“I was so excited to go to iFly for my birthday because it was a new experience and it sounded super amazing. When it was my turn, it felt like I was flying above the clouds. It was more exciting than anything I’ve ever felt!” – Tyler, 9-years-old
Have you heard about indoor skydiving? iFLY just opened in Roseville and offers customers the thrill of freefall without having to jump from a plane. You “float” on air created by a vertical wind tunnel. This video shows what indoor skydiving looks like.
iFLY was an exhilarating adventure for my family – an adrenaline rush we never expected to get indoors!
OUR EXPERIENCE:
My youngest son’s birthday was coming up and in lieu of a party, we wanted to give him a memorable family experience. He is an adventurous kid, so when my husband and I found out about iFLY, we knew this would be the perfect way to celebrate!
When we arrived at iFLY, we used one of the touchscreen kiosks to check-in. We had already completed our waiver online which made the process quicker. Once we checked in, one of the really friendly crew members at the front desk put on our flight wristbands.
After check-in, we headed to the viewing area where we were able to watch people flying. It was fun to get a peak at what we’d be doing soon. Our favorite part was when after the group of customers flew, their instructor showed off with some really fabulous tricks in the wind tunnel. (By the way, iFLY allows you to visit the viewing area any day of the week to see if this is something you’d like to try.)
The flight instructor that was assigned to our class found us in the viewing area and guided us to the classroom for flight training instruction. During training we learned proper body position for flying and hand signals the instructor would use to remind us of those positions. Our instructor, James, was fantastic! He was enthusiastic, funny and very helpful throughout the process.
After flight training, James led us to the gear-up counter where we received our helmets, flight suits and goggles. One of the things I appreciated the most was that he helped the kids when he noticed they were struggling with their goggles and helmets. He even helped them to get their ear plugs in properly.
James took us as a group into the flight chamber. When we each took our individual turn, he helped us enter the wind tunnel by “leaning in” and spotted us the entire time, helping us to fly on our own! We really had to use those proper body positions that he taught us in order to fly but he was right there reminding us what to do by using the hand signals.
After our flights, we were led out of the flight chamber and removed our gear. As a fun souvenir, we each received a personalized flight certificate. Photos and videos of our flights were available for purchase at kiosks near the gear counter. I opted to check them out online when I got home and picked out the photos of us flying that you’ll see at the end of this post.
We had a blast and talked all about the details of our time at iFLY over dinner right down the street at BJ’s!
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:
- The entire iFLY experience lasts about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Each flight is the equivalent of 1.5 skydives.
- Bring tennis shoes/sneakers and wear clothes that you can easily put the jumpsuit over.
- For those that wear glasses, like my son, iFLY has goggles that fit over your glasses.
- Before your flight, you will need to take off all accessories and remove anything from your pockets. They have complimentary lockers to store your belongings.
- Since you cannot bring anything at all with you in the wind tunnel, if you want to get a picture (like I did!) before your flight, be sure to do it quickly after gearing up so that you can put your phone or camera in the locker.
DETAILS:
What: iFLY Indoor Skydiving
Ages: 3 and up
Where: 118 Harding Blvd, Roseville,California
Phone: (916) 836-4359
Website: www.iflyworld.com
Cost: Visit this page for prices
*Note that there is an add-on for a “high fly”of $10.00 per person for flying up high in the wind tunnel with the instructor. I strongly recommend doing this! My sons and I did and it was AMAZING!*
Programs for kids: Flight School – one-on-one coaching for kids ages 4-16 Wednesdays 6-8pm.
STEM field trips and classes for kids that provide engaging curriculum about the physics and aerodynamics behind the tunnel.
PHOTO GALLERY:
