Top Skydiving Stunts

Jumping out of a perfectly good airplane for the first time is just the beginning of the road for some skydivers. Some chart a course toward breaking skydiving records, others happily jump every weekend with their best friends, and others are all about thinking up wildly creative skydives. Every skydiver follows a unique path in their progression! 

Here’s a quick look at some top skydiving stunts, the types of skydivers who chase after them, and how to get there. 

What Kind of Skydiver Are You? 

Although it may seem unbelievable at first, the novelty of simply going skydiving diminishes over time. Yes, the exhilaration is always there, but as skydivers advance and gain confidence, they seek to excel in various disciplines of the sport. And although many will always enjoy “just” jumping out of an airplane, some are driven to excel by the originality of epic skydiving feats. 

We know everyone is different, so we’ve taken the liberty of breaking down the diverse types of stunt-seeking skydivers: 

• The Adrenaline Seeker: These skydivers live for the skydiving tricks that leave crowds holding their breath! 

• The Performer: The sky is their stage, and whether it’s through wild costumes and props or choreography, the aim is to craft those never-before-seen jumps. 

• The Precision Expert: For the dreamers who want to be on record-crushing jumps, canopy formations seen from miles away, or landing on itty-bitty beaches – accuracy and precision are their passion. 

• The Legend: Ah, yes, the skydiver whose desire is to be remembered. Although we all work together to make this sport the best, some names tend to stand out a bit more than others. 

Epic Skydiving Stunts

For the adrenaline seeker. 

Jumps that push physical and mental limits are perfect for adrenaline seekers. Night jumps, intentional water landings and super-high skydives are all up their alley! 

How to get there: Build a strong foundation in basic skydiving fundamentals to prepare for epic stunts. If you want to complete the highest skydive (the record is over 135K feet!), master hypoxia awareness and start with high(ish)-altitude jumps before pushing to extreme heights. Where is the highest skydive in the USA? Near Memphis, Tennessee! West Tennessee Skydiving offers 41,000-foot HALO jumps with specialized O2 equipment training for both novice tandem skydivers and experienced jumpers. If you’re aiming to skydive into a rave at midnight, ease in with standard night jumps – every aspect of this sport is all about patience with the progression! 

For the performer. 

Think … Cirque du Soleil but while falling toward the earth at over 120mph – ah! Did you know you can rope swing off of a hot air balloon, enter into freefall, and then deploy your parachute? What about flying your parachute with a huge flag trailing behind you and landing in front of a crowd? If this is your jam, these high-stakes jumps are perfect for you. 

How to get there: After you’ve gained a firm foundation of skydiving fundamentals, start learning the implications of bringing extra components on a jump. For example, someone with a couple hundred skydives may not know the risks associated with jumping with a large flag, but they can learn from someone who has hundreds of flag jumps!

For the precision expert. 

Every aspect of skydiving takes precision, but let’s take a special moment to geek out over the art of flying one’s canopy. As if landing a parachute in a large open field isn’t intimidating enough, some people work toward landing on pinpoint targets. This type of accuracy is generally done on slightly larger and docile canopies. Other accuracy canopy pilots fly wickedly small wings and zip across the ground at near warp speeds. They maneuver over a sort of course (either professionally-marked or self-created), called a line – i.e. the route that they intentionally fly as they come in for a landing. 

Some jumpers practice precision while flying parachutes before the landing, which is called Canopy Relative Work (CRW)! This is when jumpers fly their parachutes really close to one another and build formations. They can even interlock their feet on someone else’s parachute lines! If you want to get really gnarly, you can fly a teeny-tiny canopy and stand on another jumper who is flying a wingsuit!  

How to get there: Start with basic canopy skills! Talk with experienced coaches to become adept in advanced canopy skills and techniques, and remember that slow is smooth and smooth is fast when it comes to progressing in the sport. 

For the legend.

Large formations, fast swoops, Hollywood movies, and all-around unique records fit into this category. There can be a skydiving record for almost anything! For example, Sebastián Álvarez just shattered three wingsuit records, including speed at 342 mph, and he will undoubtedly go down in skydiving history. 

How to get there: Start small and stay focused on your goal! If you want to be the fastest swooper in the world, learn how to swoop – take canopy courses, talk with coaches, and progress with a safety-first mindset. If breaking the wingsuit distance record sounds like your cup of tea (it’s over 33 miles, so good luck), then start with flying a wingsuit at a basic level. 

The possibilities in the sport truly are endless! Never stop asking questions and never stop learning. Do YOU want to go down in skydiving history, whether that be amongst your friend group or in the eyes of the world? We all start with one single skydive – book a tandem jump today!