VR canopy flight
A suspended harness, a headset and toggles reproduce the open-canopy phase: orientation, landing pattern, decision-making.
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Simulation · Skydiving · Canopy flight
Simulating freefall and canopy flight, to be better prepared
A factual overview of the simulators used in skydiving: VR canopy flight, vertical wind tunnels, emergency-procedure trainers. What they enable, what they don't, and how to fit them into a supervised progression.
Three main families of devices
Vertical wind tunnel
An upward airflow lets you experience freefall with real lift, to work on body position and control.
Learn more →Emergency procedures
From simple hanging harnesses to interactive trainers, these devices are used to rehearse emergency actions until they become reflexes.
Learn more →Learning benefits
- Repetition
- Replay a situation as often as needed, regardless of weather or aircraft availability.
- Rare situations
- Expose students, in a controlled environment, to scenarios better not discovered in the air.
- Debriefing
- Use recordings or the instructor's direct observation to analyse every session.
- Confidence
- Reach the first jump or a new stage with references already built.
Limitations to keep in mind
- Incomplete sensations
- No device fully reproduces all the sensations, stress and environment of a real jump.
- Variable fidelity
- The quality of the flight model and physical feedback varies widely between devices.
- Supervision is essential
- Without a training scenario and an instructor, simulation can reinforce bad habits.