Human Flight Experience in Las Vegas

Driving down South Las Vegas Boulevard to get some delicious Carne Asada Fries at Tacos El Gordo, it’s hard to miss the building down Convention Center Drive with a huge sign  that says “Vegas Indoor Skydiving”. Although I was a little pessimistic about the experience since we’ve been skydiving, we still decided to give it a go. Is this going to be one of those lame activities?

We were the first customers to arrive at 9:45 am. The first steps included weighing in to make sure participants don’t go over their restrictions and putting away all loose items in a locker they provided. Our instructor then came out, took us to a small classroom where we watched a safety video and signed waivers. We put on the jumpsuits with air pockets, goggles, socks, sneakers and ear plugs.  The jumpsuit reminded us of the Michelin Man. All dressed up and ready to fly, we went over the hand signals from the safety video one more time and then it’s time.

We were told that the skydiving room is safe for up to 10 people. The inside walls are heavily foam–padded.  There’s a mesh trampoline floor in the middle with a huge fan underneath. Curious non-participants can watch and take pictures through the windows. With our ears plugged, we walked in and practiced the most important step, how to safely fall. Basically, you tuck in your arms in front of your chest and throw yourself to the side of the room, away from the fan.

Guided by the instructor, we took turns jumping towards the fan and having the time of our lives. For the first flight, we were instructed to lie down on the middle of  mesh floor above the fan while it was on low. Once it was turned up, we slowly got lifted and had to get used to balancing ourselves. The wind goes as fast as 120 mph. As warned in the instruction video, we never looked down at the fan. Once you do this, it redistributes your body weight and you end up flapping round, losing control and eventually crashing. Our instructor held on to our jumpsuits throughout in case he needed to help us fall or if we felt uncomfortable (hand signal is thumbs down – easy to remember and to the point).

After a few turns, we got used to balancing ourselves and the instructor started flying with us. He even flipped us over and ‘twirled’ us around (which by the way, made me dizzy). The person in the booth took a few photographs and videotaped the whole experience. These souvenirs are available for purchase after the flight. Quick tips:  1) for those that have long hair,  tie it in a low ponytail (if you end up putting it up over your head, make sure it’s not covering your eyesight because this can get really annoying during the flight); and 2) bring cash to give as gratuity after the flight.

Vegas Indoor Skydiving was exhilarating! The hour goes by so fast. We felt like little kids in this padded playground. It’s a completely different experience from jumping out of the plane and skydiving so we recommend you try both.

They are located on 200 Convention Center Dr. Las Vegas, Nevada89109, a block away from The Strip, next to Tacos El Gordo, Walgreens and Ross. They are open daily from 9:45 am – 8:00 pm. To make online reservations or for more information, visit http://www.vegasindoorskydiving.com/