Indoor Skydiving with Local Hockey Heroes

By Natalie Del Ricco

March 23, 2015

Rosemont – On Wednesday, March 18, four Chicago area hockey fans were able to take flight with Chicago Wolves hockey players Rob Bordson, Jani Hakanpaa and Sebastian Wannstrom at iFLY Indoor Skydiving’s Rosemont location. Chicago Wolves mascot “Skates” was also at iFLY to cheer on the group along with team captain Brent Regner came to show his support but was unable to fly due to a recent injury.

During the month of February, Chicago Wolves fans had the opportunity to bid on a few coveted slots to experience indoor skydiving with some of the Wolves players. Proceeds from the auction helped fund the various programs presented by the Chicago Wolves and their charitable partners. Chicagoland hockey fans Eric Gilbert, Ed Sincere, Bill Mactrinder and Andie Pearson won the experience and were each able to bring one guest to enjoy the exhilarating thrill of indoor skydiving and meet the Wolves hockey players.

After the winners and players checked in, they attended a quick training session to learn body flight technique and then changed into a flight suit, helmet and goggles before entering the wind tunnel. Each individual was joined in the wind tunnel by one of iFLY’s highly-trained flight instructors, Kyle Zimmerman. The flight experience that iFLY offers perfectly replicates the adrenaline-charged sensation of a skydiving free-fall while eliminating the daunting leap out of an airplane. These first-time flyers learned basic belly flying. Like any skilled sport, with additional training, flyers can progress to advanced aerial gymnastic maneuvers.

The iFLY indoor skydiving experience is made possible utilizing a technology called the “vertical wind tunnel,” which was historically used by the military and professional skydivers for training. Four powerful, high-efficiency axial fans are mounted at the top of the building, channeling air down the side tunnels into the basement, and then up through the floor through a 14-foot-wide circular flight chamber, creating a strong upward draft. This column of air, which ranges in speed from approximately 80 to 175 miles per hour (depending on the weight and expertise level of the flyer), creates a stable, safe, wall-to-wall airflow that gently pushes guests aloft and makes it possible for them to fly.

For more information on iFLY: https://chicago.iflyworld.com/.