For sheer thrills, few sports can top skydiving. Within a few seconds of jumping from the airplane, a skydiver reaches speeds of up to 120 miles per hour. With the wind whipping by their face, they rush towards the ground at 200 feet per second until, with a sudden snap, the parachute releases. Immediately, the speed reduces and the skydiver begins an almost lazy drift towards the ground.

While the views on descent can be spectacular, it's the speed, or the thrill that comes with it, that skydivers seek. "It feels like riding a really fast motorcycle through the air," is how skydiving instructor Paul Janes describes freefalling.

To find out how others describe the sensation, follow the interesting links below. To experience the thrill yourself, check out the skydive movies and pictures, including the skydiving story broadcast on Outdoor Idaho.

Skydive movies and pictures
To view some of these you must first download the Microsoft NetShow Player.

Outdoor Idaho Skydiving Story (NetShow file)

Skydiving Movie Archive

Barry's Interesting Skydiving Stuff

Why jump out of a perfectly good airplane?(NetShow file)

Interesting Links

Snake River Skydiving - Added on 7/6/99

Parachute Magazine

United States Parachute Association

Skydive WWW

Skydive Archive

Skydiving Q&A