| Target Skysports | |
|---|---|
| Legal status | Training school (registered company is Side Target Ltd) |
| Purpose/focus | Parachute training in North Lincolnshire |
| Location | Hibaldstow Airfield, North Lincolnshire, UK, DN20 9NN |
| Affiliations | British Parachute Association |
| Website | Target Skysports |
Target Skysports is a BPA affiliated parachuting centre and skydiving drop zone at Hibaldstow, in North Lincolnshire.
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The airfield is the former RAF Hibaldstow, a former satellite fighter airfield for RAF Kirton in Lindsey and first opened in May 1941. 255 and 253 Squadrons were based their during the war and the airfield acted as a satellite of RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey. Later on it changed its role to fulfil a training role before eventually closing in May 1945.
Skydive Hibaldstow has its origins from several early parachuting clubs dating back to the 1960's. These included Lincoln Pathfinders, Leeds Bradford Parachute club and Doncaster Parachute club. Doncaster Parachute Club started in the early 1980's. The operation then moved in 1992 to its present location due to the industrial development, with the runway being dug up and replaced with warehousing.
Skydiving at Target Skysports has always supported experienced qualified skydivers. Not only are they host to the National Championships each year, but they also hold a wide range of events including:
In addition to the many events held at the parachute centre, they are also well known as a centre for team training. Teams preparing for the National Championships jump at Hibaldstow because they can make high numbers of decents in a short space of time. This is facilitated by an efficient manifesting system, fast climbing aircraft and back-to-back jumps.
Back-to-back jumping is where a skydiver or team can make high volumes of jumps by owning more than one set of equipment. After landing from the 1st jump, they hand their equipment to qualified parachuter packers and meet the same aircraft with a 2nd set of equipment as it lands on the runway.
The National Championships were first held at Hibaldstow in 1996. Since then they have continued to host this prestigious competition ever year except one. The disciplines which are held include 4-way and 8-way formation skydiving, freefly, freestyle, skysurfing, speed skydiving and VFS (vertical formation skydiving). Two weekends (Saturday to Monday) are set aside every August, with the events being split equally between them.
2009 saw the 4-way, 8-way and VFS disciplines all completed in a single day totalling some 143 take-offs by the fleet of 3 aircraft. This year in 2010, saw another UK record of 54 formation skydiving 4-way teams and 3 VFS teams attend on the first weekend. It is also believed that proportionate to the number of skydivers and dropzones, the UK has the largest national championships event in the world.
The centre offers RAPS (Static Line), Accelerated Freefall (AFF) and Tandem skydiving courses to the public all year long. As part of this, they own a selection of student equipment and parachutes for hire.
| Aircraft | Passengers | Registration | Image | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dornier Do28 G-92 | n/a | n/a | ||
| SMG Turbo Finist | n/a | n/a | ||
| Piper Alpha PA32 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Stephen Hilder - July 2003. [1] Stephen died following a jump and an investigation discovered his parachute lines had been deliberately cut, but no suspect has been identified and suicide has been considered unlikely.
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