My oldest is about to turn 18, in just days. He wants to celebrate by going skydiving, and while I assure him I’ll be happy to watch, but this is one jump I just won’t be making with him!
Luckily for me, iFly invited us out to try Indoor Skydiving at their Hurst/Fort Worth location, and WOW, it is incredible! We had such a blast, and the staff was terrific at taking care of us! A flight at iFly consist of a series of 60-second flights focused not on “falling”, like you would in skydiving, but actually flying your body. A free-fall during a plane jump only last about 30-35 seconds until you pull the parachute, so I think we got a really good idea of what skydiving is like! I still need to do a little research before I make that big jump!
But the biggest thrill for me was seeing just family-friendly it is! I had a perception of it being something for teens and adults, but anyone at iFly can fly! When we arrived, there was a birthday party that was finishing up for a girl about 7, and she and her friends had a great time! I loved that my younger kids were able to do it with us, and we really made for a wonderful family experience!
While i-fly did offer us complementary flights, I was not financially compensated for this post, and as always, all opinions are my own.
Reservations are usually required, but may be available same day. When you arrive to check in, you’ll need to have completed a waiver for each flier. If you haven’t already done so, they have several kiosk where you can complete it.
Mom Tips: Wear comfortable clothing since you put the jumpsuit on over your own clothing. Close-toed shoes are required. You can even bring clothes to change.
If you have long hair, put it in a braid or pony-tail to minimize tangling during your flight. You will wear a helmet, too!
Go ahead and eat before you go, if you’re making a family or date night out of it! Flying doesn’t give you motion sickness or a dizzy feeling, something I was very curious about!
Our flight was scheduled just after the weekly Flight School, and it was so much fun to watch these kids, ages 4-16, show off the skills they have learned! It really gave us an appreciation for what you CAN do inside the wind tunnel! Flight School is a weekly, 2 hour class. Check out the fun video I posted to Instagram, and click HERE to read more about Flight School pricing, class times and more!
Students from Flight School can then choose to compete in Indoor Skydiving Competitions. Click HERE to read more about it!
As Flight School was finishing up, we headed into the classroom to meet our instructor, Taylor, and watch a short video about the hand commands you need to know when flying. It’s impossible to hear in the wind tunnel, and hand commands are essential for communicating with your instructor! I was really impressed with the training the instructors must receive! All instructors attend a special training school, and have to have a required number of flight hours by the time they take their first class into the wind tunnel! Our instructor, Taylor was incredible, and very personable!
Next, we were ready to get fitted for our flight suit!
The flight suit also includes eye protection from the wind, a helmet and ear plugs.
I was worried about the wind on my contacts, but the super-fitted flexible goggles kept all wind out of my eyes!
What you can’t take in the wind tunnel is…. anything else. i-Fly has complementary lockers for storing your phone, purse, wallet, etc. This was just one of the conveniences I loved about iFly!
Once inside the wind tunnel, Taylor led us through some basic flying motions, like moving forwards and backwards.
A class is usually about 12 people, and we were with another family, whose youngest here is only 4! I love that even his grandpa was flying with them! I was really impressed with what a terrific activity this is for the entire family, including those with disabilities, with some restrictions for pregnant women, and those with some preexisting conditions.
We loved it! You can choose how many flights you want to take, but the average first time flyer does 2. Each flight is 60 seconds in length, which seems to last forever when you’re inside the wind tunnel and focusing on watching your instructor for commands, balancing on the wind, and having fun!
I was surprised just how easy and fun it was to learn to fly on the wind!
During your flight, you stay about waist-high off the ground, with your instructors support, but the last 20 seconds your instructor will ask if you want to go up higher… Do It! It was the best part of the experience for me, and I never had that feeling of falling….something I hate!
My son just didn’t want to leave!
Neither did I. It’s made me think again about going skydiving with my oldest!
There are lots of fun photo-ops after your flight!
In addition to pictures of your flight, they have souvenir shirts you can purchase!
iFly also offers birthday parties, youth and scout events, and meeting rooms for corporate events! Click HERE for more information.
Know Before You Go
Is it stroller friendly? yes
Do they accept credit cards? yes
Can you bring food/drinks? yes
Are there changing tables available? at some locations
Are pets welcome? no
i-Fly
Locations in San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, Austin, Fort Worth
Click HERE to visit their website. Click HERE to visit their facebook page.
Keep Having Fun in the Texas Sun!
Michelle
Having Fun in the TEXAS Sun is on PINTEREST! Use it as a quick resource to find activities in different Texas towns! Click HERE!
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