Hang Gliding, Skydiving, Parachuting & Ziplines

Feel The Thrill Of Indoor Skydiving

Ever wished you could fly? Ever wished that the closest thing to it didn’t involve jumping out of an airplane? Wish no longer. The world’s largest body flight center opened in Raeford, NC on January 11, 2008. Paraclete XP SkyVenture, about 1 1/2 hours south of Raleigh, features the innovative sport of body flight, indoor skydiving with none of the risk.

Suit up and experienced instructors will prepare you with the fundamentals of how to fly in Paraclete’s wind tunnel chamber. The wind tunnel enables guests to fly in a controlled manner in the safety of a wall-to-wall airflow chamber. Paraclete’s vertical wind tunnel can propel you up to 50 feet into the air. The tunnel moves air up in a vertical column so that you will soar inside of the conical room, surrounded by Plexiglas windows so that your family and friends can watch. Huge fans create wall-to-wall airflow, creating a smooth and exhilarating experience. Paraclete is one of the biggest vertical wind tunnels on the planet. The tunnel boasts a 16.5-foot circular chamber and it is completely climate controlled. It has 4 fans at 541 horsepower each to give a great range of air speed, up to 185 mph to be precise, stronger than a Category 5 hurricane.

No experience is necessary and the sport is open to people of all ages and experience levels. Since the tunnel is wide, you can fly with friends or family, but you will also fly alone with your instructor. With an instructor, even first-time fliers can ascend the full 50 feet possible. On your first trip, learn how to fly in place and move back and forth in the chamber. On subsequent visits, you’ll be instructed on different tricks you can do, such as turns and flips.

The facility also hosts groups and birthday parties. Paraclete has high-definition video in the chamber that is stored on hard drives linked to the debrief rooms throughout the facility which makes debriefing flight sessions quick and effective.

When to go: Paraclete is open Monday thru Thursday 9am – 7pm, Friday and Saturday 9am -11pm and Sunday 9am to 7pm. Please call ahead for reservations, (910) 848-2600.

added: December 23, 2008

updated: December 26, 2008