My best childhood friend and I called it our "quarter-life crisis" and jumped out of an airplane outside Denton, TX, tandem with experienced skydivers for the thrill.
It was incredible.
Not something I'm dying to do again, mind you, but something that I'll be forever glad I checked off my bucket list!
Last week, iFly hosted a blogger night for local bloggers and influencers to experience the awesomeness of indoor skydiving. Sadly, I couldn't participate myself because I'm 30 weeks pregnant, but my girls were more than happy to literally "jump in" and let me know all about this awesome experience.
To save time before you arrive, buy your passes and fill out waivers online at iflyworld.com. iFly has two DFW locations- Frisco and Hurst (or Dallas and Fort Worth, as they are classified on the Website), so we chose the Fort Worth location because it is only about 12 miles from our south Arlington residence, just up 820 and across the highway from North East Mall.
After getting checked in, flyers take a quick "flight class." We went to flight class to learn about hand signals and proper form while in the flight tunnel. (You wear ear plugs while in the wind tunnel, and then have a helmet over your ears. Combined with the excessive noise of the wind tunnel itself, these things make it nearly impossible to communicate without hand signals inside the wind tunnel!) They practiced proper flight technique and were trained by their instructor so as to be prepared for the experience! This part of the experience took about 10-15 minutes.
After reviewing all the proper hand signals and procedures, it was time to suit up! Please note- I neglected to read the fine print on the email I received from iFly and had my girls dressed improperly. Flyers should come in pants or shorts (not dresses, for comfort's sake) and need to wear lace-up, secure sneakers (not flip flops like my oldest. Luckily they do keep sneakers behind the counter for poor souls like us!). The girls put on flight suits, sneakers, ear plugs, goggles and helmets. The certainly looked like proper skydivers once they were in full gear!
Their group was full- 10 flyers. Each flyer gets two flights, each for a total of one minute. The first flight is merely to give you a taste. The girls got to experience weightlessness and feel what it's like in a wind tunnel. They were in the tunnel with a flight instructor who was able to properly guide them and signal them as necessary.
After the flight, the girls each got a completion certificate and a chance to view photos and videos of themselves in flight.
The cost of the flight package starts at around $70 per person. iFly also does birthday parties, events, Scout outings, field trips and executive events. How cool would this place be for a birthday party?!
My oldest daughter's Girl Scout troop actually came to iFly in 2018 to do a STEM activity and earn a badge. They LOVED it. This program is awesome for school groups, scout groups and so many more. You can fly as young as 3 years old!
They are having an awesome homeschool flying event tomorrow where you can experience one flight for $35- this is an awesome deal! Here is the link for tickets:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ifly-stem-homeschool-day-tickets-61167424413?aff=ebdssbdestsearch&fbclid=IwAR3jCulcBEn4-2thUInhjIt78mvPiIo79BQuMT4cDx9kvE-LjjiC959HXqY
A few extra bits to know:
- It's fun to watch! Not only can you watch the other flyers, but instructors often do stunts and tricks after they help their groups go. Some are very flashy while some are very funny. The girls loved watching them all!
- There are lockers for your personal belongings while you are "in flight."
- There is a gift shop with swag and vending machines with chips, candy and pop.
- Parking is free.
Please note- my girls received free flights in exchange for my honest testimony. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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