Essential Information

What is a High Flight?

 

What Is A High Flight?
August 30, 2014
Indoor Skydiving Source

A high flight is commonly referred to as the BEST part or the ‘grand finale’ of a first time indoor skydiving experience. First-time flyers are typically flown within arms reach of the instructor, roughly 3-6 feet about the net. This allows the instructor to communicate with the flyer and keep them in a safe range within the tunnel. Commonly at the end of the last flight for each flyer, the tunnel instructor teaching the class will fly the flyer up and down within the wind tunnel. Normally the instructor fly’s the student in a rising and falling pattern while turning. The high flight normally rises at the highest point somewhere between 10-20 feet above the net within the flight chamber.

High Flights from Tunnel to Tunnel

Most modern wind tunnels offer high flights either as a part of their first-time package or as of the recent past, at an extra charge. We outline high flight information on each tunnel profile page.

The best advice we can give is to plan on purchasing a high flight if it is not already included in your package.

Prices for high flights usually run ~$10 per flyer. Upwards of 85% of first-time flyers participate in high flights in tunnels which offer them as an extra charge. With those numbers, you can imagine that it is definitely worth planning on purchasing the add-on if the tunnel you plan to fly in charges for it. Alternatively, you can save yourself some money by finding a tunnel that includes high flights in their first-time package prices.

You can see an example of a high flight in this video:

Ready to start flying? Find a wind tunnel near you!

Published: August 30, 2014 | Last Updated: December 2, 2021

What Is A High Flight?
Written by,
Indoor Skydiving Source

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6 thoughts on “What is a High Flight?”

    1. Indoor Skydiving Source

      Hey Maureen,
      The short answer is no – you shouldn’t get dizzy. Personally I’ve taken thousands of first time flyers on high flights and its never been a problem. As the passenger, you actually have the sensation of flying forward in a circle rather than the world spinning around you. I too get dizzy and feel crummy after fair rides, but have spent countless hours flying in circles in the tunnel and never felt those feelings.

      You can also ask your instructor to go slow and not spin too much or too fast if you’d like. The instructor can control how intense the high flight is. They are all about you having a good time based on your needs.

  1. I am hearing impaired I will not be wearing my hearing aid if I plan on doing this skydiving. How will this affect the skydiving process since I will be deaf?

    1. Indoor Skydiving Source

      This shouldn’t be a problem! Everyone who flys in a wind tunnel wears ear plugs because the of the high volume of noise in the flight chamber. Before you fly you are taught hand signals and basic non-verbal communication skills needed to communicate with your instructor while flying. As long as you understand all the information in the class you will be fine. I would suggest telling your instructor about your hearing before you fly and they can accommodate you if anything special needs to be done!

      Most experienced instructors can read lips at least a little bit. They have spent a considerable amount of time communicating in an environment where you can be face to face but simply can’t yell loud enough to hear much more than a faint ‘WHOOO!’ as someone screams in excitement as they fly.

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