A little over a year ago, I did something I wanted to do my entire life – something I always wished I
would someday have the courage to do: Jump out of an airplane, plummet to the earth and live to
tell the story.
It’s funny how that sort of thing goes. Skydiving is a bucket-list item for millions of people, yet most
will never take the leap. Those intense adventure activities are easy to romanticize in our heads, but
it’s a different story when the propeller on the plane begins to spin, the knees begin to wobble. The
excuses are essentially endless, from cojones to cost (my jump was $200 for 45 seconds of free fall).
Another perceived barrier: There’s no easing into it. Life is all about practice and progression –
baseball players use batting cages, weightlifters hit the gym – but skydivers watch a five-minute
video and climb into the clouds?
Not anymore.
When I was in Ogden, Utah this winter (about an hour’s drive north of Salt Lake City), I had the
opportunity to experience what I originally believed to be a very good example of an oxymoron –
indoor skydiving.
Four 250 horsepower fans create a wind tunnel, producing a stream of air that suspends you
above a trampoline-like floor. By twisting and turning your body in different positions you are able
to maneuver through the 120-mph winds the same way you would when skydiving, the small
adjustments of your body angle, arms, and legs determining your elevation and direction. Think
minor movements – a slight change makes a big difference.
As it turns out, I came closer to crushing my skull skydiving indoors than I did when I jumped out an
actual plane last summer. I was doing my best to get myself to the top of the tunnel, arching my back
and holding my arms high, yet a miscalculation nearly sent my face straight into the floor.
I’m being a bit dramatic – it’s perfectly safe – however it is by no means a bunny slope. Experts use
the facility to practice formations, but iFLY is for all age ranges (there was a ten-year old girl doing
flips before I got in).
As someone who has done the real thing, I can tell you that the floating sensation is exactly the
same. Had my eyes been closed, I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference (they are working
on getting projections of scenery on the walls).
My guide that day told me he has jumped out of a plane over 6,000 times, and he put on quite the
show. He literally goes from the floor to the ceiling, then does a back flip and lands perfectly on the
other side of the door, out of the wind. Growing up I always dreamed of being a superhero – of
having complete freedom in the air. Take a look at the video. The thumbs up and smile on my face
says it all: Mission accomplished.
