How Long Does the Entire Skydiving Process Take?

As you’re planning your first skydive, it’s helpful to know exactly how long the entire skydiving process will take. The duration of the skydiving process can be a major factor in making travel plans and addressing scheduling conflicts. Whether you’re looking for your next adrenaline rush or checking off a bucket list item, we want you to have the chance to take in every single moment of your skydive without the added worry of deadlines and time restraints!

How Long Does Skydiving Last?

Typically, a skydiving experience takes between two to four hours total from your initial arrival at the dropzone to embracing your loved ones following your monumental parachute landing. Truthfully, it is hard to pinpoint the exact amount of time your skydive will take because of a few key factors that can impact your jump.

At Skydive STL, we can give you the gift of human flight in about 90 minutes or less depending on what’s going on at the dropzone. We are dedicated to serving you in the most efficient and safe manner as possible, which means there can sometimes be delays. Please arrive at your reservation time and allow for a potential four hour endeavor (especially on the weekend).

Weather

Weather plays one of, if not THEE most important roles on your skydiving experience. Things like cloud cover, rain, and even wind can impact the jump schedule, cause delays, and even cancel all skydiving activities. If the weather is looking favorable again, we will continue operations. If the weather is not looking so good, we will simply reschedule your jump at no additional cost! This is solely as a safety precaution to protect you and everyone else involved in the skydive. We understand this can be a huge inconvenience and we deeply apologize, but it’s important to us to not compromise your safety or the safety of anyone else.

Business Operations

Skydiving centers can be busy places with lots of moving pieces: refueling between 20 minute airplane loads, limited availability of slots, maintenance, etc. If we’re busy, there can sometimes be delays due to limited time and space. Being in the business of mitigating risk, it’s our job to keep a close watch on the happenings at the dropzone so we can ensure that everything is in the proper place and tip-top working condition before sending an airplane load. Your safety is our highest priority and takes precedence above anything, including any time constraint. Please be patient with us!

The Skydiving Process Explained

Preparing for skydiving can be a bit confusing and nerve-wracking especially for your first time. So, we’re going to break down the entire skydiving process step-by-step to help you prepare for a tandem skydive with us at Skydive STL!

Checking in at Skydive STL will be your first step in the skydiving process – say hello to our friendly office staff (known in the industry as “manifest”)! If you already made an online reservation, you will arrive at Skydive STL at the time of your reservation. If you haven’t made your skydiving booking in advance, the manifest office will check to see what is available for the day and do their best to secure your slot on an airplane load.

Be sure to bring a valid, government-issued photo ID to prove that you are over the age of 18 years old and be prepared to get weighed. Please note that there is a $1 per pound charge for guests who are over 200 lbs. Once you’re good to go, you will complete some necessary paperwork and fill out the waiver and tandem parachute jumper agreement. Once your waiver is completed, the manifest office will check over everything and finalize your check-in!

Time to meet your new bestie! Who?! Your certified tandem skydiving instructor, of course! Your tandem instructor will be with you every step of the way. They will get you harnessed up and equipped with all of the necessary skydiving gear. Word of advice: be sure to use the restroom before you get the harness on! The duration of this time could change as you wait for your turn to board the aircraft.

Once it’s your turn to go, you’ll board the aircraft with your instructor. At Skydive STL, we take the airplane all the way up to 10,000 feet which can take about 10 to 15 minutes. Enjoy the beautiful scenery of the world-famous Mississippi River and St. Louis skies and do your best to breathe in the moment and focus outwardly. You got this!

If you’re wondering how long does skydiving take – like the actual freefall itself – it’s about 45 seconds long. While 45 seconds doesn’t seem like a lot; we can tell you it is the longest, most incredible 45 seconds of your life! As you zoom to speeds upwards of 120 mph falling free through the big, blue sky – you’ll live in complete bliss for almost a whole minute. Yes!

The next phase of your skydive is the awe-inspiring parachute ride back down to Earth. Once your instructor deploys the parachute, it’ll take about five to seven minutes to land back on the ground. This is the cherry on top of the whole skydiving experience! You’ll blissfully float back down to the ground, taking in the beautiful, unobstructed view of the scenery below and all around you while still processing your mindblowing freefall! The parachute ride is peaceful and quiet, which gives you time to tell your instructor how much you loved it. Don’t forget to pose for the camera!

After you land, you will be in a time warp of pure euphoria. You’ll be reunited with your friends and family, and eagerly share the story of your epic adventure. Upon return to the hangar, you’ll turn in your gear, from there you’ll be free to go – or you’re more than welcome to stay and watch other skydivers experience their life changing jump! If you added on one of our photo or video packages, the content will be professionally edited and sent directly to your email – no need to wait around for your media!

Ready to begin your skydiving process? Start by booking a tandem skydiving reservation at the best place to go skydiving in Missouri – Skydive STL! Blue skies, y’all.