On July 3, 1984, Jean St-Germain received U.S. Patent No. 4,457,509 on a Levitationarium for Air Flotation of Humans:

St-German essentially repurposed vertical wind tunnels which had been used for decades for aerodynamic research, for recreational purposes, allowing people to experience the feeling of flight. A steady vertical stream of air at about 120 mph is enough to allow a person to float.

In 1982 St-Germain sold his vertical wind tunnel concept to both Les Thompson and Marvin Kratter, both of whom went on to build their own wind tunnels. Soon after, St Germain sold the franchising rights to Kratter. St. Germain then helped build two wind tunnels in America the first in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the second in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. There were both operated under the name of Flyaway Indoor Skydiving.

In 1992, St-Germain obtained a second patent (U.S. Patent No. 5,318,481):

Other inventors, such as William Kitchen, joined in:

A number of competitions based on vertical wind tunnels have been created, including the FAI World Cup of Indoor Skydiving, the Windoor Wind Games, the Australian Nationals, the Polish Nationals, and the US National Championships.