I flew at iFly San Diego
Skydiving has been on my bucket list for a while now, but the opportunity to jump out of a perfectly good airplane has alluded me. While in San Diego visiting my sister, she suggested that we check out the newly opened iFly, an indoor skydiving facility with locations popping up around the world. I had been reading and seeing videos about the iFly indoor wind tunnel and it looked like an activity that was right up my alley.
After checking-in and then going through a brief orientation, we donned our flight suits and waited our turn. In between groups we observed some of the trainers put on a demonstration that was nothing short of spectacular! These guys made it look so easy—flying to the top of the wind tunnel in a mere second and then dropping head first just as quickly—like an eagle dive-bombing for fish but without hitting the water, rather doing a swan dive just before reaching the elastic net, which is high above a set of massive fan vents. The acrobatic and technical moves being performed were memorizing and really got us all excited for our turn to enter the tunnel.
After some last minute instruction from our trainer, we stepped inside a waiting area of the wind tunnel and took a seat. One-by-one our instructor had us enter the wind tunnel to teach us how to become stable. It amazed me how such a little amount of body movement could make me raise, lower, or move from side-to-side. It also surprised me at how difficult it was to keep steady and it was immediately apparent that it would take a lot of practice to get even half as good as the guys doing the demonstration just moments earlier.
After everyone in our group had an initial flight to get acclimated, we went back in one at a time. As soon as we were comfortable, our instructors grabbed onto our flight suits and took us high into the chamber in a circular manner. It was exhilarating not to float and fly like a bird.
My iFly experience was so much fun, however I found it went by much too quickly. Two brief flights is only enough to whet your appetite. For an additional $40 we could have gotten two more flights in. After the initial introduction they have specials where we could gave gotten 10 additional flights, or even a progression program where we could have gone back again-and-again to continue to hone our skills. If I lived in San Diego, I would have signed up in a heartbeat as I can only imagine how much fun it would be to zoom around in the wind tunnel at will.
Have you ever gone indoor skydiving at iFly? If so, please share your experience by leaving a comment below.
iFly San Diego Contact Information:
Phone: (619) 432-4359
Address: 2385 Camino Del Rio N, San Diego, CA 92108
Website: https://www.iFlyworld.com
Hours: 9am to 9pm
Mike Shubic
3 Comments
This looks so cool! I actually have never, ever wanted to skydive, but I think I would do this no problem. I just googled them, and it looks like one is opening up near me soon! Thanks so much for posting this.
Hey Stephanie! Oh, it was a lot of fun…you should definitely try it out. Thanks for stopping by and posting a comment. Cheers, Mike
Looks like a lot of fun.