Is Indoor Skydiving Worth It?

Is indoor skydiving worth it? Holy dachshund in a hot-dog bun, is it ever.

How good is indoor skydiving, really? On the surface, indoor skydiving might seem like a big investment for a relatively small amount of flight time, BUT the return-on-investment is strong with this one. We know that statement is a little weak without the foundational facts, so y’know what? We’ve laid ’em all down in writing for you to look back on when the apprehension starts to creep its way in.

1. It’s Longer Than It Sounds.

A two minute flight time sounds like nothin’, right? You can burn 10 times two minutes scrolling through a social feed and hardly notice it as it flies you by! Two minutes in traffic? That’s more than half a pop song on the radio. Two minutes left on your Google Maps route? You’re almost there.

But, of course, there’s another side to two minutes.

Is indoor skydiving fun? What a measly word to describe two minutes that are earth-shakingly novel and challenging and saturated with sensation. “Fun” is an understatement and two minutes is a lot more than just two minutes. 

Try spending two minutes holding hands with the person you’re crazy about whose Friend Zone you were sure you’d never escape. Try spending two minutes cutting first tracks down the mountain on a powder day. Try spending two minutes singing the National Anthem at a ball game. 

Flying in the wind tunnel? Yeah, it’s like that. It’s not your ordinary two minutes. Not even by a long shot.

2. Is Indoor Skydiving Worth The Cost?

Yes, and the cost actually makes tons of sense. To tackle this perspective, let’s break down the cost of doing a skydive in the sky vs. “indoor skydiving” (flying in the vertical wind tunnel) in terms of actual freefall time. Suffice it to say, this is a nice way to arrive at an aha moment.

Cost for a skydive from 13,500 feet at our sister facility, Skydive Paraclete XP: $209 (for ~1 minute of freefall)

Cost for a first-timer flight at Paraclete XP Indoor Skydiving: $64 (for 2 minutes freefall)
… OH! … Right?

The indoor skydiving cost is cheaper because the variables are significantly more controlled – there’s no parachute or airplane to factor in. It’s also a very different experience, naturally, but there are loads of parallels between the two. What is indoor skydiving like when compared to the real deal? It’s a primo “taster session” for the experience of bodyflight. First time flyers enjoy significant returns for that investment.

3. Does Indoor Skydiving Feel Like The Real Thing?

Skydiving and indoor skydiving are both independently beautiful, but relationally speaking, yes, indoor skydiving is as close as you can get to doing the real thing. Indoor skydiving gives even the meek and not-so-confident athlete the chance to excel at something sensationally novel and totally different from any other experience on offer on this planet.

Indoor skydiving is also a great way to segue into “outdoor” skydiving, if that’s what you’re after.  If not, and you fall in love with indoor skydiving, it’s a sport all its own that can be pursued to the highest international level,. (Lots and lots of people do.) 

Worth noting too is that indoor skydiving is a family affair! If you’re looking for a memorable experience to share with family members of ages 3 and up, tunnel flying is your huckleberry. What other activities can grandpa and the teenagers enjoy on totally equal footing? *crickets*

4. Skydivers Get A Serious Level-up.

First-time flyers get a lot out of the tunnel, certainly – but it’s skydivers seeking to improve skills that really see the benefits pile up. 

The tunnel limits the variables so you can push yourself to the next level of bodyflight in a space that’s risk-mitigated and highly precise. Whether you’re struggling to get to that next AFF level, nailing your head-down or going for national gold, the tunnel is the hack that gets you further. 

Plus, Paraclete XP boasts the world-class instructors that will give you that boost. You really can’t beat it.

5. The Clock Is Just A Handy Reference Point. 

(It actually means little.) 

Consider: the average cost of a wedding in the United States is north of $26,000, but it only takes, like, five minutes to get married. Are you having a wedding just to get married? No – you’re having a wedding to bring together the family, to make lifelong memories, to celebrate love, to get epic photos of yourself looking drop-dead fantastic, and to imbibe entirely too much champagne. 

It may seem like a stretch, but hold up: when you plunk down your credit card for an indoor skydive, you’re not just paying to lay your belly down on some wind. What is indoor skydiving like? It’s a transcendent experience. It’s about expansion. It’s about making your relationship with human flight intimate and personal. It’s about challenging possibility. It’s about blowing a raspberry at gravity. It’s about getting inspired to try something completely out-of-the box. And if that ain’t worth it, what is?

Ready to earn your wings? 

Book a flight!