Inside a clear, 10-foot wide chamber, four men grab each other’s arms and pause. No more than five seconds pass as they slowly lean forward and shoot into the air. Wearing black jumpsuits and blue helmets, these men complete flips, turns and other acrobatic tricks while floating around 20 feet above the net below.
Preparing for the 2014 United States Parachute Association, National Skydiving Championship of Formation Diving, two of the four men came from Mexico to iFLY Indoor Skydiving in Rosemont to practice their formations, said manager on duty Todd Levy.
“Recently, [skydivers] have started doing strictly tunnel competition, where experienced skydivers and non-skydivers alike are able to compete inside the tunnel,” said Levy. “Our location in Austin, [Texas,] hosted the first ever [indoor skydiving World Parachute Championship].”
iFLY Skydiving opened in Rosemont, Ill. on May 15, 2014 and was the first iFLY center to open in the Midwest region. It was started by SkyVenture, a group of professional skydivers and engineers, and the first tunnel was built in 1998 in Orlando, Fla.
Levy said the tunnel is powered by four turbine fans on top of the iFLY building, and wind is pushed down the sides and through the basement. Then, the wind is circulated through the tunnel at 150 mph and back out the building. The air is always smooth and cool because it is constantly recirculated, said Levy.
“[iFLY employees] control the wind speeds,” said Levy. “So if it is a younger or elderly person, we keep them at lower speeds.”
Senior Angela Bazianos got the chance to try out the facility at her friend’s 17th birthday party. Bazianos said she had to take a short class where the instructor taught the proper body position for flying before she was able to fly in the tunnel.
“So you are lying on your stomach and your arms are out in front of you,” said Bazianos. “It’s almost like you’re making a circle. And your legs are pushed up…similar to that froggy position. Then, your feet are in line with your butt.”
iFLY has helped people from three years old to 103 years old fly in the tunnels, Levy said. They also accommodate for patrons with special needs.
“We have flown with children with autism [and] handicapped [people], but as long as they have some movement in their legs and arms we are able to help them,” said Levy. “To see someone with special needs have the biggest, hugest smile stepping out of the tunnel…to feel that freedom outside of a wheelchair if they are imposed in one…it’s amazing.”
Levy said that an instructor waits inside the tunnel until the patron steps in. The instructor will then grab onto an arm and leg of the patron and help him or her balance in the air. Hand signals are used to communicate between the instructor and patron.
“It was very scary, but there’s this net underneath you that is extremely secure,” said Bazianos. “They took [the birthday party group] out on it before, and all of us together were bouncing on it to make sure it was stable.”
Both indoor and outdoor skydiving have their advantages, Levy said. Indoor is safer because the wind speed is controlled, an instructor is there to help and there is a net below. Levy said he gets the most adrenalin rush with outdoor skydiving.
“[At iFLY] you are literally flying in midair,” said Levy. “There are no strings, no harnesses, nothing…and you are literally flying your own body.”