Vertical Wind Tunnel

While a wind tunnel is a chamber through which air is forced at controlled velocities to study the effects of aerodynamic flow, a vertical wind tunnel is a similar chamber that propels air upward. Today, vertical wind tunnels are used for indoor skydiving. If the vertical air stream is moving at terminal velocity, a person entering the tunnel will be lifted up and suspended in mid-air.

The first artificial, vertical wind tunnel was created at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Military personnel Jack Tiffany ventured the first flight inside this tunnel in 1964.

By 1979, the Canadian company AERODIUM in Quebec opened the first recreational vertical wind tunnel, called the "Levitationarium" by developer Jean St. Germain. Germain helped build the first vertical wind tunnel for commercial use in 1982 in Las Vegas, Nevada. A second opened the same year in Pigeon Forge, TN and both operated under the name Flyaway Indoor Skydiving.

Now, indoor skydiving, or bodyflight, in vertical wind tunnels can be found across the United States and Canada, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Oceana.

Vertical wind tunnels are now used for aerodynamic testing, as well as bodyflight, or the ability to fly your body through the air in a controlled manner. They are used as safer alternatives to actual skydiving, allowing the participants to experience the same sensations of skydiving while remaining close to the ground in a controlled space.

All facilities offer training sessions and individual/group flight sessions.

There are two versions of vertical wind tunnels: blower or air-pusher and sucker or vacuum pressure suction. The first type does not rely on external configurations and can be used with or without walls. Instead of walls, these tunnels have safety nets and air bags surrounding participants.

The second type is completely reliant on the walls surrounding the air column, working together with a fan or multiple fans above or below the flight area, creating enough pressure and air speed so participants can fly.

Most vertical wind tunnels charge anywhere from $5 to $20 per minute for flight time. Add-ons include videos and photos. 

To purchase a vertical wind tunnel, you can expect to shell out anywhere from $100,000 for a used, portable unit to $5,000,0000 for a state-of-the-art facility. Running a tunnel will cost anywhere from $30 to $300 per hour just for fuel or electricity.