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 For the extreme sport of sky surfing,





 a skydiver straps a specially designed skysurf board to his or her feet and engages in acrobatic maneuvers reminiscent of surfing while in free fall. [1]



Standing at the exit with both feet in the bindings

The boards used are often shorter and narrower than traditional surfboards, looking more like huge skateboards or snowboards. The board is secured to the feet by means of custom bindings; to remove the board, one uses a 2-ring release mechanism modeled after the 3-ring release system often used to cut away main parachutes.



Kitesurfing boards for all skill levels

Standing upright on the board is the most stable neutral posture during freefall and is also necessary for deploying the main parachute while riding intermediate and advanced boards.


In order to stay steady in freefall while riding a rigid board in relative wind, one must exert conscious effort. The jumper's body and board position must be coordinated for a safe parachute opening. Loops, rolls, and helicopter spins are just some of the most complex aerobatic maneuvers that may be performed. Some skysurfers wrap their arms in ace bandages from the elbows to the shoulders to prevent blood from collecting at the extremities during tricks that require strong G-force rotations. However, several skysurfing techniques can be exceedingly painful, leading to temporary paralysis of the fingers and even subconjunctival hemorrhage, even if well bandaged (broken blood vessel in eye). (Citation required)


If another skydiver were to fall in tandem with a skysurfer and record them, the resulting footage would make it look like the skysurfer was surfing the air like a surfer would ride a wave. Since the sensation of falling is muted, a skysurfer riding the relative breeze appears to be effortlessly gliding through the air. A skysurfer's descent rate is similar to that of a freefall or free-flying skydiver, however it varies with the rider's direction. A skysurfer and a camera flyer with a video camera make up a team in the sport of skysurfing.