Hurricane Factory Prague opened its doors in Letňany in 2013, the first recirculating wind tunnel in Central Europe capable of generating 270-kilometre-per-hour vertical airflow.
The four-metre diameter flight chamber stands fourteen metres tall, powered by four industrial turbines that pull 150,000 cubic metres of air per minute through a closed-loop system. Engineer Karel Topolský designed the steel and acrylic structure to replicate terminal velocity conditions at 4,000 metres, compressing the physics of freefall into a controlled cylinder where novices and competition skydivers train side by side.
Indoor skydiving Prague emerged from military research into aerodynamic stability, declassified in the 1980s and commercialised by European aviation institutes two decades later. The technology migrates skyward simulation from parachute training to accessible sport: instructors now coach body positioning, turns, and formation work in six-minute sessions that would require twenty conventional jumps to achieve. Prague's facilities serve Czech national bodyflying teams preparing for wind-tunnel world championships, while walk-in visitors learn neutral fall in thirty seconds of coaching.
The Letňany site integrates briefing rooms fitted with harness rigs, padded gear lockers, and observation decks where spectators watch flyers suspended mid-chamber. Skydive Arena, a competing facility in Prague 9, operates a similar Aerodium tunnel with transparent walls and LED floor lighting for after-dark flights. Both venues anchor Prague's position as a Central European hub for vertical wind sports, drawing instructors from Dutch and Swiss competition circuits to certify local coaches. Hurricane Factory added a virtual-reality parachute simulator in 2019, projecting alpine drop zones onto head-mounted displays while fans generate variable descent speed.
The starter package includes two sixty-second flights separated by a ten-minute rest interval, sufficient for first-timers to progress from stable float to controlled rotation. Participants wear jumpsuits, helmets, and foam earplugs; instructors enter the chamber to adjust limb angles and signal hand cues through the roar. The facility operates daily from 09:00 to 21:00, booking slots in fifteen-minute increments that include ground briefing and post-flight video review.
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