Indoor Skydiving At iFly In Tukwila, WA

Being ExtraHyperActive, we're always on a lookout for new adventures and experiences ! And in Washington state, there is never shortage of awesome and exciting things to do ! All year round ! Indoors and outdoors !

And recently, we added another epic adventure to our Bucket List - indoor skydiving !

After doing my first tandem skydiving jump, and trying out tandem BASE jumping, I didn't think that indoor skydiving would be that exciting for me. But I thought, for my 9 year old, it would be a great memorable experience !

Currently, there are over 60 wind tunnels across the globe, with one of them, just 30 min away from Seattle. Lot's of people have already enjoyed a human flight experience. And after reading this post, I hope you will be prepared to join them!

I have to admit, that when my son found out it would be just him, he was a bit discouraged. But after some "healthy" peer pressure, and a lot of encouragement, he was ready to go.
In reality, indoor skydiving is very safe, and suitable for kids as young as 3 (!).

Improvements in technology are making flying even more accessible and enjoyable. The only injuries you can get are sore elbows and knees from bashing on the glass walls of the 12ft wide "sky chamber".

Every single flyer is given hands on instruction, the necessary equipment, and constant assistance from a qualified and rated instructor. The instructor's main priority is to provide a fun and safe flight experience. A controller operates the wind tunnel, making sure the wind speed is appropriate for each flyer.

Unlike an amusement park ride, YOU are in control when flying in the wind tunnel. Your instructor will work with you throughout your flight, showing you how to control your body in the wind. In the end, this will provide you with an intellectual, skill based experience which is not only extremely fun but also challenging and rewarding.

When you arrive on the day of your flight you will go through a check-in process and more than likely observe for a short period of time before your class begins. Observing allows you to get a better idea of how the process works.

The classroom portion prepares you for your flight experience. Your instructor will go over the communication process and how the flow of the class will go. Afterwards, you will get geared up with the provided flight suits, helmets, goggles and earplugs before you fly.

One common reaction is that a small amount of time (usually between 2 and 4 minutes) seems expensive. Without any reference this might seem to be true. When you compare tunnel flying to a normal tandem skydive you can begin to see the difference. A tandem jump is roughly $200 and the freefall lasts between 45-60 seconds. For much less than that you can experience double, triple or more flight time in a wind tunnel.

And if the standard 2-4 minutes are not enough, you can also purchase additional time, or opt in for "high flight".

A high flight is commonly referred to as the BEST part or the ‘grand finale’ of a first time indoor skydiving experience. First-time flyers are typically flown within arms reach of the instructor, roughly 3-6 feet about the net. This allows the instructor to communicate with the flyer and keep them in a safe range within the tunnel.

Commonly at the end of the last flight for each flyer, the tunnel instructor teaching the class will fly the flyer up and down within the wind tunnel. Normally the instructor fly's the student in a rising and falling pattern while turning. The high flight normally rises at the highest point somewhere between 10-20 feet above the net within the flight chamber.

Prices for high flights usually run ~$10 per flyer. Upwards of 85% of first-time flyers participate in high flights in tunnels which offer them as an extra charge. With those numbers, you can imagine that it is definitely worth planning on purchasing the add-on if the tunnel you plan to fly in charges for it. Alternatively, you can save yourself some money by finding a tunnel that includes high flights in their first-time package prices.

And if you're wondering if an additional $10 are worth it, ask someone who just flew if the money was worth it, and you will find a resounding "Yes!"

If you want to capture lasting memories of your flight, most tunnels offer photos and videos as either part of their packages or as extras. But honestly, that's the part where you can actually save some money ! Most tunnels also provide an observation area where an outside photographer or videographer can capture photos and videos of your flight.

And that's exactly what I did ! 

Hope this post inspire you to give indoor skydiving a try, and if you're still hesitating, check out the video below :

Resources used : http://www.indoorskydivingsource.com/