Indoor skydiving can train you for skydiving, but can’t replicate everything

Before a runner decides to tackle a marathon, they train. Workouts in short, steady intervals incrementally increase distance and pace to build up strength, allowing for longer durations of running time. The result is a successful finish and, hopefully, a time the runner can be proud of.

In the same way, indoor skydiving can be used to help you successfully train for the adventure of a lifetime and help you finally cross skydiving off your bucket list.

How so? It’s a great way to train your body and prep your mind for the feeling of freefall. Indoor and outdoor skydiving often work in harmony and are seen as two sides of the same coin. As a matter of fact, many professional skydiving teams — as well as once-in-a-while jumpers — make use of the indoor wind tunnel and indoor skydiving as a tool to fine-tune their flying skills.

At Paraclete XP, we’re pretty lucky. We can take advantage of that positive relationship. We have access to both a skydiving dropzone and an indoor skydiving center, merely a 10-minute drive apart.  

If you’ve never stepped foot out of an airplane or into a wind tunnel, you might be wondering what’s the big difference? While indoor skydiving can help prepare you for skydiving by building muscle memory for a stable freefall body position, there are a few factors it can’t quite replicate. 

Ride in the Airplane

The skydiving view from a plane will leave you breathless. As altitude increases, you’ll watch the world — a patchwork quilt of landscape shrinking beneath you. While soaring above it all, you can watch the light on the hills and mounds of cumulus clouds spread out in the distance. 

Even if you’ve experienced commercial flights before, this view is unique: you’ll soon be making the transition from passive passenger to active participant and experiencing human flight. 

The Altitude

Even if we take you on a high-flight up to the top of the indoor skydiving tunnel, it’s nothing compared to the heights you reach when skydiving. How high do skydivers jump from? Because of the impressive fleet of turbine aircraft here at Skydive Paraclete XP, we’re able to reach 13,500 feet.

Exit

Ask anyone who skydives. No matter how many jumps you have, there’s one pivotal moment that captivates us time and time again: the exit. As the door opens, cool air rushes into the cabin charged with anticipation and excitement. Time slows as you inch toward the door.

One of the primary differences between indoor skydiving and outdoor skydiving is pretty obvious. On a skydive, you’re going to actually exit that airplane and fly.

Ready to be on top of the world, if only for a minute? Prepare yourself with indoor skydiving training, and then, come experience the thrill of outdoor skydiving!