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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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:
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:
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| Sophie Bernier demonstrating Outfly |
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