Ever wanted to experience the once-in-a-lifetime feeling of skydiving, but the reality of actually jumping out of a plane just seemed a bit too much? Same. Thankfully, iFLY offers a high-octane alternative that provides the same feeling, without, you know, starting thousands of feet above Earth in the clouds.
Located next to the Trafford Centre, iFLY is an indoor skydiving experience with outposts in Manchester, Milton Keynes, Basingstoke, and London. Having experienced it myself, I can testify it is unlike any other experience I’d had before, and it’s really bloody cool.
So, how exactly does indoor skydiving work?
iFLY indoor skydiving uses a vertical wind tunnel, with speeds of up to 175 mph, to keep you airborne. Professional skydivers often use these kinds of wind tunnels for training and upskilling too – iFLY is the closest you can get to the real thing without boarding a plane.
Believe it or not, you don’t need any experience to have a go at iFLY; the staff are there on the day to (quite literally) get you up to speed on all you need to know. Upon arrival, you will undergo a safety briefing and watch the professional demonstrations; and you’ll be under the guidance of a certified instructor for the entire session.
Once you’re all kitted up – you’ll receive a flight suit, helmet, and snazzy goggles – you’ll step into the flight chamber. It is noisy (erm, hello 175mph winds), so you’ll need to watch your instructor for instructions. They will guide you into the wind tunnel, and then you’ll be up, up and away! The wind will keep you up in the air, and your instructor will guide you up and down the tunnel as you wish. The experience will seriously take your breath away.
Each iFLY session caters to a group of six people, and each person gets to fly twice – this is the equivalent free-fall time of three 12,000-foot skydives! The session lasts around an hour and a half, including the safety briefing and two flights.
At the end of the experience, you’ll receive a certificate of flight achievement as a memento of your experience. Like you’d ever forget it?! Book your ticket to experience indoor skydiving in Manchester here.