John made his first parachute jump
in 1970 whilst serving in the Army,
40 years on he has now completed
over 10,000 skydives!
John made his first parachute jump
in 1970 whilst serving in the Army,
40 years on he has now completed
over 10,000 skydives!
This was a British Army Adventurous Training expedition organised by the Royal Engineers. John helped to train and jump with the sixteen A...
Learn to Skydive is owned and operated by British Parachute Association (BPA) Advanced Instructor/Examiner John Horne but why choose him to teach you to skydive?
Before you can even think about becoming an AFF instructor you need a minimum of 1000 skydives and have accumulated over 10 hours of freefall time.
Once you have all that you need to attend and pass several stringent British Parachute Association courses where highly experienced AFF Examiners will put you through your paces testing your freefall skills, technical knowledge and teaching ability. John Horne is one of those Examiners!
When it comes to skydiving the UK has one of the best safety records in the world and this qualification goes a long way to keeping it that way. John’s Advanced Instructor status also means that he can sign all the relevant application/qualification forms that you need to become a qualified skydiver.
John made his first parachute jump in 1970 whilst serving in the Army, 40 years on he has now completed over 10000 skydives and reckons he might get the hang of it soon!
John served 32 years in the army including a tour as the Chief Instructor of the Joint Service Parachute Centre. This ultimately made him responsible for all aspects of safety and training on the drop zone. As a Major he returned some 15 years later as the Commandant of the Army’s freefall school at Netheravon, Wiltshire.
He was Captain of the Army Parachute Team for 6 years winning medals at both national and international level and was Chairman of the Army Parachute Association’s Safety and Training Committee. He has served 8 years on the Council of the British Parachute Association serving two years as the Vice-Chairman.
As well as having the skills and experience, John also uses the best student equipment available on the market today. This ensures that not only are you using the safest equipment, but it’s the same modern technology that you will continue to use after you have qualified as a skydiver in your own right.
John is quick to point out that his knowledge and tuition doesn’t end when you complete your course, he is available to all his students past and present to help with any issues they may have in their skydiving career such as advice on buying equipment or progressing in the sport.
John jumps regularly, teaching AFF most weekends and taking part in skydiving expeditions (military and civilian) all over the world. He also enjoys camera work and uses a video camera on all his AFF jumps. John is known as a likeable and professional instructor. When asked why he likes teaching people to skydive so much, he had this to say.
I enjoy passing on my knowledge, watching others get the same thrill out of skydiving as I do, but most of all, because it is just so much fun.
Not everyone continues in the sport but those that don’t have experienced that amazing thrill of jumping from an aircraft at 15000feet , and for ever afterwards, can say “I’ve done that..!!”
I first had the pleasure of working with John when i organised a military AFF expedition to Lake Elsinore, California in March for 10 soldiers from 16 Air Assault Brigade. I was put in contact with John through a colleague in the Army when he found out that I was looking for instructors for the expedition....
