What to know before you try indoor skydiving at iFLY

Located in West Chester, iFLY offers a safer alternative to skydiving by quickly training just about anyone on the basics of indoor wind tunnel flying. I recently tried it – here’s how it went!

First Impressions

When I walked in, I was surprised that it was less intimidating and smaller than I thought it would be. I was still pretty nervous, however, until I saw a very small, very young child in the wind tunnel just floating around like it was second nature to them. It felt a little ridiculous to be nervous about something they let children do.

My family and I were there to celebrate my mother’s birthday so we had a party room reserved. Even if you do not reserve a party room, there are plenty of places to sit and watch the indoor skydivers take flight.

Preparing for Takeoff

Before you fly, you have to fill out a waiver on your phone and step on a scale (don’t worry – you don’t see the number and they don’t announce it or put it on your wristband or anything). You get a wristband and when your flight time gets a little closer, you’ll watch a training video going over the basics, including four hand signals that communicate actions to take in the tunnel such as straighten your legs, bend your legs slightly, keep your chin up, and relax.

Next, you get fitted for your flight suit, helmet, and goggles. This is when it’s the most fun to take photos and they have a cute selfie wall with wings, naturally. Right before it’s time to go into the waiting area in the tunnel with your group, they’ll have you put in ear plugs – it gets pretty loud in there.

During your flight, your instructor works with you using the hand signals you learned earlier to get balanced and stable, then they take you around by holding onto handles on your flight suit (if you select that option). Our flights were around 1 min 30ish seconds each, and the second flight feels much more natural than the first! And it really feels like flying!

Here are my notes about the experience:

• I was definitely tense trying to remember everything and knowing that so many people, strangers included, were watching me try something new. You’re also working hard to maintain your body position against 100 mph wind. That tension definitely caused some sore muscles the next day!
• They stress that anyone who has shoulder or back issues shouldn’t fly and after trying it myself, I can totally see why.
• I’m not sure why exactly but the next day I was really fatigued as well.
• The only instruction I didn’t really understand was ‘relax.’ I should have asked a few more questions about how to go about that.
• There are vending machines but otherwise nothing to eat or drink there (unless you book a party like we did).
• If you book a party room, it comes with pizza and you can bring other food as well. We brought salad, chips, and a cake.
• Core strength seems to help. The body position reminded me of a posture in Pilates.
• They take video and photos for you that you can purchase later online (unless it comes with your package). If you have people in your group not flying, they can take plenty of great photos and video, too. The tube is clear all the way around so it’s easy for someone to capture the moment.
• If you have long hair, get it in a low bun as tight as possible. They suggest braiding it, even. Mine didn’t come loose and I was pretty proud of that!

I think I would do it again! It’s pretty fun and not really like anything I’ve done before. I bet it would make a fun, very unconventional date or a pretty unforgettable family adventure. Check out their website to learn more and book your flight!