Most who have experienced skydiving describe the feeling as floating on a cushion of air. In fact, there is no roller-coaster sensation or even one of actually falling. Rather, it feels like the wind is actually holding the skydiver up.
Most of those who are hesitant about trying skydiving for the first time have some trepidation about a number of factors, not the least of which is the sensation of falling through the sky. As a matter of fact, this idea cannot be further from the truth. Instead of an uncontrolled feeling of tumbling through the air, seasoned skydivers describe it as riding a cushion of air. Another comparison is laying on a waterbed. There might be an instant, just as one jumps out of the plane, of a sensation of falling. This only lasts until the person reaches terminal velocity, which only takes a few seconds.
Even those who suffer from the fear of heights, or acrophobia, have been successful at skydiving. This is because the fear is relative to what a person actually sees. Skydiving takes place at about 14,500 feet above the earth. At that point, one is too far away to see anything, therefore his or her mind does not relate skydiving to falling.