Ever wonder what it is like to have a million hairdryers set to the cool setting blowing on you at once? If yes, then you can experience it at iFly! If not, you might be curious now. This is indoor skydiving in a wind tunnel that uses gigantic fans to keep you in the air. There's an iFly in Concord, North Carolina on the same exit as Charlotte Motor Speedway and Concord Mills. It's visible from the interstate exit, actually, with its unusual architecture.
The inside of the place is centered on the wind tunnel, which is a big clear tube in the middle of the building. There is plenty of seating around it to get a glimpse of what you're about to embark on, or just what people do on a random Sunday afternoon. There were a lot of professional skydivers in on the afternoon my dad and I went, and they spent up to five minutes at a time in there working on formations and spins to do in the air when they went real skydiving. The rest of the people there were random thrill seekers from ages 4 to 60+.
You have to sign up ahead of time (which I did online, about a week before), and plan on the whole experience taking about two hours from start to finish. You're actually only even in the tunnel for two minutes though if you choose a basic package (more on that in a minute).
How to Wind Tunnel Skydive
Once you sign a waiver on a computer screen upon entry, you sit and watch people currently in the tunnel while you wait for your time to be called. They seem to limit the amount of people per time frame to about six people.
A brief classroom training lets you know how to enter and exit the tunnel, and the hand signals the instructors will use to tell you how to move your body. You basically mime what they do, and relax if you're too stiff. There are four hand signals to remember, so it's not hard at all.
Then you get geared up with a jumpsuit, a headscarf, goggles, earplugs, and a helmet. You need to already be wearing lace up tennis shoes and comfortable, loose clothing. If you have long hair, I recommend wadding it ALL UP in your helmet. Mine hung out the back of my helmet and was insanely tangled afterwards. You also have to remove all rings and jewelry (except stud earrings were fine). They provide all of the equipment in the price of your flight package.
Upon suiting up, the group enters the outer wind tunnel chamber and sits on a bench, waiting to slide closer and closer with each next person's turn. When it's your turn, you get in the open doorway to the tunnel and put your arms up and chin up, as though you were going to take off into the sky. The instructor kind of helps haul you into position over the enormous fans underfoot (there's a big mesh net for the instructor to stand on and keeps everyone from being chopped up by the big blades). From there, the wind keeps you up and you lay horizontal and the instructor holds on to you. You get two turns of one minute each before you exit the outer chamber and de-gear.
What's it Like to Skydive Indoors?
It's very strange. There's so much wind, and it's very very loud. The amount of wind that blows at your face and nose and mouth took my breath away a little bit, and made my first minute not very pleasant. I lowered my arms and the instructor would signal me to raise my arms. If you don't though, all you do is sink a little bit, it's just more enjoyable if you are actually floating and not being held in the air by the instructor.
The first flight is very much about getting a feel for it. The second one, you get stabilized, then the instructor will get horizontal too and fly you upwards. This costs $15 extra to go up to about 15 feet. My dad did it and loved it. He said it made the second go round way better. I chose not to do it, and thought it was still pretty cool. I felt much better about the second go-round, and less like a dog who can't breathe when her head is hanging out of the car window.
Tips Before You Skydive Indoors
- Get on their email list to get special offers for indoor skydiving. I took advantage of a Christmas deal, which was $99.95 for four flights between two people, and two photos. It was not valid on Saturdays.
- Don't leave any hair hanging out of your helmet. It gets very tangled, just like if you ride on a motorcycle and have the wind whipping your hair.
- Dress like you're going to a yoga class or for a run. Yoga or sweatpants, a tshirt, and socks and tennis shoes are all you need. No necklaces, no rings, nothing.
- For some reason they recommend not wearing glasses but uh, no. Wear them so you can see what's going on. The goggles aren't that uncomfortable over glasses, unless you have giant hipster ones, perhaps.
- Be healthy and not injured. If you are having sinus issues, you might be able to breathe even less. Take that Zyrtec. If you're injured, you also can't fly.
- Kids: We had a 4 year old girl in our group who wigged out and wouldn't fly. The instructors were very cool and let her jump on the mesh with the air blowing gently and picked her up to swoop her through the air a bit. It was very gentle, but you may not want to risk very small kids freaking out and losing your money on their full experience.
This is one of the few fun things we've done! Like actual skydiving, and driving a stock car!