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My Kids Went Indoor Skydiving and LOVED It!

By Jennifer Hill November 3, 2017

When iFLY SFBay Area invited my family to experience indoor skydiving at their Union City, California location, we JUMPED at the opportunity! 

Indoor skydiving is the simulation of true freefall conditions in a vertical wind tunnel. It's where the dream of flight becomes a reality. All with the thrill of skydiving without actually jumping out of a plane! 

Flyers can be as young as 3 years of age and there is no upper age limit. My kids were 7, 9 and 21 years old and were ready for some adventuresome fun together. My 7-year-old son told everyone we saw that week that he was going skydiving. 

Everyone will need waivers, which you can fill out online ahead of time to save time, but besides that, you just need to book your flight time and show up. iFLY provides you with a short training video, flight suit, helmet, goggles, and earplugs. They even have shoes in all sizes in case you need to borrow close-toed, lace-up shoes and lockers to store any loose items for your convenience.

Once everyone has watched the training video, is geared up and has practiced the hand signals the instructors use while you are flying, it's time to be blown away...literally!

The wind tunnel is a large glass structure with a mesh floor and generates winds up to 170 mph. Inside the wind tunnel are benches in an enclosed area so flyers can watch other flyers during their flight time. Around the outside of the wind tunnel is seating so if your friends and family aren't joining you, they can watch the fun also. How it works (from iFLY): "A vertical wind tunnel has fans at the top to draw air through the flight chamber and then push it back down the sides through Return Air Towers. That leads to an inlet contractor that compresses and speeds up the air before it reenters the flight chamber. The result: a smooth column of air that enables you to fly."

Your flight instructor takes each participant into the wind tunnel individually for about 60 seconds of flight time (there are different packages available). Be prepared that the tunnel is loud even with the earplugs. The instructor will help you by reminding you how to put your arms out like Superman and you'll quickly be flying! Your flight suit has handles on it to allow the instructor to hold onto you as needed and he'll use signs to help you get into the correct position. It took only a few seconds for even my youngest to catch on to how he needed to be positioned to maintain proper resistance. Our instructor brought each of them into the wind tunnel several times and they all said that the 60 seconds seemed a lot longer inside the tunnel. During the second flight the instructor took them each flying high up into the tunnel for an even more exhilarating experience. These kids can't wait to fly again!

Our instructor was awesome with the kids and genuinely seemed to love his job. They take photos and videos during your flight and you have the option to purchase them if you'd like.

Right now, iFLY is running a promo through November 16, 2017. Weekday Promo: Guests can book an "Earn Your Wings" or "Earn Your Wings Return" package and fly Monday through Thursday for $29.95 with the code WOWDAY (regular cost is $79.95 so this is more than half off!). 


  

Our 9-year-old exclaimed, "This is the BEST DAY EVER!" Our 21-year-old loved it - see that smile?

Our 7-year-old had a great time interacting with the instructor and wants to have his 8th birthday party at iFLY!

iFLY is located at 31310 Alvarado Niles Road in Union City, California (510) 489-4359. Visit iFLY online to check out prices, packages, training videos, frequently asked questions, and to reserve your flight today! You can also connect with them on FacebookInstagram, and YouTube.


The author and her family were guests of iFLY SFBay Area for the purpose of this review. All opinions are those of the author based on her experience during this visit.