STAFF REVIEW: INDOOR SKYDIVING
On Friday 27th November the team and I hit the road and headed up to Milton Keynes for an indoor skydiving experience.
With it all being our first time flying, the journey consisted of us discussing funny stories of what could happen, and watching previous blooper videos. Definitely not the best way to calm our nerves, but an excellent way to pass the hours of stand still traffic on the M5.
Once we arrived at the centre and had all tied our hair into plaits, we met our lovely instructor Glenn, who instantly put us at ease. After we had filled in all the vital documents, we were invited to watch a safety briefing video, before getting kitted up and moving onto the fun stuff!
Now styling very fashionable attire of blue and red overalls, bright yellow helmet, ear plugs and large safety goggles, we were ready to fly…
As we made our way over to the wind tunnel to wait our turn, we caught a glimpse of what we were about to experience. The instructor and flyer were chasing each other round the tunnel in what we can only assume was a game of tag, either that or they’d totally lost control! Whatever they were doing, it looked immeasurably enjoyable.
Once their session had finished we swapped over, making our way into the glass tunnel and taking our seats in order around the screen. Luckily I wasn’t last in which meant I wasn’t going to be skydiving first!
By now the excitement was starting to mix with the nerves as we took our seats around the tunnel…
We were scheduled to have two flights, each consisting of one minute. A minute doesn’t sound particularly long but having now tried indoor skydiving and finding it to be quite a strenuous activity, I would say that it is the perfect amount of time. (And turns out that’s as much free-fall as three tandem skydives!)
First up to fly was Evie. As she stepped into the tunnel she was instantly lifted by the power of the winds, and she was flying! She made it look easy. On our first round we did some basic flying as we got used to the feeling and technique of how to hold our bodies. Those that had a slightly better knack to it were able to venture up higher, whilst the instructor supervised below.
Next up was Cat who also made it look effortless – if they could both do it I definitely could! Or so I thought up until I got into the tunnel, and was hit by the 120mph winds. It’s as if as soon as I got in the tunnel I completely forgot about keeping my body relaxed and my legs straight and I was all over the place, my legs flailing up and down – it’s fair to say I wasn’t the most graceful. It was a good job we got a second flight so I was able to redeem myself.
By my second turn I was feeling far more relaxed, especially after watching everyone else and observing the (correct) technique. On our second goes once we had mastered basic flying with the assistance of Glenn, we got to have a go at flying all the way to the top of the 20ft tunnel. Glenn began by slowly spinning us round gradually picking up the pace before we both blasted up to the top and back down again! The feeling was absolutely fantastic, as it made you feel so light and free, whilst enabling you to experience the real sensation of free fall flying. Something I would definitely recommend.
Once we had all experienced the thrill of flying, we of course needed an obligatory team photo, to document the moment! Really we should have taken this before we all went skydiving and had that wind swept look, but we managed to style it out!
We each received a certificate from Glenn showing which flying skills we had mastered, as well as a downloadable photo and DVD documenting the whole experience – this provided excellent entertainment as my first flight was definitely You’ve Been Framed worthy!
If you like the sound of indoor skydiving then grab a gift voucher today.
And don’t forget to check out the video of us flying below!
From the team at Experience Days.
