Is Skydiving Scarier Than Roller Coasters?

Have you ever thought about how it would feel to jump out of an airplane?

It’s a pretty scary thought, right?

If the idea of skydiving scares you, you’re not alone. But what’s interesting is that after people jump, most tell us that skydiving is nowhere near as scary as other things they’ve tried, like roller coasters.

And it makes perfect sense! While roller coasters are built to scare you, skydiving is a personal experience that usually results in pure joy. Let us explain…

What’s scary about skydiving?

OK, so this might sound like a pretty weird question. But when you break it down, it’s not the whole skydive that scares people. It’s not even the real life skydive, if we’re honest. For more people, the scariest part of skydiving is the idea of doing it.

The anticipation of what’s to come is much more terrifying than the jump itself! When we try to imagine what skydiving will be like, we don’t have a frame of reference – we’ve never done anything like this before – so we start to worry about everything we don’t know. It’s a fear of the unknown.

With that said, when we ask people “is skydiving scary“, there is one part of the jump that most people reference – and that’s the exit. That moment in the door, looking out into the sky, the ground thousands of feet below… you’ll be forgiven for feeling a little apprehensive! But believe us when we say it’s one of the best things you’ll ever do.

Does skydiving feel like falling?

That’s a good question. Technically, you are falling, and you are aware of that. Just look down and you’ll see the ground getting closer – there’s no mistaking the fact that you are falling through the sky!

It doesn’t feel like falling, though. You’d expect falling to feel like a big rush, very fast and loud. But the reality of skydiving is that once you reach your terminal velocity (around 10 seconds after exit), you feel more like you’re cushioned on the air.

Rather than feeling like falling, you feel like you’re floating. It’s an awesome experience, and the closest you’ll get to know how birds feel!

Does skydiving feel like a roller coaster?

In a discussion of skydiving vs roller coasters, there are lots of similarities. That feeling in your stomach that you get as the roller coaster tips over a peak, for example, is pretty similar to the feeling you’ll get as you fall out of the airplane. And the adrenaline burst you’ll feel as you fall through the air is a lot like the adrenaline you get as you zoom around the coaster track.

But that’s where the similarities end. While a roller coaster is designed to push your body to its limits, skydiving is a much smoother, much freer experience. It’s hard to describe, but if a roller coaster was the ocean, it would be choppy and rough, whereas a skydiving is like a serene lake, much calmer and almost tranquil.

The experience you’ll get when you skydive is unlike anything you’ve done before. It’s almost impossible to describe in words – so come and try it with us!