So what makes for the perfect team Christmas event? Not far from London there is a town called Milton Keynes. In this town there is an indoor ski slope (fake snow obviously!) and also an indoor sky diving centre…
We did the indoor sky diving with iFLY 🙂
Let’s fly away with iFLY
You start your flying session with a safety briefing and instruction, before getting suited up in the ‘snazzy’ jumpsuits. I’ve done a bit of skydiving before – once with Europe’s only portable vertical wind tunnel in Russel Square and on my thirtieth birthday (yes I am over 30!), when I jumped out of a plane attached in tandem! So I had a handle on this…
My colleagues excited to be rocking the jumpsuits!
It was too tempting to pose whilst we waited for our slot
I really love Gaston’s face in this one lol!
What happens?
After the safety briefing and getting the gear on – including the helmet and googles – you head to the wind tunnel. We were briefed on hand signals required to ensure our safety and the correct position of our body. When you enter the wind tunnel you need to fall in from the doorway and then spread your arms to catch the wind. The instructor then guides your body into the right position.
The instructor getting me into the right flying position to be stable
Then they let go and its up to you!!
Flying on my own – no I’m not sure why I’ve bent my hands like that!
Up, up and away!
I managed to control my body to move up and down and obtained the highest score of the group, natch! You rotate in and out of the tunnel for 1.5 minutes each.
We had some time at the end of our group slot to have a high fly also. This is when the instructor takes you right to the top of the flying area moving in a circular motion. I.e. you spin around and around and up and down again!
Everyone enjoyed the flying and the high fly – even those in our group that get motion sickness. I think its a great thing to do as a team as everyone is on an adrenaline rush afterwards! Obviously you can’t turn up drunk or do this with any back or shoulder issues. We all felt fine on the day but the next day everyone had sore shoulders. You really don’t realise how much you are using them in the flying position. They can adapt positions if you have a pre-existing shoulder condition, so it’s always worth checking with the staff if you have any injuries.
Would I do it again?
The answer is yes!! I think this could be quite addictive and I know friends who are serious about their sky diving who use the indoor centres to polish up on their moves. If I lived closer I think I could be tempted to sign up to one of their training programmes to work through the different stages.
Pin me!
Svetoslav Dimitrov says
Haha, this looks like so much fun! I had a friend who tried it in Bulgaria and she loved it. She said she is going again. However, she also told me it’s quite expensive, but probably worth it!
Good job for the best result!
Svet
Katie Hughes says
Thanks Svet – I was lucky that my company paid!!
Sally says
This looks like so much fun! I think I would be too scared to actually sky dive but I would give this a go for sure. Maybe a new years challenge!
Katie Hughes says
Yes sounds like a plan Sally!
Danni Lawson says
I did this in Prague and it is easily the most fun! It really feels like you are flying. I know it must be tame for you after a tandem skydive, but still a lot of fun!!
Katie Hughes says
I liked it better than the tandem Danni – you could practise your moves.
Corinne says
This is the only way that I’m going to experience sky diving, so it’s on my to-do list. It looks like such a blast.
Cori says
A friend had a horror story experience with indoor sky diving in Niagara Falls. It’s so important to make sure you do it in an enclosed space like this with well trained staff! The place you went looks great.
This looks like so much fun!
Katie Hughes says
Oh my that sounds terrible – they were very good with the safety at iFly.
Mr Grumbert says
That looks like great fun! Mr Grumbert would love to try it one day. Thanks for sharing this post 🙂
Katie Hughes says
No worries – hope you try it Me Grumbert!
Claire Summers says
This looks like a lot of fun! I would love to do a skydive but I’m terrified of heights. So this would be perfect for me haha.
Katie Hughes says
Yes Claire – you really aren’t that high up!
Jojo says
They just opened one of these near me! I’ve done actual skydiving last year but still want to try this since there you can do more controlling. Congratulations on the high score!
Katie Hughes says
Thanks Jojo!
Thelittlelai: Beyond limits says
Wow, this is truly amazing. I didn’t know that there’s such an indoor activities that allows you to fly and its truly interesting. I think this would be a good start before trying the higher flying activities outdoor. I would love to try this one if given chance.
Katie Hughes says
It’s a great experience – really gets the adrenaline going!
Jo says
iFly is the only reason I wanna head back to Singapore. I have already visited all the popular attractions several years ago but this was launched post my visit and I have been dying to experience it – as a warm up before I try the real thing. Have you done both? how do you compare?
Thanks for sharing your experience, i think the shoulder aches the day after are a small price to pay for this awesome thrill ride.
Katie Hughes says
Yes I’ve done a tandem sky dive and the in door sky dive. You get longer on the free fall in the indoor one and you can practise positions etc
Sandy N Vyjay says
This looks amazing and full of fun. I had always wanted to try this , but never got a chance. I hope to try this soon.
Katie Hughes says
I really enjoyed it Sandy – hope you do too!