Today, let's welcome Seattle writer and blogger Katie Kavulla who is here to share her amazing, indoor skydiving experience. Yes, INDOOR skydiving. Intrigued?
Skydiving indoors in a simulated wind tunnel sounds slightly less
frightening than the kind where you jump out of a plane, but, as writer Katie Kavulla, explains, its not an experience that comes without the jitters. Take it away, Katie ...
I know that there are people out there who have skydiving on their bucket list. I was not one of those people. Before going indoor skydiving at iFLY, I was perfectly content watching the contestants on "Amazing Race" jump out of planes from the comfort of my very comfy and very safe Crate and Barrel couch.
But, with an indoor skydiving article already assigned for a local parenting newsletter, where I was about to tell parents that they should take their children indoor skydiving, I found myself saying yes to iFLY's invitation to come give it a spin myself. I mean, how could I suggest that children as young as three years old take flight if I was too chicken at 31?
The morning of the flight I was nervous. Knots-in-my-stomach nervous. I was even hoping, in the back of my scaredy-cat mind, that my babysitter wouldn't show up and I'd have to cancel. But no, she was right on time, as usual, and off I went. I had told my 7-year old daughter that I was going indoor skydiving that day and the freaked out look on her face didn't really help. I was hoping she'd boost my confidence a little with a "That's so cool, Mom!", but instead, I got a "LIKE, JUMPING OUT OF A PLANE???" Oops.
The instructors at iFLY were so kind and sweet and even the 10-year old in my group seemed to be excited, while I was literally shaking putting on my flight suit and helmet (Side note: Not an attractive look ladies. Might want to skip this one on first-date territory). They assured us all that it was perfectly safe, we watched a video about the hand signals they'd give us in the tube and away we went. I tried hard to be the last one on the bench, but ended up somewhere in the middle and eventually, it was my turn.
From the moment I leaned into the wind of the tunnel, I was flying. Although the instructors have their hands on you most of the time to keep you balanced, you don't even notice it. I just kept thinking in my head, "I'm doing this! I'm actually doing this! Is this what real skydiving looks like? Is my neck skin flopping around and looking gross? What is that hand signal he's giving me? Right, chin up. I'M DOING THIS!" The flight itself only lasted for two-minutes, but I'm pretty sure the grin on my face lasted the rest of the day.
I can certainly see now, why people get a high from skydiving... and from pushing themselves out of their comfort zone for extreme sports. As a gal who prefers to take calculated risks (in all areas of my life, not just when it comes to things such as this), this experience was good for me in so many ways. Not only did that surge of adrenaline in my body pump me up for the rest of that day and week, but remembering that feeling has pushed me to consider what else I can challenge myself to do physically. I want to start snowboarding again next winter--something I haven't done in almost 10 years--and yes, I'm even considering going skydiving for real. Like, jumping out of a plane, as my daughter Janie so aptly described it.
One indoor skydiving experience does not a daredevil make, but I'm pretty sure I can just barely feel some little devil horns poking through my highlighted blonde locks. Ones that certainly weren't there before.
I know that there are people out there who have skydiving on their bucket list. I was not one of those people. Before going indoor skydiving at iFLY, I was perfectly content watching the contestants on "Amazing Race" jump out of planes from the comfort of my very comfy and very safe Crate and Barrel couch.
But, with an indoor skydiving article already assigned for a local parenting newsletter, where I was about to tell parents that they should take their children indoor skydiving, I found myself saying yes to iFLY's invitation to come give it a spin myself. I mean, how could I suggest that children as young as three years old take flight if I was too chicken at 31?
The morning of the flight I was nervous. Knots-in-my-stomach nervous. I was even hoping, in the back of my scaredy-cat mind, that my babysitter wouldn't show up and I'd have to cancel. But no, she was right on time, as usual, and off I went. I had told my 7-year old daughter that I was going indoor skydiving that day and the freaked out look on her face didn't really help. I was hoping she'd boost my confidence a little with a "That's so cool, Mom!", but instead, I got a "LIKE, JUMPING OUT OF A PLANE???" Oops.
The instructors at iFLY were so kind and sweet and even the 10-year old in my group seemed to be excited, while I was literally shaking putting on my flight suit and helmet (Side note: Not an attractive look ladies. Might want to skip this one on first-date territory). They assured us all that it was perfectly safe, we watched a video about the hand signals they'd give us in the tube and away we went. I tried hard to be the last one on the bench, but ended up somewhere in the middle and eventually, it was my turn.
From the moment I leaned into the wind of the tunnel, I was flying. Although the instructors have their hands on you most of the time to keep you balanced, you don't even notice it. I just kept thinking in my head, "I'm doing this! I'm actually doing this! Is this what real skydiving looks like? Is my neck skin flopping around and looking gross? What is that hand signal he's giving me? Right, chin up. I'M DOING THIS!" The flight itself only lasted for two-minutes, but I'm pretty sure the grin on my face lasted the rest of the day.
I can certainly see now, why people get a high from skydiving... and from pushing themselves out of their comfort zone for extreme sports. As a gal who prefers to take calculated risks (in all areas of my life, not just when it comes to things such as this), this experience was good for me in so many ways. Not only did that surge of adrenaline in my body pump me up for the rest of that day and week, but remembering that feeling has pushed me to consider what else I can challenge myself to do physically. I want to start snowboarding again next winter--something I haven't done in almost 10 years--and yes, I'm even considering going skydiving for real. Like, jumping out of a plane, as my daughter Janie so aptly described it.
One indoor skydiving experience does not a daredevil make, but I'm pretty sure I can just barely feel some little devil horns poking through my highlighted blonde locks. Ones that certainly weren't there before.
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