Indoor Skydiving Takes Off
The extreme sport of skydiving is not for everyone; some cannot handle the height and some cannot deal with the extreme nature of falling out of a plane from the sky.
Due to the demand from people who wanted a safer alternative to jumping out of a plane, the sport of indoor skydiving was born. It was the first time that something like skydiving could be done indoors, and people could experience the thrill and exhilaration of jumping out of a plane without the fear of falling a thousand miles and hitting the ground.
Over the years the activity has grown in popularity and now it is a fun activity that people can take part in with the extreme nature reduced.
The history of indoor skydiving is very interesting. Like many other extreme sports, indoor skydiving got its start from the military. The US military designed the first vertical wind tunnel for testing purposes in 1943, but it was not used by humans until much later. The first human got into a vertical wind tunnel in 1964 at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base in America.
This was the first recorded indoor wind tunnel flight and effectively became the first ever skydive to take place indoors. Nothing else really happened in indoor skydiving until the 80s though. In 1982, the first commercial facility was opened that provided extreme sports buffs with the chance to go skydiving in a much safer environment.
The activity became very popular after this and many more facilities sprung up all over the country and even in other locations such as Japan. In 2003 the first indoor skydiving challenge was set up with participants and competitors lining up to try their hand at doing tricks and impressing judges. Today the sport is something very fun and enjoyable and anyone can do it with a little bit of training and practice.
The sport of skydiving, when taken indoors is nothing more than people free flying inside a vertical wind tunnel. The wind tunnel has massive propellers that generate a huge amount of air at the bottom of the tunnel and push a person into the air. A person can control their movement in the tunnel by moving their hands and legs to simulate flying and they can move around inside the contraption.
The propellers can generate wind speeds of 80-140 mph and this enables a skydiver to lift a few feet off the ground. More experienced flyers can get the speed turned up and be pushed higher up the tunnel and do tricks and stunts. People use these wind tunnels as a form of practice before they try outdoor skydiving, some use it as training and some use it to experience what skydiving is like without jumping out of a plane. People also indulge in this activity as a mere part of a 'weekend away with friends', for example.
The activity really got a boost in popularity after the 2006 Winter Olympics featured indoor skydiving as part of its closing ceremony. Then when it was featured as a stunt on the television show, America’s Next Top Model. As the activity has grown, companies have started to innovate the ways participants can experience indoor skydiving.
People have invented mobile vertical wind tunnels that can be moved around and fitted wherever the need arises. It is similar to the way innovators brought bungee jumping to the people by having it done off cranes. Fun fairs and amusement parks are benefiting from having mobile wind tunnels placed on site to give people a chance to try out indoor skydiving for themselves.
In a few years when the cost of setting up and offering indoor flights decreases, the sport will see a spike in popularity in places where it is not so common today. It may go to Asian countries next and eventually spread all over the world. With a safe alternative to skydiving having been found, it is time to find some safer alternatives to other dangerous and risky extreme sports out there.
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