Fly Girl

Wind rushes past Sydney Kennett as she soars above the ground. The 16-year-old spins and twists elegantly through the air. She’s a competitive skydiver—but she’s never jumped out of an airplane!

Sydney, who lives in Colorado, is one of the world’s top athletes in the sport of indoor skydiving, also known as bodyflight. These competitors perform stunts inside a wind tunnel. That’s a big tube with fans that create powerful jets of air.

Sydney first flew at age 4. Her dad, an experienced outdoor skydiver, took her to an indoor skydiving facility. Sydney doesn’t recall much from that first flight. But her next one, at age 8, was unforgettable! Soon after, she joined a flight program for kids and began competing. In the tunnel, Sydney says, “I let go of all my worries and just fly.”

Wind rushes past Sydney Kennett. The 16-year-old soars above the ground. She spins and twists through the air. She’s a skydiver. But she’s never jumped out of a plane! 

Sydney lives in Colorado. She’s a top athlete in the sport of indoor skydiving. It’s also known as bodyflight. Sydney performs stunts. She does them inside a wind tunnel. That’s a big tube with fans. They create powerful jets of air. 

Sydney first flew at age 4. Her dad took her to an indoor skydiving facility. He’s an outdoor skydiver. Sydney doesn’t remember much from that first flight. Her next one was at age 8. That time was unforgettable! Sydney joined a flight program for kids soon after. She began competing. In the tunnel, Sydney says, “I let go of all my worries and just fly.”

Wind tunnels are designed to imitate the experience of outdoor skydiving. When a skydiver leaps from an airplane, two main forces control the person’s fall, says Narit Pidokrajt. He’s a physicist at the University of Borås in Sweden. Gravity pulls the skydiver toward Earth. At the same time, air pushes up against the skydiver’s body. That creates air resistance. This force, also called drag, opposes the force of gravity.

At first, the skydiver falls faster and faster. But after a while, the forces of gravity and drag even out, says Pidokrajt. The skydiver continues falling. But now that the forces of gravity and drag are balanced, the person falls at a speed that doesn’t change. Closer to the ground, the skydiver opens a parachute. That increases air resistance. The skydiver slows to a safe speed for landing.

Wind tunnels copy the feeling of outdoor skydiving. An outdoor skydiver leaps from a plane. Then two main forces control how the person falls, says Narit Pidokrajt. He’s a physicist at the University of Borås in Sweden. Gravity pulls the skydiver toward Earth. Air pushes up against the skydiver’s body at the same time. That creates air resistance. This force is also called drag. It works against the force of gravity. 

The skydiver falls faster and faster at first. But the forces of gravity and drag even out after a while, says Pidokrajt. The skydiver keeps falling. But the person falls at a speed that doesn’t change. That’s because the forces acting on them are balanced. The skydiver opens a parachute as they near the ground. That adds air resistance. The skydiver slows to a safe speed for landing. 

Inside a wind tunnel, giant fans pull air toward the ceiling at a constant speed. That creates air resistance similar to what a skydiver would experience outdoors (see Inside a Wind Tunnel). When Sydney holds her body flat, gravity and air resistance are balanced. Sydney’s motion doesn’t change. She hovers above the ground.

Giant fans pull air toward the ceiling inside a wind tunnel. That creates air resistance like what a skydiver would feel outdoors (see Inside a Wind Tunnel). Gravity and air resistance balance out when Sydney lies flat. Sydney’s motion doesn’t change. She hovers above the ground.

Sydney’s main competitive bodyflight event is called freestyle. In this event, athletes complete a set of required moves, like twists and splits. They also have to perform an artistic routine. Judges rate the routine’s difficulty and the athlete’s overall performance.

In the wind tunnel, Sydney can move up or down by adjusting her posture. To drop down, she can pull in her arms and legs or hug her knees. When her body forms a more compact shape, air resistance weakens. Gravity takes over, and she falls lower. 

Sydney’s main bodyflight contest is called freestyle. It’s where athletes do a set of specific moves, like twists and splits. They also must perform an artistic routine. Judges rate the routine’s difficulty. They also rate the athlete’s overall performance.

Sydney can move up or down by changing her body position in the wind tunnel. She can pull in her arms and legs or hug her knees to drop down. Air resistance lessens when her body forms a smaller shape. Then gravity takes over, and she falls lower.