That Wasn't Flying, It Was Falling With Style!

Activities

Jan 30

That Wasn't Flying, It Was Falling With Style!

While in England me and Hannah went indoor skydiving!

It was her Xmas present from me. I thought we'd squeeze one more awesome activity in before we head to Oz! Plus it's prep for the real skydive!

I'm definitely not skydiving, but Taran is pretty adamant, so I will remain adamant until the moment we are jumping out of a plane together...

I just wish they had let go of us more so we could fly ourselves :P

Taran booked our indoor flights through Airkix, a company with centres in Manchester, Basingstoke and Milton Keynes. The deal was called Shairkix and was based on two people/a couple doing two flights (with the instructor) and then a flight together.

We watched everyone else doing their flights first, and it was quite a sight, seeing everyone's faces being pushed back on their heads by the force of the wind tunnel haha! And it looked ridiculously fun!

Our instructor Zac then called us all through for a pre-flight safety chat, then we all got suited and booted.

We all had to file in to a seating area next to the tunnel, and just like the para-glide we did in the summer, Taran volunteered us to go first. I feel like that's gonna happen a lot in Australia...

Taran immediately got the technique down. Effortless. The lady sat next to me said ""Has he done this before? and I proudly shook my head; "No but he knew he'd be good at it!". Because Taran is always good at physical stuff, whereas me, I am on the other end of the scale in terms of co-ordination, clumsiness and strength.

At the end of the flight, he was brave enough to do the whirly-twisty thing the instructor does (technical term) where he takes you up and down the tunnel. You remain in the flight position and hold still, and then he grabs hold of you, spinning crazy fast right up to the top and down again.

Then came time for my flight. I took my position at the entry way, arms in front of me, firsts balled, and i just leapt forward and let myself fall. Except you don't fall, the whoosh of the air lifts you up, and you get into the flying position, watching out for the instructors hand signals. I was constantly told to straighten my legs, and i think i was seeing the signal, understanding it, but too flummoxed to follow it through!

The sensation of flying and not falling, achieving a feat that is impossible in any other situation, is so overwhelming you almost forget to enjoy it because your body is so focused on holding position, thinking that the slightest adjustment or movement could see you plummet down. But you don't really, its pretty idiot-proof!

I opted out of the whirly-twisty-thing, and just before the end of my flight I realized I wasn't breathing, as I had my jaw clamped shut and the air was coming up with such force I just couldn't regulate myself, so I panicked a bit and left the tunnel just before the end of my flight :(

Then came the couples flight!

Taran kept saying to me, "breathe through your mouth!" and it helped. Once we got in there I focused on that and I was suddenly able to enjoy it! We both got into our positions quite nicely, and the instructors did some cheesy posing guiding us to kiss each other. I was laughing hysterically. Taran was loving it.

The only bad thing about it, it was all over so fast. By the time you learn how to breathe with air whooshing into your face, and manage to hold the right position, the clock runs out of time. But it was such a buzz albeit a brief one. We'd definitely do it again and more regularly, so that we could then go in without an instructor and really mess about!

Another awesome experience ticked off, and an amazing birthday gift.

Thanks for reading!

Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at Nomad'erHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!