If you’re an adventure-seeking person, skydiving is undoubtedly one of the top things you want to experience. So, you might have been curious about how skydiving works and how long does skydiving last. As a first-timer, asking questions and looking for answers is a great start to familiarize yourself with what you’ll do when skydiving. The knowledge and answers you’ve gathered will eventually come in handy when you start your skydiving adventure.
Where can you get all the answers? Here! We have all the answers you need in this article to know more about the fun and thrilling adventure of skydiving. You’ll be able to learn here more than just the answer to: when you skydive how long are you in the air?
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How Long Does Skydiving Last?
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You’ll be surprised to know that skydiving only lasts for about five to six minutes of being in the air. It does not take long to experience flying, but most skydivers say it can be the longest minutes of your life. You’ll feel all sorts of emotions and new sensations, making you feel like the time is slowing down.
The six-minute time frame is the overall duration of skydiving from free fall or falling from the airplane up to flying down using the parachute. It’s not the same for every skydiving experience since factors might affect the duration of the adventure, such as the altitude, weight, and equipment. The skydiving experience can last longer or shorter depending on the said factors.
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How Long Does the Free Fall Lasts?
Free Fall refers to the moment when the skydivers jump from the airplane and fall toward the earth at a certain speed until you reach the time to use your parachute. It’s the most thrilling part of skydiving, especially that you’re falling and seeing the down part of where you’re falling. You’ll definitely feel as if time suddenly slows down for a moment, but in reality, the free fall will typically just last for 50 to 60 seconds.
However, it’s essential to note that it’s not all the same experience for everyone. As mentioned above, factors like altitude, weight, body position, and type of jump will affect the duration of skydiving. For example, the higher the altitude of the skydiving, thus the more extended the free fall will last. It will also vary if you will be skydiving alone or with tandem; the weight will play a significant part in the duration of the free Fall. Moreover, there are various positions when doing the free Fall, which undoubtedly affects how fast or slow the free fall will commence.
In terms of the speed of free fall, the usual pace of falling ranges from 120mph to 180 mph. It’s how quickly you will reach the phase where you need to deploy the parachute after the free fall. It can be even faster with proper positioning of the body and correct knowledge of skydiving.
How Long Does Flying Down Using The Parachute Last?
After the 60 seconds free fall, the skydivers will reach the point where they need to deploy their parachute to fly down safely to the ground. Like the free Fall, there are many variables regarding how long the skydivers will reach the ground under the parachute. However, typically, someone who has experience in skydiving will descend on an average of three to four minutes.
Then, when it’s tandem skydiving or skydiving with a partner, it can take up to five minutes, depending on the size of the parachute and the weight of the skydivers. On the other hand, solo divers will descend faster when they navigate the parachute properly to quickly land. Usually, skydivers use the ‘swooping’ technique or turning the parachute towards the ground to increase the speed of the traveling down of the parachute.
How Long Does the Entire Skydiving Experience Take?
So, how long does skydiving take really? The entire skydiving experience starts with going in the skydiving center, riding the aircraft, free Fall, flying down with the parachute, and exiting the center, making it much longer. The 6-minute time frame is just the main part of the adventure.Typically, you’ll have to spend 20 minutes getting ready with your skydiving instructor if you’re doing a tandem jump. Then, another 20 minutes riding the aircraft to reach the altitude. For 20 minutes, the altitude the plane will reach is about 14,000 ft. So, basically, the entire experience is more than one hour of fun and excitement!
Want to know more about skydiving? Here are some of the basic knowledge you need to acquire before diving up the sky.
How High Do Planes Fly for Skydiving?
Generally, the planes for skydiving fly for an altitude of 10,000 to 13,000 feet. It can vary depending on factors such as the number of skydivers on the plane and other considerations. The altitude is usually one of the factors that affects the duration of the free fall. For example, when the plane deploys the skydivers at an altitude of 10,000 feet, the free fall will take for up to 60 seconds and when the plane goes higher, the time for flying in the air also increases. In professional skydiving, 13,000 is the average since they can go even higher for up to 23,000 or more depending on their goal and ability.
Skydiving Speed: How Fast are You Falling When You Skydive?
When you skydive, the speed of falling can vary depending on factors like the position of your body when falling, weight and weather. However, the average speed of the free fall when skydiving is 120 miles per hour for a tandem skydiving. Although the fall can be faster if the the tandem are heavier and the falling will be slower if the tandem are weighs lighter. The clothes they wear can also have a significant effect on the speed of falling.
Additionally, in terms of body position, the belly-to-earth position is the most common position which has the average falling speed of 120 mph. However, it increases when the skydivers position their head downward or head up while falling with a much higher velocity of up to 160 miles per hour. Then, if you want to fall as fast as possible, the best position is pointing your head down and putting all your weight down. As of now, the world record for the fastest free fall is 373.6 miles per hour.
Moreover, the weather when skydiving also affects the speed of falling. For example, when the tandem skydivers jump during a hot weather, they usually fall faster since the molecules of the air scattered. On the other hand, skydivers will fall slower when the weather is cold since the air molecules are more dense and compact.
What Does Skydiving Feel Like?
When we think about falling from the sky, it definitely send some shivers down our spine like feeling the pressure of falling. However, according to skydivers, you won’t feel the speed of falling and you’ll still feel like something is still supporting your body. It’s not the same as when you open your car’s window and feel the gushing of air towards your face. Skydiving will let you feel the greatness of flying!
Tips for Skydiving for the First Time
Be Familiar
Skydiving is extreme and requires knowledge to prevent accidents. So, one thing that most first timers should do is to get familiar with the basic of skydiving or take lessons before trying it. It’s also best if you go with tandem skydiving first before you go solo to get used to it.
Be Ready
For first time skydivers, it’s essential to ready yourself first and all the equipment you will need to have a great skydiving experience.
What are the Equipment Needed for Skydiving?
In trying out a new sport like skydiving, it’s essential to be familiar with the equipment and tools needed to start with. It will give you more advantage when you actually start doing the sport. So, here are some of the essential equipment you should know before doing skydiving:
Parachute
One of the most essential equipment in skydiving is the parachute, or the vast thing that will help you safely land after falling from the plane. Most of the time, skydivers are equipped with two parachutes for safety purposes because sometimes the main parachute might fail to launch due to some issues. So, when the main canopy fails, the skydivers will have to cut it and deploy the second parachute to continue landing safely.
Automatic Activation Device
In every sport, risks and accidents are always there. We can’t remove that fact even in skydiving. Risks like getting unconscious during the fall and the inability to launch the parachute manually can happen in skydiving. Luckily, the automatic activation device (ADD) is designed to automatically deploy the reserve parachute for skydivers to still land safely in case of specific incidents. When the skydivers reach a certain altitude and fail to launch the canopy, the ADD will deploy it at around 750 feet.
Skydiving Jumpsuit
Maybe, you’re also wondering why you need to wear a jumpsuit when skydiving. The jumpsuit serves as a protection of your skin from possible scrapes that you can get during the landing. In addition, it’s generally another layer of security to prevent your skin and clothes from acquiring dirt and possible damages.
Additionally, skydiving jumpsuit also plays a vital role in the ability of the divers to perform the free fall. If you’re an avid fan of skydiving, you’ll notice that skydives wear various kinds of jumpsuits depending on their purpose.
Altimeter
Measuring altitude is essential in skydiving to know when to deploy your parachute, and one piece of equipment designed for that is the altimeter. Although most skydiving instructors can do an excellent estimation of the altitude, they are in, making it okay for them to not bring an altimeter.
Goggles
Falling with a speed of 120 mph is not easy to keep your eyes open because of the wind pressure, but with the help of goggles, you’ll be able to protect your eyes. It will also make your skydiving experience memorable as you will not miss the beautiful view of the skydiving place.
Helmet
In landing during skydiving, there can be possibilities of falling roughly, so wearing a helmet is also essential. It protects your head from getting injured and possible damages.
Where are the Best Skydiving Places in The World?
Skydiving is more about seeing a place from a different angle where you see what birds can feast with their eyes. If you’re planning to do skydiving, it’s the best option to pick the best skydiving location. So, we tried to compile some of the best skydiving places in the world that you might want to do your first skydiving adventure.
Skydiving in Dubai
Dubai is widely known for its wonderful cities and awe-inspiring natural beauty from beaches to islands; that’s why it’s also famous for skydiving in the world. In fact, Dubai hosted one of the biggest international championships in skydiving. If you want to experience Dubai on another level, skydiving here is the best possible way.
Skydiving in New Zealand
If you’re into seeing white mountains, New Zealand is your best drop sight to experience the breathtaking view of the snowy mountains and land. The cold breeze of the place will surely give you a thrilling and chilling fall that you’ll never forget.
Skydiving in Hawaii
Hawaii is already known for its spectacular natural sceneries, from blue ocean to green mountains. It’s one of the favorite tourist destinations in the world. But it’s another level of Hawaii when you get to see the wondrous landscape of the place. It will surely give you the best time of falling from thousands of feet high! You’ll never get tired of looking at the perfect view of a lifetime.
Final Thoughts
Skydiving is one of the best sports that you can try once in your life to experience the freedom of flying. It can be scary at first, but we all know that every first is scary, not until you take the courage to face your fear. Also, skydiving does not take longer than 6 minutes to be in the air and feel the cool breeze of the air while enjoying the view. It might be short in time, but it can be the best minutes of your life, having to face your fear while giving your eyes the fantastic view to feast. If you have the chance to do new things, always be ready to try them out because life is short; we have to seize every moment of it!
