If you’ve been following me on social media for a while, you know that skydiving is on my bucket list. Specifically, skydiving with the Golden Knights of the US Army. Until that dream becomes a reality, I’m checking skydiving from the bucket list in pencil thanks to iFly indoor skydiving.
iFly is the most awesome skydiving adventure you can have without a plane. iFly Dallas is a 14 foot indoor climate controlled vertical wind tunnel. It’s the closest you experience you can have to actually jumping out of the plane, and it’s safe enough that flyers can be aged 3 to 103! (Let me tell you how mad the Princess Cupcake was when she found out she was old enough to fly but wasn’t that day… )
I was completely impressed with how organized check-in is. It’s seemed to be synchronized to the very minute. After check-in, you’ll go upstairs to the flight area, and immediately panic that there are chairs full of people all watching the tube that you’ll be flying in.
Holy crap! What if I slam my face against the wall or fall like an idiot in front of everyone?!
Guess what, neither of those things happened, and you’ll quickly realize that most of the people on the sidelines are there for moral support and not to compare their skydiving skills to yours.
Since cell phones and jewelry ricocheting like shrapnel off the sides of the tunnel is a bad idea, there are lockers to securely hold your valuables. When you check in upstairs, put everything in the combination locker and they’ll take you into the training room where you watch a video and learn the hand signals that the iFly coaches will give you when you’re suspended in air. Thankfully there are only 4 hand signals so you don’t get overwhelmed.
After the training, it’s off to get suited up with earplugs, goggles, helmets, and these cool jumpsuits that have handles on the back. These are so the iFly coaches can better steer you in the air chamber.
This was me and my friends about to head into the chamber. I’m the one in the Tiger helmet (shout out LSU) Nope, none of us are nervous at all.
One by one, you get your turn inside the wind tunnel. The iFly coaches are incredibly helpful and encouraging. Yes, you’ll bounce on the bottom once or twice. Yes, you’ll freak out a little when you catch air and start going up. Spinning might make you utter an expletive, but no one can hear you anyway. This was me going, “ooooooo I’m not sure I wanted to do that move…” but you have to zoom in to see Coach Nick squatting in the doorway as he apparently has another opinion.
iFly is a complete blast. And trust me, you aren’t thinking about the people watching you anymore. You might be thinking about the camera taking a photos and video of you, but don’t. Just enjoy the ride.
This isn’t a cheap thrill ride, although we got ours on special with a Costco deal. Prices start at $59.95, but if you have some friends/family that want to go, you can get a family package for $269.95 which works out to be $54/pp. My motto is go big or go home so I opted for the $10 upgrade for the super spin experience to the top of the tunnel. I gotta tell you, that’s the way to end your iFly event: on a “high” note. My advice during this portion of your flight – keep you mouth shut. Otherwise, drool will get all over your mouth and you’re scared to move your hand and drop like a rock when you wipe it off, LOL!
From check-in to training, and the coaches help in the tunnel, these guys were super friendly, educational and make you feel at ease. You feel like they’re having as much of a blast as you are. Our instructors were Nick Flo (seriously, how awesome a name for a guy who lives in a wind tunnel?) and Ian Durell. I highly recommend asking for them (and tipping them). These guys made our whole experience over the top fun.
To find out more about iFly or book your flight, you can visit the website for Dallas iFly which is located in front of Stonebriar Mall in Frisco. There are locations all over the world though. To find one near you, click here. It would make for a great team building event, family outing, and they even have a party room and birthday party packages.
In case you’re wondering, no, I was not compensated for this review. It was just plain awesome and I wanted to tell you about it.
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