Friday, July 30, 2010

Indoor Skydiving: Skydive a Few Feet Above the Ground

Indoor Skydiving - Freefall Experience
Headline: Indoor skydiving on the increase! While the presentation of this fact is a bit extreme, the statement is true nonetheless. Hundreds, even thousands, who want to experience a skydive have taken to the indoor vertical wind tunnels being constructed across the country. Many get their thrills close to the ground and never jump from an airplane with a parachute pack on their back.

According to reports from those who have had this vacation experience or a training session, indoor skydive facilities provide nearly all the sensations of skydiving. For a few minutes, the individual can get into this well-sealed vertical wind tunnel and get the feeling of flying. All of this is possible because of technology that provides winds of up to 120 miles per hour in the facility. The wind force is similar to that in a real skydive experience, allowing the beginner or recreational skydiver to maneuver and enjoy as if in an open free fall.



Training Facilities




A large number of these indoor skydive centers are an early step in training for a skydive from an airplane. Combined with intensive on-the-ground instruction, the vertical wind tunnel can be an ideal way to introduce the newcomer to the feel and control that are possible with a free fall skydive. This can help reduce some of the anxiety and doubt a beginner might have, allowing that individual to enjoy the dive and focus on learning the details of the activity.

People who experience the indoor version of skydiving as their first try the sport don't realize that there is one thing missing. However, the experienced skydiver who tries the indoor method will miss the thrill of direction change that comes with leaving a flying aircraft. In spite of this, dive teams, skydiving clubs and military groups use the vertical wind tunnel regularly, often to save the expense of training in a full, aircraft-supported session.

Learning Acrobatics Without Added Pressure
Of course, with the indoor skydiving experience, no parachutes are opened. The focus of the indoor activity is the freefall. Newcomers can use this method to overcome some of their fear, while experienced skydivers often turn to the vertical wind tunnel to perfect their freefall control and to try some new maneuvers. The tunnel is usually about 12 feet wide and at least that high, allowing the individual to practice the proper horizontal position that can slow a freefall. Whether it is viewed as a new sport, a tourist activity or a training method, indoor skydiving is an exciting new opportunity!


Andrew Caxton is a syndicated columnist on different resources like http://www.skydiving-parachuting-guide.com .A focused website that offers the best articles on flyaway center and free fall.

Indoor Skydiving: Simulated Skydiving is Close to Real

If you have ever considered skydiving but are afraid of actually taking "the plunge", you may be a candidate for simulated sky diving. Those who have tried IMAX theater experiences, where the screen is able to faithfully replicate a real world experience will understand how close simulated visuals can be to the real thing. When you add the true movement of a plane, add the wind pressure and the falling experience to a visual simulation, you will have as close to the full experience of skydiving without actually doing it.

The history of this interesting sport began in 1964 when, at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, wind tunnels were developed in order to train military paratroopers to learn to sky jump. There were successfully used in the training of the elite Golden Knights, the Strategic Army Corps Parachute Team. This group still is in existence today.


Simulated skydiving for the general public was introduced by Flyaway Indoor Skydiving of Las Vegas in 1982. They expanded into a second location shortly thereafter by opening their Pigeon Forge Tennessee operation. This forward thinking company has made it fun, safe and economical for almost anyone to enjoy the excitement of skydiving.

Here is what simulated skydiving is: a skydiver enters a tunnel, equipped just as any other skydiver would be dressed in goggles, helmet and jumpsuit. This vertical tunnel has air propelled through it at over 120mph. Because of the propulsion of the wind against the body of the jumper, he has the ability to skydive in the tunnel. This is the safest way to experience skydiving without jumping out of a plane, and it is good for anyone, as long as they meet certain minimum and maximum weight requirements.

You do have to be instructed to a certain extent, so don't think that you will skip the training period of skydiving altogether. You will view some instructions as to how to align your body during the "flight", what the proper hand signals are to the operator, and how to "fall" safely. You are not actually falling, although you have the sense of it. You feel as though you are falling from a plane, but there is no danger whatsoever.

Outside of the small instructions necessary, you don't have to have special training or skills to try simulated skydiving. Falling through the air as if from a plane is easy and fun and something that everyone in the family, except for the littlest ones, can enjoy together.

Did you enjoy the article on simulated sky diving? Matt Anderson is the author of many articles published athttp://www.skydiving-parachuting-guide.com - Read additional info on extreme sports or skydiving simulator

Indoor Skydiving: Skydiving Experiences - The Ultimate Adrenaline Rush

People looking for a truly mind-blowing experience to dust off the cobwebs and breathe new life into their world should consider a skydiving experience. A parachute jump is regarded by many as the ultimate adrenaline rush, with no words fit enough to describe the feeling of freedom when free falling hundreds of feet in the air.

Recipients of a skydiving gift experience will need nerves of steel and bucket loads of bravado to carry out this adrenaline rush. However, you don't have to go it alone, with tandem parachute jumps available for couples, friends and family to take a leap of faith.



Begin your skydiving experience with expert tuition and guidance from a fully qualified instructor before plunging fully 10,000 feet into the air harnessed to an instructor. That unforgettable 30-second freefall would be considered utter madness prior to take-off, but it makes perfect sense as you gravitate back down to ground level.

There are ways and means of prolonging your skydiving experience. There are deals which include a special DVD and photo of your daredevil dive. This is the perfect opportunity to show off to friends and family and give them a taste of the action.

A skydiving gift could make the perfect present for numerous special occasions, from engagements and birthdays to anniversaries and impromptu acts of affection. For a reduced fee, recipients can similarly enjoy a 300 foot bungee jump that can be experienced from a crane, indoors or even strapped to another person!

Gift experience pioneers provide a number of perfect adventure days and adrenaline challenges for daredevils everywhere.


Red Letter Days provide high quality adventure & activity gifts for every occasion. Our wide range of skydivingexperiences will solve any present buying dilemma. Purchase an activity gift voucher to give someone an unforgettable gift.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Indoor Skydiving: Skydiving Options For Beginners

A friend of mine recently completed a sponsored tandem skydive for charity and he has gone on about nothing else since and his sudden love of jumping out of aeroplanes intrigued me, so I decided to find out a bit more about it. Here is my short guide to the different types of skydiving options open to newbies like myself.


Tandem Skydive
If it is your first time skydiving then a tandem dive might be best to ease you into it. Tandem dives are good for beginners who want to build up their confidence, as you are attached to a qualified tandem instructor who controls the descent of the skydive so you can just enjoy the thrill of the ride. Instruction is also relatively short, usually about half an hour, so if you want to get into sky diving quickly and easily this could be the best choice for you.


Indoor Skydiving
Find the thought of jumping head first out of aeroplane at 14,000 feet a bit daunting? Indoor skydiving is the only way to get the sensation of sky diving without stepping foot in an aeroplane. Indoor skydiving takes place in a vertical wind tunnel which will lift you a few metres off the ground and give you the feeling of free falling at 120mph. There is some short pre-flight training but this is mainly so you don't crash into the walls and so you get the most out of the experience. Indoor skydiving is perfect for beginners who want to build up their confidence and can be enjoyed by people of almost any age.

Static Line Parachuting
Static line parachuting or RAPS (Ram Air Parachute System) is the traditional way of learning to fly a modern rectangular parachute. The parachute automatically opens when you leave the aeroplane and you have radio contact with an instructor on the ground to guide you through the process. This type of jump requires that you have around 6 hours of pre-flight training and typically there are age restrictions for this type of jump.

Accelerated Free Fall
Accelerated free fall or AFF is a fast track skydiving course that will take you from a beginner to a Category 8 qualified skydiver. There will be a lot of pre-flight training and you usually do a dive with two instructors who will aid you through your jumps. You will be taught how to dive from the aircraft, fly your body in a stable position, open your own parachute and fly it safely to the ground and once you have completed the course you will be qualified to skydive by yourself.

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Indoor Skydiving Centers

As A Landing Area
A "drop zone" is also referred to as a "pit" or "jump target". Usually these drop zones, in the case that a person is jumping from a plane, are a rectangular area with its length facing in the same direction as the plane's movement. The size of the drop zone will typically be dictated by the weather, speed of the plane, or (most commonly) the skill of the skydiver. However, drop zones are not limited to just rectangular fields. The more adventurous parachutist may decide to have their landing take place in water, on a snow covered slope, into a raging forest fire, or even into hostile territory, depending upon the requirements of the jump and the skill of the jumper.


Skydiving Centers 
Drop Zone is also used in reference to a skydiving center. That would be the place that you go if you want to either learn to skydive or, if you already have at least a class A license (by the way, not the drivers license type), where you go to get a seat on a plane that will take you into the heavens so you can float back down to earth. You can find these Drop Zones in any number of ways; you can look in your local phone book, head to your nearest airport and ask around, or peruse the internet and have all of the information at your fingertips. There are web sites aplenty overflowing with information on the sport of skydiving. Some, if not most, typically have a database listing drop zones in your area.

What Can You Expect At A Drop Zone
We have all seen the glamorized version of Hollywood's idea of a drop zone. Tightly nit groups of adrenalin junkies who do not relate well to other individuals. This is completely misleading. The people that you will find at these places are among the most friendly and talkative "adrenalin junkies" you will find anywhere in the world. You would be hard pressed to find even one person, who has made that leap even one time, who is not happy to relate that experience to anyone who will listen. Also, they all seem to be more then helpful when it comes to recruiting virgin skydivers into the sport.

Andrew Caxton is a reliable journalist who has published more articles on this issue for http://www.skydiving-parachuting-guide.com For additional information on skydiving subjects follow this link indoor skydiving

What Does Indoor Skydiving Involve?

Indoor skydiving is a phenomena that was born in the USA, with the earliest experiments being carried out by the US military in 1964. The very first SkyVenture wind tunnel opened in Orlando, Florida, in 1998, and the first UK version of the wind tunnel opened in Milton Keynes, not far from the capital, London.


The idea behind the tunnel design was to simulate the feeling that one experiences in skydiving, whilst increasing the time that such an experience would last. In terms of safety, the wind tunnel is considered safer than sky-diving; although sky diving itself is of course very safe. Indoor skydiving aims to allow a person to do all the things a skydiver would do in free fall - so this would include being able to control one's flight to a large degree.


The skills required to successfully complete an indoor skydiving course are fairly easy to pick up, which means the entire process can be significantly quicker than a traditional sky diving course.
For many of those find that the prospect of a 'real' skydiving experience is too daunting, the wind tunnel offers a good alternative; allowing someone to feel the adrenaline rush of a sky dive without having to go high up into the air. Vertigo is one of the main reasons why people do not attempt skydiving; as a wind tunnel lifts you a short height off the floor there is unlikely to be any fear of vertigo.

Once you're inside such a wind tunnel, you'll need to first of all find a neutral flying position, this means you will be suspended in mid air. From this point your indoor skydiving instructor will be able to instruct you precisely how to learn other movements such as forward, backward, left and right.

If you are considering trying indoor skydiving yourself, or are considering giving it as a gift to someone else, then you have the choice of venues in the USA or the UK. There are a range of times that you can fly for, although as a beginner you'll probably start off with a 2 minute ride. If you went through the various courses available you would progress to something like 10 minutes. The prices for the beginner sessions and the advanced sessions vary to a large extent.

These are some of the basic ideas and concepts behind indoor skydiving, should you wish to try it.

Gino Hitshopi is highly experienced in the realm of indoor skydiving, having worked in the sports industry for many years. For more information please visit: http://airkix.com/.