We Have The Largest Wind Tunnel – [Why it Matters]

It’s safe to say that would-be fliers are spoiled for choice when it comes to choosing a wind tunnel skydiving facility. In the last few years, indoor skydiving has truly become a globally celebrated day out for sports-minded folks. To date, almost 200 indoor skydiving wind tunnels have popped up like mushrooms all over our fine planet, spanning more than 40 countries.

We’d like to humbly submit that the Paraclete wind tunnel is the cream of this bumper crop. Not only have we been introducing folks to the world of human flight for longer than most of these indoor skydiving experience centers have been a twinkle in their owners’ eyes — we’ve been supporting skydiving on the international level for just as long. In great part, this is due to a pretty simple aspect of the Paraclete wind tunnel’s construction: sheer size, yo.

A few words on wind tunnel size

Yes! It does matter. Lots.

The size of a tunnel is measured most commonly by the diameter of the flight chamber. Put simply, the larger the diameter of the chamber the wind moves through, the more people can fly at once. The most common size is a 14 ft (4.3 m) diameter, which supports the multitudinous needs of first-time flyers, skydivers and the requirements to hold an (exciting!) indoor skydiving competition.

Compare that to 16’4″ in diameter and 51’ in height: our measurements. Yep, the Paraclete wind tunnel is currently America’s widest. If you’re an experienced skydiver, that means that you’ll enjoy loads of luxurious space for flying 4- and 8-way formations, as well as the dynamic freeflying and freestyle currently taking the scene by storm. If you’re coming here for your first flight, you’ll still feel that gorgeous space and you’ll spoil yourself rotten on your very first day. (Congrats!)

A little note on muscle

It’s also interesting to note that the Paraclete wind tunnel is currently the world’s biggest in terms of sheer wind power. Skydivers and pro flyers need speeds of roughly 170 mph (270 km/h) available, and ours well outstrips that basic requirement. In fact, our four humongous fans roar along at 541 horsepower each, giving us the air speed range to truly simulate the scope of freefall. If you’re serious about perfecting your bodyflight, that’s pure gold.

A quick comment about the weather in there

Jumpsuits can be sweaty places if all that size and all that power ends up turning into heat energy in the airflow. Luckily, we have you covered at PXP. Even when the Raeford summer sunshine is doing its best to make the outside of our wind tunnel building into a tandoori oven, it’s gorgeous in the airflow!

We’ve installed temperature control in our recirculating wind tunnel design to cool your high-flying jets and keep you comfortable even through the most grueling training schedule. If you’re not a flyer (yet!) and you’re just looking for an amazingly fun indoor activity when the temperatures spike, you’re going to love how it feels to caper around in the cool tunnel breezes.

Ready to experience the big, powerful coolness of our Raeford indoor skydiving facility? Check out our prices and book your indoor skydive today, or contact us if you’ve got any questions and one of our team members will be happy to help!