Outfly

I've posted before about skydiving, when my husband jumped out of a plane in 2013. It's not an activity for me, but when a body-flight skydive simulator opened in Reunion last year I was more than happy to give it a try. In June 2018 I was given a voucher for two one-minute experiences but trying to get the dates  to coincide with friends who also wanted to do it, plus travel plans, plus a car breakdown meant that it took me a year to actually get round to doing it - but it was worth the wait!

With Outfly you prebook a slot online, and on arrival you are equipped with a bodysuit, googles, hardhat, and earplugs. (You are advised to come wearing proper shoes and avoid unattached long hair or jewellery). This kitting-up takes about 10 minutes.

reception area 

Then the participants (there were ten of us in our group) were seated next to the wind tunnel and thoroughly briefed on safety precautions and signs to be used during the experience.

view of the wind tunnel used at Outfly

After that we each took it in turn to "fly" for one minute, before repeating the whole experience. 

close-up of the wind tunnel

An instructor is with you in the wind tunnel, and another member of staff is outside to adjust the wind speed.

my husband

After having actually jumped out of a plane my husband was rather worried it would be tame, but he actually found the experience quite different, not least because in 2013 he did a tandem skydive i.e. he was strapped to someone, whereas with Outfly you move by yourself so have more freedom of movement.

me in the wind tunnel

It also turns out that being scuba divers is an advantage, as the position you need to adopt is almost similar to neutral buoyancy when you dive. So my husband and I managed to position ourselves fairly naturally. You can see the videos of me below:

For my second try I'd realised I needed to keep my mouth shut otherwise I was going to look like Wallace & Gromit.

The co-owner and instructor of Outfly is a former world vice-champion of freestyle skydiving who has been parachuting for 20 years, so she knows her stuff. This is her giving us a demonstration at the end of the session:

Sophie Bernier demonstrating Outfly

The wind tunnel is also available for experienced skydivers who want to train under controlled circumstances.

Further reading:

• Skydiving - getting high over Reunion

Skydiving - getting high over Reunion

Skydiving. Jumping out of a plane and hoping that a few strings and a piece of material are going to stop you falling to earth. It's not for me (I prefer diving), but my husband recently did his first-ever parachute jump and loved it.

In Reunion all parachuting is done at Pierrefonds airport in the south, near St Pierre (Réunion's other airport, Roland Garros at Ste Marie has too much air traffic). All jumps take place at the island's only civilian skydiving club: the Paraclub de Bourbon (the video above and all photos below are courtesy of the club).

the Paraclub's plane: a Pilatus Porter

Pilatus PC-6 Porters, like that of the Paraclub, are single-engined short take-off and landing utility aircraft.

Skydiving is very much dependent on the weather - if there's too much wind the plane doesn't take off.

the airfield windsock, (but more modern methods
are now used to check wind speed)

The plane takes about 10 or 15 minutes to climb up to ≈4000m altitude, and the views over the south of Reunion are amazing.

St Pierre town

Your first jump is always in tandem, with an instructor. Once the plane has reached the correct altitude it's time to jump.

Initially a small drogue parachute is deployed to reduce terminal velocity while you free-fall for 50 seconds at a speed of 200km/h.

At 1500m altitude the instructor deploys the main canopy, and it then takes you several minutes to float gently back to earth.

the canopy unfurls

The area above and around where you expect to land is known as the drop zone.

coming into land.

Useful links:

• Paraclub de Bourbon (in French)

the view inland from Pierrefonds airport