Yesterday I took my 7 year old son indoor skydiving and he absolutely loved it! We drove up to yonkers and checked right in at IFly in westchester county. We already live in the bronx, so the drive to westchester was only about 20 minutes, definitely worth it. We'll be returning very soon, next week in fact lol.. When we first arrived there, they made us sign a waiver, and we were told what exactly to expect by a friendly flight instructor. She then gave my son and about 4 other kids and parents instructions on what to do and how to position their body's while inside the tunnel; as well as important hand signals that are used to better understand the instructor during each flight. After the training everyone was given flight jumpsuits, ear plugs, gargles,helmets and we were ready to go!
So, what exactly is indoor skydiving? Picture a twelve-foot wide, forty-foot high cylinder chamber through which giant propellers push air upwards at speeds of approximately 120-150 miles per hour, creating a column of air capable of literally sweeping you off your feet.
Such vertical wind tunnels, as they are called, give skydivers a way to practice their flying skills and experience free fall without having to jump out of a plane, and have created the relatively new sport of “bodyflight.” Ifly is one of the country’s leading indoor skydiving companies, with twenty-nine facilities throughout the United States.
My son had ten whole minutes of flight time and each flight he had he came back to the bench with huge excitement on his face! The entire ride home all he did was bug me about when is our next time coming back, he cant wait to return! He truly believes he's training to be a superhero and hes going to be a pro at this flying stuff! Before we left, ifly gave us a promotion for his next flight which will give us the chance to fly again half the price. I bought the ticket and my son doesn't know it yet but we're going back next week to fly some more :) Only this time I'll be joining him!
His first flight, he did pretty good right?!