Can You Skydive from a Hot Air Balloon?

Table of Contents

• How Is It Possible to Skydive from a Hot Air Balloon?
• What Makes Hot Air Balloon Skydiving Unique
• Typical Hot Air Balloon Skydive Altitude
• Which Is Safer, Skydiving or Hot Air Ballooning? 
• Who Can Do a Hot Air Balloon Skydive?
• Can You Try It at Skydive Monroe?

Key Takeaways

You can skydive from a hot air balloon once you’ve earned your skydiving USPA B-License. It’s similar-ish to skydiving from an airplane, with key differences being landing considerations, jumping into “dead air,” cost, and overall accessibility.

Yes, you can skydive out of a hot air balloon with a United States Parachute Association (USPA) B-License! You can expect a rush of adrenaline and exhilaration during freefall and a calm and scenic experience during the parachute ride.

How Is It Possible to Skydive from a Hot Air Balloon?

A hot air balloon is just another type of aircraft, so it actually works pretty similarly to a skydive with a few key differences. First, not just any jumper can make a hot air balloon skydive. You need to have a USPA B-License. Plus, you’ll need to find a balloon pilot with specialized skills to take skydivers, as there are weight-related challenges that come with landing a lighter load than take-off.

There are also more stringent weather considerations for a hot air balloon. This often means there are specific launch times (often dawn or dusk) during which the pilot can fly skydivers.

What Makes Hot Air Balloon Skydiving Unique

When you jump out of an airplane, the plane is moving pretty fast, generating what we call “relative wind.” Relative wind is the airflow generated by a moving object, and when you jump out of an airplane, you feel it right away. As skydivers exit, it almost feels like we are gently sliding down a hill rather than falling. 

What happens if you skydive from a hot air balloon? In a hot air balloon, there is no relative wind. It’s jumping into “dead air,” kind of like bungee jumping, which is a completely unique experience for skydivers who are used to jumping out of airplanes and even helicopters. 

Jumping out of a hot air balloon is super quiet – without the loud noise of an airplane and relative wind, it’s quite peaceful. It will slowly get louder as you gain speed, which is a really cool experience that allows you to truly appreciate your own acceleration as you freefall.

Parachuting from a hot air balloon is also unique due to landing considerations, which is a big reason you need to have your skydiving B-License first. You probably won’t land at the airport because the balloon pilot may not be able to fly over it. Weather, air traffic, and complicated balloon piloting controls are all factors into why you should be prepared for different landing sites if you skydive from a hot air balloon.

Typical Hot Air Balloon Skydive Altitude

There is really no typical hot air balloon skydive altitude, as it varies depending on the location, weather, and pilot. Exit altitudes vary from 5,000 feet to 12,000 feet. It’s a common misconception that hot air balloons won’t go up as high as skydiving planes, but that’s again dependent on a number of factors. 

If you want a 12,000-foot-high hot air balloon skydive, you can definitely find someone to take you! It just might cost you a pretty penny – certainly more than you’d pay for a regular airplane jump. While licensed jumpers pay about $32 per airplane jump, hot air balloon skydives cost anywhere from $150 to $300 per jump.

With an airplane, though, you can get even higher altitudes. So high, you may be required to take supplemental oxygen! At jump altitudes above 15,000 feet, this is a requirement. How long does a 15,000 foot skydive take? About 60 to 70 seconds of glorious freefall followed by a few minutes of a canopy flight.

Which Is Safer, Skydiving or Hot Air Ballooning?

When comparing the two activities using U.S. safety data, skydiving has a significantly stronger documented safety record than hot air ballooning. According to the USPA, the governing body for civilian sport skydiving in the U.S., the overall skydiving fatality rate in 2024 was approximately 1 fatality per 430,000 jumps, and tandem skydiving has averaged about 1 student fatality per 500,000 jumps over the past decade.

Hot air ballooning does not have a formally published nationwide fatality rate, but U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident records show more ballooning fatalities over time than what is seen in tandem skydiving, with incidents often involving factors such as weather changes or power-line impacts. Because balloon operations depend heavily on wind conditions and have limited directional control, the consequences of an unexpected event can be more significant.

In short, both activities fall under Federal Aviation Administration regulation and are widely enjoyed, but U.S. statistics indicate that skydiving – particularly tandem skydiving – sees fewer fatalities per participant activity than hot air ballooning.

Who Can Do a Hot Air Balloon Skydive?

You need to have at least your USPA B-License to skydive from a hot air balloon. As part of your B-License training, you must pass an advanced canopy piloting course that includes skills to promote more accurate landings, improved flight planning, navigating back to the dropzone from a distance, and unexpected landing conditions.

If you’re brand new to skydiving with aspirations of jumping out of a hot air balloon, here are the steps to take to get there:

1. Make a tandem skydive: While we don’t require you to have done a tandem jump prior to learning how to skydive solo at Skydive Monroe, we do recommend it so you can have a low-commitment, low-stress introduction to the sport.
2. Sign up for a First Jump Course: FJCs are a six-hour-long ground school followed by a level-one solo skydive with USPA-certified Accelerated Freefall (AFF) instructors.
3. Complete AFF Training: Accelerated Freefall training features a scaffolded curriculum that prepares you with the basic life-saving skills every skydiver needs to truly go solo. 
4. Earn Your A-License: After AFF, you’ll need to check off some more skills and make 25 skydives to become licensed.
5. Take a Canopy Course & Water Training: After you have your A-License, it’s time to sign up for your B-License canopy course and water training to learn more advanced skills worthy of the next skydiving license.
6. Complete 50 Skydives: You need at least 50 skydives to get a USPA B-License, along with meeting certain accuracy and group freefall criteria as well.

This might seem like a lot of steps before you can skydive out of a hot air balloon, but we’ve seen jumpers earn their B-License in just one month of good weather and dedication to the sport!

Can You Try Hot Air Balloon Jumps at Skydive Monroe?

While we don’t have a hot air balloon at Skydive Monroe, we can help get you the experience and license you need to make a hot air balloon skydive. Plus, we have a vibrant fun jumper community that routinely plans special events and coordinates skydiving trips!

Is skydiving scary the first time? For most people, yes! And that’s part of the fun – there’s immense freedom right on the other side of the fear! The journey all starts with your first tandem or a First Jump Course. Book yours today! Blue skies!