Skydiving is often thought of as difficult to compare to any other experience.
When it comes to just about any thrill we might undergo, rollercoasters are often the first thing we look to for comparison.
After all, they’re certainly very thrilling and, perhaps more importantly, most people have been on one.
But is skydiving like a rollercoaster?
Skydiving is not really like a rollercoaster. Many first-time divers expect a sensation akin to the stomach drop of a rollercoaster, but this does not occur at all. The free fall itself is actually rather calm, a sense of being weightless on a cushion of air.
While the moment where the parachute is pulled can certainly feel like being snapped upwards, overall, there’s actually a surprisingly little comparison between skydiving and a rollercoaster.
If you’re scared of rollercoasters, skydiving might actually be perfectly fine for you.
Let’s look further into this.
Do you feel your stomach drop when skydiving?
No, you don’t.
The reason you feel this sensation on rollercoasters, and even driving quickly up and down hills, is because of the delta between your horizontal and vertical velocity.
This increases hugely and very quickly when you are dropped down like this and creates the sensation of dropping your stomach.
When you are skydiving, there is no dramatic increase in the delta.
Your speed remains constant on both axes.
You are plummeting as quickly as you are moving forward.
Thus, your insides can all stay where they are!
If the stomach drop is a particularly uncomfortable feeling for you, then skydiving could still be on the table for you.
You won’t get the stomach drop and you won’t have to worry about it.
But what about more generally—does skydiving feel like being on a rollercoaster?
Does skydiving give you the rollercoaster feeling?
Again, the short answer is no, not really.
Rollercoasters are quite a specific experience.
You are strapped in, usually to a seat, and are taken along a fixed track of one kind or another.
Your speed and altitude will vary, and it will almost certainly be a lot shorter than any skydive.
“The” rollercoaster feeling comprises a number of internal sensations, though most notably is the stomach drop, which we’ve already discussed.
But there are really no points of comparison.
Skydiving is freefalling through the sky, with someone controlling your direction.
There are no fixed tracks or speeds.
That said, once you reach terminal velocity, it will start to feel as though you are being lifted on a current of air, and that you aren’t even moving at all.
Despite the speed with which your body is descending, you’ll barely notice it.
So, no, there are virtually no comparisons between rollercoasters and skydiving.
There’s no guarantee that if you’ve enjoyed or hated one, that you’ll feel the same way about the other.
Is it worse, overall, to skydive, though?
Is skydiving worse than a rollercoaster?
Of course, it depends on what you mean by worse.
For many people, it is certainly a great deal more nerve-wracking.
Getting on a rollercoaster is much easier because it is stationary when you do so.
You may regret it after, but it’s easier to get on.
It’s probably harder, by most people’s standards, to jump out of a plane.
You have to get your nerves up quite a lot more in that moment to be able to do it.
So, your first time skydiving may be “worse” than a rollercoaster, in that sense.
It will require a lot more marshaling of the nerves.
But overall, once you’re doing it, skydiving is probably a much gentler experience for most people.
As I said, you will quickly come to terminal velocity, and it will feel like you’re carried on a breeze.
Once your parachute opens, you will be gliding through the air with apparent ease, with a majestic view on all sides.
So, while the initial leap of faith may be a good deal more nerve-wracking than getting on a rollercoaster, overall, it is definitely a much more calm experience, despite what you might think.
Getting on a rollercoaster over and over doesn’t always make the experience easier or less nerve-wracking.
Skydiving, though, becomes easier every time you do it.
The other question when it comes to rollercoasters, though, is about throwing up—is this a problem for skydiving?
Will I throw up skydiving?
No, it’s very unlikely.
The trick is going to be paying close attention to the preparation instructions you are given—don’t eat a huge meal or drink a lot of alcohol right before your jump.
This will eliminate any chances of throwing up.
That said, some people are known to vomit at multiple stages of skydiving.
Some vomit in free fall, which is extremely rare.
Others tend to vomit after landing, which can be slightly more common.
The combination of the adrenaline, the somewhat heavy landing, and the rush of the experience can lead some to vomit.
So, it’s a possibility, but it’s very rare.
So, no, skydiving does not feel like a rollercoaster at all.
They are comparable only in the sense of pure thrill they provide, and little more.
You don’t get the classic stomach drop sensation with a rollercoaster, and ultimately it may even be a more palatable experience to you if you are afraid of rollercoasters.
Skydiving is something else entirely.
