Welcome to Skydive Over Europe, a website for everyone who has skydived or worked with us and for all our visitors from the Netherlands.
A big welcome to everyone from France who skydived, worked and shared planes with us, to everyone who helped fold up parachutes, sat down for meals with us and visited our bar.
A big welcome to people of all other nationalities, whether you’re from Germany, Belgium, England, Malta, or anywhere else. If you still have fond memories of SOE and would love to attend the reunion, please do!
In 1989, we found our home in Soulac sur Mer, spending a single year in La Roche sur Yon in 1995 and opening a second branch in Royan in 1999. Until 2005, we trained thousands of enthusiastic adventurers at these branches and in our winter programmes, with fun instructors and great support staff who taught everything from static line to AFF.
Now, we are organising a huge reunion on 14 September 2024 to relive everything together. It’s not to be missed!
History:
Skydive Over Europe was founded in 1989 by Dré Matti, who started skydiving in 1975 and founded his first skydive school in Bergerac in 1985 and later in Royan.
In 1989, SOE started in Soulac sur Mer, a well-known jump site, with a remarkable aircraft: the Pilatus Porter. This fast-climbing plane could carry up to nine skydivers!
More importantly, SOE started off with new materials: square, easy-to-control student parachutes. No more hemispherical parachutes and hard landings, but the prospect of soft landings - provided you got everything right.
At the time, Dré Matti’s school was the first Dutch skydiving school to offer courses with this new material. In France, of course, where the weather was better and where anyone who got on a coach from Amsterdam, Utrecht or Breda could enjoy a great holiday. That’s not to say that people couldn’t drive down on their own and stay in a private tent or group tent at our campsite.
Most people arrived on Saturdays, eagerly awaiting the first training day on Sunday. Static line jumps would usually begin on Tuesday, while AFF jumpers could often get started on Sunday or Monday. Whether you booked for one or two weeks, you knew you could rely on good food throughout. The bar would open at the end of the afternoon, and our signature green army vans operated a shuttle service to the village and the beach.
Everyone’s first jump was rewarded with a certificate and a party. Add that to the legendary parties at the end of the week, and you’d have plenty of opportunities to let loose and have a great time. Who didn’t feel the apprehension and excitement? Remember that pang of anxiety when the door opened and you first jumped from the plane, which quickly made way for euphoria and pure adrenaline?
Every course, every season, produced incredible memories. And while some would leave it at the one jump, others stuck around and came back for more. We even organised skydiving trips to Thailand, the USA, Malta, Suriname, Senegal, Morocco, Spain, to Leopoldsbrug and Spa in Belgium and to Oostwold in the Netherlands.
Students and advanced skydivers alike could also keep learning at other clubs in the Netherlands, and we can truly say that we gave thousands of thrill seekers the time of their lives over the years.
From 1989 to 2005, we hosted an average of 200 students every year, including lots of advanced skydivers. It was a real melting pot of Dutch, French, German, English and Maltese people, and we always had a great time together.
For a few seasons, we even had large helicopters for jumps, like the MI 8,
Skyvan or Turbolet, with the latter being reserved for advanced jumpers.
With expert instructors from the Netherlands, under the banner of the Royal Aviation Association, who issued exercise permits, with the help of folders and guides who helped everyone jump and land safely, it was a great time for many. There were lots of themed parties and, weather permitting, everyone always had a time to remember.
Who didn’t love the sun, sea and adventure? And after a memorable one or two weeks, people went back home with photos, a video or even a CD with their own exit. Not to mention the T-shirts, memorabilia and, of course, the great memories.
The reunion on 14 September 2024 will certainly bring back all sorts of great memories. Sign up soon - we can’t wait to see you! If you still know people from back then or remember any names, look them up and encourage them to sign up. It’s guaranteed to be a massive party. See you soon!
