Has Skydiving Become Skyflying?

It seems as if each time you see a parachutist they are wearing some kind of newfangled suit. Why? People have been jumping recreationally for years, so what’s changed?

Well, within the skydiving community there has been a noticeable move toward wingsuit flying, and to do this you need a suit with wings.

The suits don’t actually have wings, nor do they sport any feathers, but instead they employ clever bat-like patches that unfold to form what look like wings.

The key here is that they employ this design to create a larger surface area, which jumpers then use to help them travel across the sky.

What, across the sky? Yes, the most skilled parachutists exit a plane and then use their suits to travel upwards of ten miles, before they even open their canopies.

Parachuting is in every word a leap of faith; it takes a lot of nerve to throw yourself out of a perfectly fine aircraft, purely for the fun of it. Yet for many people there can be no better way to test their nerve than to seek excitement in freefall.

All parachutists, be they bat suit fans or regular sports jumpers, have to first go through a period of ground training, and it’s at this stage you could help treat a family or friends to a gift certificate.

Perhaps for them the full adrenaline pumped experience is a little too extreme. If so, you could always set them up with some indoor skydiving training in Los Angeles, Denver, Asheville or San Francisco.

Now, if you know someone who would love to parachute but feels uneasy about picking up all the skills in time, they should try a tandem jump instead.

These really are available just about everywhere; experienced parachutists take the lead and the lucky recipient of a sky diving gift certificate is strapped to their front as they jump.

Learning to freefall takes a long time, so don’t expect to be able to gift someone a quick weekend course, although most locations have a great alternative: static line parachuting.

This is how all skydivers took their first jump. This way your friend or family member can complete ground training and make a jump, where the parachute is pulled for them as they exit the aircraft.

Whichever experience you choose for them, you can guarantee it will be the best surprise they ever had!