No Plane, No Parachute, No Problem: Let's Go Indoor Skydiving
(GIF: iFLY)
Let’s say you’re an adrenaline junkie at heart. But with the day job five days a week, the only heights you’ve reached have been from climbing the corporate ladder.
If you don’t have time in the middle of the day to, let’s say, jump from an airplane at 13,000 feet, there is a way to experience the feeling of free falling in about an hour without leaving terra firma.
I recently traveled to Rosemont, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, where I went back and forth between a convention center and a hotel for five days straight. The seemingly endless cycle of tradeshowing day in and day out — and my astonishing caloric intake from restaurants three times per day — left me feeling lethargic.
But between the schnitzel of the Hofbrauhaus and the corned beef and cabbage of the Five Roses Pub in Rosemont’s nearby entertainment center, I discovered iFLY Chicago, an indoor skydiving facility (yes, I said “indoor”). I decided, after the initial thrill of eating out subsided, to turn my lunch hour over to adrenaline and take on a session of indoor skydiving, ready to embrace my dream of flying like teacher-turned-superhero Ralph Hinkley from The Greatest American Hero (with less crashing into buildings).
iFLY in suburban Chicago is one of 25 iFLY locations worldwide. (Photo: Facebook/iFLY)
iFLY has been pushing thrill seekers into the air for 17 years, beginning with its first facility in Orlando. Since then, it’s grown to 25 locations around the world.
Traditional skydiving for beginners seems a lot more time-involved and risky. There are several hours of training followed by a lengthy ride in a plane that you’ll eventually jump out of, placing your life in the hands of an instructor who may be only a slightly more experienced skydiver than you.
Related: The World’s Most Scenic Places to Skydive
My indoor skydive, also known as a “bodyflight,” was far less time-consuming and risky. After passing the souvenir section in the lobby of iFLY, I took the elevator to the second floor, where the doors opened to reveal a tall glass flight chamber, like the fizzy lifting drink thing in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
The vertical wind tunnel stretched from floor to ceiling. Inside, three very experienced skydivers performed acrobatics in unison, as if to simultaneously welcome and scare me. Underneath them, and separated from them only by a thin mesh net, immense fan-fueled blowers relentlessly thrust 120 mile-per-hour air upward. Yet with a flick of their hands or a shrug of their shoulders, these young chaps seemingly harnessed the wind to dart around this narrow tube like airborne superheroes.
Fly indoors — with the help of a massive wind tunnel. (Photo: iFLY)
Now for my turn. The group I trained with was briefed on the basic body positions required to catch air and remain right side up in this vertical wind tunnel. I suited up in my red jumpsuit, goggles, earplugs, and helmet; got in line just outside of the flight chamber; and then stood in the chamber opening, cowering from the updraft.
As instructed, I leaned forward, preparing to fall onto my face. And like that, the driving wind caught me and suspended me just a foot or two above the net. The flight trainer stayed with me in the chamber, throwing out hand signals he had taught us moments earlier to cue me to keep my body in the correct positions for optimal hang time. My adrenaline had other ideas, and my body chose to spin out of control. But iFLY has thought of everything: There were two straps on the back of my jumpsuit so that the instructor could bring me out of my death spiral.
WATCH: Ryan’s Indoor Skydiving Session
(Video by iFLY)
Before I knew it, my minute in the flight chamber was over. If you think that’s short, think about this: A jump from an airplane at 13,500 feet in the air will yield only between 35 and 45 seconds of freefall. In all, I had two one-minute flights. Take my advice: On the second flight, spend the extra $10 — they’ll turn up the fan, and the instructor will grab your flight suit and take you higher in the tunnel.
Other indoor skydiving facilities:
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