descending with a speed of 15km/h, while the cameraman is still falling with 180km/h.

You will be flying under the parachute around 4-5 minutes.

Of course! The Tandemmaster will help and instruct you, but for the rest (if you want) you will be in control of the parachute.

The parachute will be slowed down (flare), which will ensure a soft and controlled landing.

Before a skydiver can participate in a training to become a tandem master, he/ she needs to have a minimum experience of 1000 (!) jumps.
Most tandem masters have followed previous instructor courses, e.g. Help Instructor (HI), Flying Coach and cameramen, which are all demanding trainings, where a lot of jumping experience is needed. Only after that the instructors may follow a tandem master course.

A tandem master at Paracentrum Texel has between 5.000 to 20.000 jumps on his/ her record.

All clothes in which you can freely move are suitable. Dresses and skirts may be a little inconvenient, since you will receive a jumpoverall (jumpsuit), which you will put on over your clothes.
This rule of thumb is also applicable for your shoes. All shoes in which you can comfortable move in are suitable to jump with. Highheels and sandals are not really suitable and may put you at risk when landing.

Therefore, sporty, flat shoes are the best choice.