I met Ivan in 2004 when he came to Skydive Lillo (Madrid, Spain) with a few students to teach them the Accelerated Freefall Course.
I remember the day I met him for the first time, it was quite intimidating, this big fella 100 kilos heavy and strong like a bull. That first impression was gone as soon as we started working together, Ivan was a big teddy bear, friendly, funny, and just a very happy person.
We had a great time not just on his first trip but on many others over the years, he even worked with us for a full season at skydive Lillo as an instructor.
Iwan is a great instructor; he has the physic to handle big heavy students and the skills to fly with light and thin students too. You can tell he loves his work by the way he treates his students.
He would train his students and at the end of the day, while all the other instructors would go home to take a break from work, Ivan would go to the same restaurant with his students to have dinner and drink a few beers, have a good time and talk about the day. Ivan really enjoyed socializing with them after work which created a good atmosphere and personal connection for the next day.
A few years later, his wife Ula, contacted me to go visit their new skydiving center in Poland called ATMOSPHERA, so I went there to teach a canopy control course to his school.
It was a great drop zone and they both were running the full show, they were doing the administration, the finances, the manifest and they would be jumping with students all day long, Ivan was doing tandem jumps and loving life. Of course, even after a long 12 hrs. of work, that’s when Ivan who would shine the most, sharing his good stories with all the skydivers at the bar while enjoying a good beer. That’s why they called the Drop Zone “ATMOSPHERA”, because their main goal was to create the best atmosphere for their customers so they could feel like they belonged there with their Skydiving Family.
It’s all those things that are not included on the price that makes their AFF courses so special, all the smiles, good times, jokes, laughs, the stories from the good old Ivan that makes you feel part of his family even if it’s just for a week.
I haven’t seen them now for a while, but I can bet that they haven’t changed a bit and that they are still doing their best to give the full package to their customers.
Skydive Spain it’s a great drop zone with a strong and powerful aircraft that goes to higher altitudes than most other drop zones in the world, the weather in Seville is really good all year round which makes it the perfect destination for Skydiving in Europe.
I miss those guys and I wish to see them very soon so we can enjoy a good cold beer after a day of jumping!!!
Pablo Hernandez, PD Factory, Flight-1 Pilot.
Interwiev with Pablo Hernandez
Pablo has attended a total of 18 world meets, including world championships, world cups, World Games and World Air Games, over the course of which he has picked up 25 FAI medals, three European Championships and two world records.
Thank you so much for the time together! Looking forward to seeing you soon!
