Indoor skydiving at "Air Power Arena"

Indoor skydiving is performed in a vertical wind tunnel. A giant fan generates wind moving upwards at approximately 120 mph, equal to the terminal velocity of a human body falling belly-downwards. The sensation is very similar to real skydiving.

See this totally cool demonstration of tunnel flying on YouTube. It looks like something out of The Matrix.



The only indoor skydiving center in Germany is Air Power Arena in Hückelhoven, NRW. This is about 40 km from Aachen and 60 km from Düsseldorf. The tunnel is 4m in diameter and 8m tall. A five-minute instructional session is obligatory and costs €50. Each further five-minute session costs €25. It's also possible to rent the tunnel for a group for a day.

Want.

skydiving - no - that'd freak me out... but this... this has possibilities...

I would do that!!!

Me too! Anyone wanna car pool (or Bayern train ticket) out there for a day of zero g looking fun?

Me too! I have been hinting at this as a Christmas present but couldn't find one close to Munich.

I think this looks like fun too - and it's not too far away from me either so I will also be adding it to my Christmas wish list (I won't be hinting but outright asking though).

Obviously not on a Bayern Ticket...and it'd be a long-ass day trip...

However, I'd love to do this...any idea what it costs to rent it out for the day? (or for a few hours?) if we had enough people...(my car only seats four...so we'd need at least a few cars like mine...)

It costs €400 per hour, the owner recommends renting it for three hours if app. 20 - 30 people show up. There is a small hotel close to the arena, or we can book nice hotels in Mönchengladbach. If enough people are interested I would do the organization, but not until the new year.

I would also be interested in trying this! It sounds really cool! Ocean

I'd do this and possibly get some others too!

That looks really awesome, although somehow I get the feeling I might look a bit more like this guy then the first guy

I would totally, totally love to do this. I was practically jumping up and down with delight watching the video. How come all the folks on the website have the poofy suits though? Maybe you have to be really good at it before they let you wear the lycra.

If anyone's wondering what the music in the video is, it's Swamp Thing by Juno Reactor.

we need One51 to comment since he's a bit skydiver.

The wind tunnel is fun, but you will definitely look and feel like an idiot compared with any awesome tunnel videos you see. I would not go and rent an hour to then find out you are a slow learner and just blew 400 euro (even with a group). The practice session they give is a great idea. If you're skilled, by the end of several minutes you'll be able to stay flat on your belly without the instructor holding you -- and if you're even better (a NATURAL), you won't float up, down, or hit the walls.

OK, buzzkill aside, it is really fun. You get the feeling of floating on a column of air that's going 120mph, it is excellent! It's really amazing how much reaction you get by moving your arms a bit (try sticking your hand out the window on the Autobahn at your car's top speed!). The tunnel is quite different from skydiving though ;-)

Don't expect any zero G. You only get that pit of the stomach feeling for about 5-10 seconds jumping from an airplane, because your body quickly accelerates from 0 (relative to the earth) to 120 (relative to the earth). Your G's in that situation reduce from 1 to 0 (as you approach a constant velocity). In the wind tunnel you will not experience any G's because your speed stays almost constant relative to the earth, at zero. But that means it's good for people who don't like roller coasters, since there is nothing to upset the stomach.

That tunnel looks good, from its specs. Ever since the original Skyventure in Orlando (where I went), they have started licensing out the technology, and I guess there are also many similar copies. Go for it, yo!

For a non-skydiver, I hear this wind tunnel is really great fun. The funny suits are to catch air to help keep you aloft. The power of the fans isn't enough to keep you aloft without the suit. For this reason, I hear it is not the best for skydivers (I am a skydiver), though it is still fun. Maybe someday I'll go. There is a stronger wind tunnel north of Paris somewhere. If you find that the w.t. in NRW is cool, maybe that should be your next step towards skydiving. The best, of course, is actually opening the door of an airplane at 13000 ft and jumping out.