Suited up, ready for my first iFLY Indoor Skydiving moment, I approach the doorway with apprehension. Despite the brief training and pep talk from our iFLY instructor, despite watching others soar before me, despite my outward bravado, there’s no way to know the feeling of skydiving until taking the plunge. I step forward.
Arms across my chest, I lean into the chamber. Whoa! The vortex pulls my face into a maniacal grin. My heart somersaults. Instructor Mike stays by my side, helping position my arms and feet just so to achieve optimal in-flight form. A small tweaking (not twerking) here and there . . .
Voila! I’m flying!!
Wowie zowie.
How cool is this? iFLY Seattle customers can experience the thrill of skydiving without need of a parachute and without jumping out of a plane at an altitude of 10,000 feet. All you need is the world’s first all glass vertical wind tunnel – which also just happens to be the fastest and largest recirculating wind tunnel west of the Mississippi. Watching the training video and learning a few important hand signals takes all of 15-20 minutes. Next, don your flight suit, goggles, helmet, well-secured tennis shoes – don’t forget the earplugs – and head into the second airlock tunnel to wait your turn to lean in.
I watch as a family of three goes first, one by one. Jeff Green leads off. Obviously, this man boasts skydiving genes, requiring little assistance from Instructor Mike. Next up, teen daughter Jane mimics the same movements with complete ease. Now it’s mom’s turn. Mary Green, too, flies easily, flying even higher than she expected. Easy peasy. With hope in my heart and a lump in my throat, I’m up.
After my initial entry, Instructor Mike signals for me to keep my chin up, arms out in front of me, legs slightly bent at the knee, spread apart a couple of feet. Seems easy enough. But remember, you’re working against tremendous wind velocity, up to 160 mph. Still, I hold my own with just one minor flip. Oops. Instructor Mike flips me back, belly down before twirling me around in the air. Wheee! The nice thing about the flight suits is that they come with love handles on the hips and back to make it easy for the instructor to grab onto you when needed.
Each person in the group has the chance to take two one-minute flights. Each of us improves our skydiving performance the second time around. One minute doesn’t sound like a long time, but it’s long enough to feel the effects of flying high. Well, not too high. For that you need more skydiving time – which you will want to sign up for anyway once you give this a try.
Who can fly here? Incredibly, customers at iFLY Seattle have ranged in age from 3 to 103! Ready to join in the fun? For pricing and packages, check out the company’s comprehensive website.
Up in the sky, look! It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s YOU flying high!
Thanks to host iFLY Seattle for the opportunity to earn my wings.
What are you doing to play today, wanderboomers? Have you ever been skydiving, indoors or out?
Brilliant. I want to do it 🙂
I’ve never heard of this kind of experience. Well I have heard of skydiving but not this kind of facility. If I were ever going to try skydiving this is how I’d have to do it. I once worked with a former special forces guy who told me all about his skydiving experiences in the military. I told him I’d be afraid I’d pass out from fear before I could pull the string. Congratulations on being brave enough to take the plunge into those 160 mph winds and earning your certificate!
Thanks, Carol! That’s what I thought since jumping out of an airplane doesn’t rank high on my bucket list.In fact, it’s not even on my bucket list!
I hope you do, Suzanna! It’s great fun – perfect for a family or girlfriend outing – and don’t forget date night!
Looks like fun, but I don’t think I could ever do it! lol
C’mon, Chrys! If George Bush can jump out of a plane at age 85 and Diana Nyad can swim 188 miles from Key West to Cuba at age 64, really what’s our excuse?? Besides, it’s GREAT fun :-). If I can do it, you can,too!
I will definitely do this when I next visit Seattle. As a boomer, I’ve always been fearful of getting busted up on the landing, as my friend did after over 1,000 jumps.
I have never been, nor do I ever plan to, sky dive! I might try indoor sky diving some day, but I’m too chicken to jump out of a plane to my demise.
I never say never, Karen – but I have to agree with you that skydiving is not on my to-do travel list anytime soon :-). So go for the indoor skydiving and share your story with us here ~
Yikes! Now there’s a story, Barbara! Definitely try the iFLY Seattle experience. You’ll be glad you did ~