Son follows in skydiving father’s footsteps for 16th birthday celebration

Why don’t you have a go – you know you’d love to!

A boy has followed in his skydiving dad’s footsteps by taking part in a tandem skydive on his 16th birthday – the earliest date he could legally do so in the UK.

Jamie Owens has been using the indoor skydiving simulator in Manchester to learn more about his dad Neil’s hobby and wanted to get in the sky as soon as possible.

The pair travelled to Skydive Langar in Nottinghamshire to do the jump.

Speaking of the experience, Jamie said: “It was absolutely amazing. Incredible. I have heard lots about it from my dad and done quite a bit of flying in the wind tunnel but it just doesn’t compare. Now I just need to persuade my mum to let me learn to skydive by myself!”

Neil Owens has been skydiving since June 2021 and in that time, has completed over 30 solo jumps. He was excited for Jamie to try out the sport he loves.

He said: “We know it’s not your typical father-son hobby but for us, skydiving has been a great way for us to bond. We’ve always been close but having something like this in common really takes that to the next level – though I do wish he wasn’t quite so naturally talented as he’s already putting my skills to shame!”

Laura Hampton is a skydiving instructor at Skydive Langar. She jumped with Neil during his training and was the camera person who filmed Jamie on his tandem. She has completed over 3,500 skydives herself and commented:

“It was so much fun filming Jamie’s jump and the fact that Neil was able to be in the plane – and jump out before him – too was really cool.

“We do see quite a few children following in their parents’ footsteps once they reach skydiving age, but it’s rare they manage to get the jump in on their actual 16th birthday! We all hope that Jamie comes back to learn to skydive solo – he was a natural!”

Skydive Langar is the UK’s biggest and busiest skydiving centre, reaching around 40,000 jumps per year with around 10% of those being tandem skydives and the rest hobbyists who regularly skydive for fun. The centre has also hosted a number of national competitions in recent years and has the British Canopy Formation Championships coming up this weekend.

The number of people choosing to skydive has grown significantly in recent years, with the so-called experience economy booming post-lockdown. Anyone interested in trying out skydiving, or learning to do it solo, can find out more at www.skydivelangar.co.uk.