What Does Tandem Skydiving Feel Like?

We can count on our hands and feet 100x and still have some leftover for the amount of times we’ve been asked, “What does skydiving feel like?” And we hate to disappoint you, but everyone’s skydiving experience is different, so we can’t definitively say! The skydiving feeling is indescribably awesome, and it’s something we encourage everyone to try out at least once. Let’s take a brief look into the world of skydiving, explore why people yearn to jump over and over again, and answer some general questions about how skydiving feels.

What Is Skydiving Like? 

Tandem skydiving feels a lot like sitting on a stranger’s lap and chucking yourself from a perfectly good airplane. Can’t relate? Let us break it down. 

When you arrive at the dropzone you’ll be greeted by our awesome staff, watch a United States Parachute Association (USPA) issued tandem video, sign a waiver, and meet your instructor. Your instructor will give you a pre-jump briefing where they’ll address the plane ride to altitude, the freefall, and the parachute/landing portion of the skydive. This is your time to ask your own questions!

After the briefing, you’ll put on a super snazzy jumpsuit and tandem harness, which allows your instructor to attach themselves to you. You, your instructor, and your videographer will board the aircraft along with other skydivers and start the climb to altitude. Once we reach our magic altitude of 14,000 feet the door of the airplane will open – this is when we recommend you take a big breath in! Your instructor will skillfully scooch you both towards the door, you’ll feel the rush of the wind on your face, smile at your videographer, and 1, 2, 3 BANANA (arch!) to go into freefall. 

After about a minute of taking in some 12/10 views, your instructor will deploy the parachute and begin your gliding descent back to earth. You’ll fly around under the parachute for about 5 minutes, land back on Mother Earth, and give your instructor the biggest high five of your life! This is when people are typically speechless and unable to comprehend what actually just happened. We remind them: Yes! You did that!!

• Does skydiving hurt? Nope! Skydiving equipment and technology has been refined over the years to allow skydivers to continuously experience the sport in a safe way. We always put safety first, and if there’s any reason for us to believe the skydive could end up being painful, we just won’t send it! 

Skydiving is like experiencing everything good and exciting in life all at the same time.  

Does Skydiving Feel Like A Roller Coaster? 

A notable difference between going skydiving and riding a roller coaster is the time of contemplation. While a roller coaster makes you endure a few seconds of “OMG OMG OMG” before the big drop or insanely fast take off, the plane ride to altitude gives you a whole 20-ish minutes to consider what the heck you’re actually doing. 

Does your stomach drop when you skydive?

It can, but not in the way you may think. People either love or vehemently hate the stomach in your throat feeling – eek! It’s a common myth that your stomach will drop once you exit the airplane, and that could not be more false. 

A tingly tummy happens when you accelerate from 0 mph; like when you go cliff jumping or bungee jumping. When you jump from an airplane, you’re starting at around 60 mph, not zero. This means that when we exit the aircraft, we don’t actually go straight down, but rather down a wind gradient that we call “the hill.” The hill is created when we combine the forward motion of the airplane with the gravitational pull toward earth. Skydivers don’t actually start falling ‘straight down’ until about 10 seconds after exiting the airplane, and even then the wind pushes them side to side and they rarely ever fall straight down, but we won’t get into that right now! When you skydive, your body is already in motion before leaving the airplane, so don’t worry about the stomach drop upon exit.  

Do you feel your stomach drop when skydiving at all? 

The only time the stomach drop feeling would present itself is under the parachute. When we make a turn under the canopy, our bodies experience centrifugal force which is often accompanied by the stomach drop. If you’re a hater of this feeling, let your instructor know beforehand. Your instructor will have to make some turns under the canopy in order to land, but they’ll be able to take it easy on ya if you let them know it’s not your jam! On the other hand, if you’re a lover of that whooshing feeling in your belly (ew), let your instructor know! They’re guaranteed to put the spinny swings at the fair to shame. 

Is Skydiving As Scary As It Seems? 

Have you ever seen a picture of someone skydiving who isn’t smiling? We’ll wait … skydiving is much more than physically flinging your body from an airplane; it’s an experience that will stick with you for the rest of your life! There are very few times in life where the joy that skydiving brings can be experienced. Skydiving brings on an influx of happy chemicals (like serotonin and dopamine), and that combined with the incredibly welcoming community is why people keep on jumpin’. 

What does it feel like to skydive for the first time? Book your tandem today and come find out! If you have any other questions or concerns, please do reach out – we are here to support you!