Business name: iFLY Oklahoma City (13600 Pawnee Dr.)
iFLY Oklahoma City is an indoor skydiving venue. Its vertical wind tunnel simulates freefall skydiving but the activity is actually flying instead of falling. Flights are scheduled in one-minute increments and take place in a controlled environment. The wind tunnel is powered by fans. Flights are for kids ages 3 and up.
Click here for four tips to make the most of your iFLY session from our Weekend Warrior, Sam's mom.
Kid Reviewer Name: Samuel Roldán
Age: 8
What made the experience stand out? I’ve never done anything like iFLY before. My mom said we were going to try indoor skydiving and I was excited to do that but I thought she meant we’d jump off of something with a parachute. Instead, we flew up, up… and not really away, just up. It felt like swimming but without getting wet or holding your breath, the way you fly in a dream.
What was the best part? The flight instructor helped me go all the way to the top of the wind tunnel. I didn’t stop smiling the whole time.
What was the worst part? Having to wait my turn was a little hard because I felt ready to fly right away. I also didn’t like wearing earplugs in the wind tunnel but that wouldn’t keep me from flying again.
Will other kids like it and why? Other kids will love it. iFLY is the coolest activity my mom and I have done together, which is a big recommendation from me because we do a lot of things but this was the very best. If there was a scale of one to 10, I would have to give it, like, 14.
Would this attraction be enjoyed by your siblings? Why or why not? My brothers are too little. Isaac (age 4) hasn’t gone to kindergarten yet and he doesn’t know how to follow instructions; we have to help him be a better listener first. Gabriel is just a baby so he’s not allowed yet. Other kids I know who have brothers and sisters closer to their age would have fun.
If you could do this again knowing what you now know since you've done it once, what would you do differently?
I would be even more excited! I’m not afraid of heights but I was nervous about jumping off of something and landing wrong. That’s not a part of this activity at all. I would also have read more about indoor skydiving to understand how a wind tunnel works.
Does what you saw match up with anything you're learning in school or have seen before in a book, on TV, etc.? Yes, I’ve heard in school about some of the terms the instructor mentioned. I watched a documentary on the science of flight and they said the same words like lift and drag, but I’d never thought about those working on a person instead of a plane.
What do you think you'll remember most about having done this activity? I’ll always remember seeing my mom spin on the flight instructor’s helmet. What I’ll remember most, though, is feeling happy because each time I flew was the longest minute ever somehow.
