Indoor Skydive- All you need to know!

What is it?

Well, as it says on the tin...It's skydiving indoors, rather than jumping out of an plane!

Indoor skydiving is simulated in a wind tunnel, similar to those used to test F1 race cars, to give the experience of free-falling before taking the plunge into the sky.

Tickets and Booking

Tickets can be purchased through the Ifly centres or various third parties, such as Groupon, Buyagift and Virgin Experience days.

Subscribing to the Ifly newsletter will mean that you are kept up to date with promotions. Ticket prices can range considerably depending when and who you book through.

We purchased vouchers through Groupon, for £19.95 each at Ifly. Tickets allowed for two,1 minute flights in the tube for each flier, that doesn't sound a lot but when you're in there with faces peering at you through the glass and you are not quite sure where your limbs are in space, it feels longer and is the equivalent of 10,000 feet of free fall.

Booking was simple, we phoned the Basingstoke centre, told the member of staff our booking codes and dates, then we were set! Email confirmation arrived quickly and gave us all the details of what we needed to take with us and have on the day.

Arriving on the day

We arrived at the Basingstoke Leisure Park, and were able to park outside the skydiving centre. Reception staff were friendly and enthusiastic on check in and directed us where to go.

As we trundled up to the second floor, the tunnel couldn't be missed...centre of the room, with seating for spectators around the edge.

It was here we were able to watch another group perform and see what we were to expect. Be prepared to wait around a little at this point.

We were then briefed on the flight and tutored about hand gestures for certain manoeuvres because lets face it, you're not going to hear a thing in that tunnel!!

After the briefing, we had a "bottler", fear had taken hold about flying off into the unknown but thankfully, Karl, our instructor was amazing! Experienced and friendly, he calmed the nerves and remained encouraging throughout our entire time there. Huge thanks!! 😊

The Flight

We all took part in the flights and were thankful that we did because what an incredible experience!! We took two exhilarating flights in the tunnels at iFLY Basingstoke yesterday. Experiencing wind speeds of up to 165mph, partaking in the skydive surpassed all expectations.

The group are lined up and instructed to sit outside of the windtunnel until each person is called for their flight.

Our little lady had no fear, and had volunteered to go first and jumped into action at the first opportunity!!

Little Man, was not quite so keen with the sensation of strong winds up his nose, and our instructor whipped him out the tube at the first sign of a thumbs down but reassured him to continue his flight, which he was pleased he did and would love to give it a go again but with a full face helmet.

Not at any point did instructors feel that "they knew best" they allowed each person to experience their own flight, as much or as little as they wanted.

The High Fly

The high fly is an optional extra within each persons second flight. The wind speed is increased within the tunnel and the instructor uses their flying experience to take the skydiver to the top of the tube and return safely back down. This exercise does require being spun. As an optional extra, there is a surcharge (it was £7 each when we visited in 2019)

🌟🌟 Good to Know:

Flyers over 3 years are welcomed.

It is a requirement to be under 18 stone in weight.

Those with a previously dislocated shoulder, pregnant or under the influence of drink/drugs are not permitted to fly.

Always take medical conditions into account, this is an active sport. Lace up trainers are compulsory for each flier. Googles, Helmet and Jumpsuit are included.

Full face helmets our loaned for a charge. Free parking at the leisure park. Lots of food outlets on the park as well as Skizone, Bowling, Swimming, Milestones Museum and Ice Skating. 👍👍