Hot Air Balloon Skydive: How It Works 

Can you skydive from a hot air balloon? Absolutely – jumping a balloon is loads of fun! Hot air balloon jumps are considered specialty skydives, which means they’re commonly offered at boogies, but not during regular jump operations. If you’re a licensed skydiver or want to get into the sport, a hot air balloon jump needs to be on your skydiving bucket-list. LET’S GO! 

Hot Air Balloon Skydives: Who Can Jump? 

To us, hot air balloon skydiving is as delicious as hot honey on a steamy biscuit! Although some places offer tandem skydiving from a hot air balloon, it’s generally only done by experienced skydivers. It is strongly recommended that you have these qualifications before doing a balloon jump:

• A United States Parachute Association (USPA) B-license 
• Not using rental gear; owning their own equipment
• Proficiency and confidence in off-landings 
• Proficiency doing hop n’ pops (i.e. exiting at a low altitude)

There are no set-in-stone legal requirements to skydive hot air balloon style. BUT, these strong recommendations are generally abided by and are standard at most, if not all, dropzones. Why? Because when doing a sport that has inherent risk, we make a point to have safety at the forefront of every single decision. 

What if you’re not jumping? Do they give you parachutes on hot air balloons if you’re just taking a leisurely ride? Nope. Skydiving rigs are not provided to the general public when they embark on a hot air balloon adventure. 

Skydiving A Hot Air Balloon: Cost 

Balloon jumps typically cost between $100 and $200. We know, they’re on the higher end for experienced skydiver jump tickets – but remember, they’re specialty jumps! What factors into these costs? A few things: novelty of the jump, experience of the pilot, and overall cost of the aircraft. 

Balloon pilots work their booties off to obtain licenses via the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), just like pilots of other (motorized) aircrafts. Similar to skydiving licenses, balloon pilot licenses are in order of succession and a pilot must hold the highest certification – a commercial balloon pilot – in order to fly skydivers. 

How much does a hot air balloon gondola cost? The entire hot air balloon setup can start at around $20,000 and can surpass $100,000. Costs vary widely depending on the purpose of the balloon (commercial or not) and the size of the gondola, among other factors. Now maybe a couple hundred bucks for a balloon jump doesn’t sound so wild! 

Is It Different From A Plane Skydive? 

What happens if you skydive from a hot air balloon? What does it feel like? Jumping from a hot air balloon is different from jumping from a plane in many ways! Three of the most clear differences are: 

1. The stomach drops. 

The reason our tummies don’t get that infamous tingle when we leap from a plane is because the plane is moving forward really fast. Our body is already in forward motion, so we don’t really feel the acceleration from the gravitational pull of earth. On the flip side, when we jump from a balloon, we’re leaving from a pretty stagnant object. This ushers in that “dead air” feeling, aka butterflies in our stomachs! 

2. The altitude.

How high is a hot air balloon skydive? Hot air balloons typically soar to around 4,000 feet AGL (Above Ground Level) to 6,000 feet AGL for jumpers to exit. This height is similar to that of a hop n’ pop, which is when skydivers leave from an altitude that encourages them to deploy their parachute soon after exit – they hop (out of the plane) and pop (deploy their canopy)! For reference, most tandem skydives are between 10,000 feet AGL and 14,500 feet AGL. 

3. The landing. 

Although both are very important, it’s not the low-ish exit altitude or the unfamiliarity of the aircraft that require skydivers to be proficient – it’s the landing. Hot air balloons are unsteerable in the sense that the pilot can control their ascent and descent, but not their direction – they’re 100% at the mercy of the wind. This is why light winds are an absolute necessity for launching a balloon. 

So, do skydivers know where they’re going to land when they load into the balloon basket? Nope. This means that being confident in spotting (aka – identifying the landing area) is a critical skill to have. 

When skydivers are in the balloon, they’ll take note of their altitude, how much ground they’re covering in a certain amount of time (ground speed), and where the viable landing areas are. Skydivers need to be able to do some quick math and think, “In three minutes, we’ll gain 1,000 feet in altitude, and then it will be time to exit. Every three minutes, we cover about 1.5 miles of ground, so in three minutes we’ll be over the intersection of that road, and the speed of the wind on the ground matches the speed of the wind up here (say, 8mph from the northwest), SO, I’ll need to fly my pattern this way and land in that field over there.” 

AHH! We promise, it makes sense. This conversation is what happens amongst the jumpers in the balloon, especially those exiting at the same time! 

How To Prepare For Your First Balloon Jump 

Firsts can be scary! So yes, first balloon jumps – just like first airplane jumps – are pretty intimidating. But, fear not! Once you get your USPA B-license, sign up for a balloon jump whenever one is available, listen intently to the briefing from your dropzone and the balloon pilot, load up, and jump! We suggest having at least one veteran balloon jumper on your load to ease nerves. 

So, can you skydive off a hot air balloon? You bet your biscuits! Ready to take the first step in earning that B-license? Book your first skydive today! Blue skies!