What Does Tandem Skydiving Feel Like?

As experienced professional skydivers at Skydive Coastal Carolinas, freefall is a sensation we are used to, but never take for granted.

If you are considering a tandem skydive over Myrtle Beach or are anticipating your upcoming skydive, you’re probably wondering what it’s going to feel like.

Here, we try to explain the sensation of tandem skydiving, and also dispel a few myths.

IT DOESN’T FEEL LIKE ‘PLUMMETING’

If you have ever been on a roller coaster or jumped off of a high board, you have experienced the ‘falling sensation’. Most people expect that same feeling when they skydive, however, are surprised to find that it doesn’t feel like you’re falling at all.

The feeling of having your stomach in your throat is actually caused by acceleration. When skydiving, on exit you feel a ‘whoosh’ as the slipstream (the air moving around the plane as it flies) takes you away from the door.

Within a few seconds, you have reached terminal velocity, which means that your descent speed remains steady and you are no longer accelerating.

IT DOES FEEL LIKE FLYING

If it doesn’t feel like falling, what does it feel like?

Flying or floating is how most people describe it.

Free falling at terminal velocity is a truly unique experience.

During freefall, your tandem instructor will have control of your movements through the air and be able to initiate turns.

It is incredibly freeing.

YOU WON’T GET VERTIGO

It sounds counter-intuitive, but skydiving is so high that it stops feeling high. You are detached from the ground, so exiting feels more like you are jumping into the sky, not at the ground.

DON’T FORGET THE PARACHUTE RIDE

People tend to focus a lot on the freefall part of a skydive, but that is only one aspect of it!

Let’s just say the parachute ride is the “ying” to the freefall’s “yang”.

Freefall is sensation overload. It is loud and fast and amazing. The parachute ride is calm and relaxing, but equally amazing too, and some would say one of the best ways to see the world.

Certainly if you’re looking to skydive in the Myrtle Beach area, the views you’ll get with Skydive Coastal Carolinas are sensational. It is the best way to see the Carolina’s coast (and we’re the only dropzone you can see it from).

IT CAN BE EMOTIONAL

Skydivers are always smiling. Our tandem skydiving students may experience a whole range of emotions. We see shouting, jumping up and down, and even crying (happy crying).

The combination of the rush of adrenaline, the feeling of achievement, and the knowledge that you have experienced something truly special is an emotional experience.

STOP WONDERING, START FEELING

The only way to truly understand the feeling of a tandem skydive is to do one.

Come join our skydiving tribe and satiate your curiosity by booking a tandem skydive near Myrtle Beach today!