Gravity-centric
Two years ago when Jesse asked me what I wanted for my birthday
I replied, “Indoor sky diving.” I had seen it on the Today show, loved the idea and fact of it. I then researched places where it is offered. The nearest one was in Virginia Beach, a long way away which would require that we stay overnight. In the two years since the question was asked and answered, we hadn’t been able to find a mutually agreeable date.
Thursday, Jesse called to say that on his way home from a photo shoot, he saw signs for iFly somewhere near Dulles Airport in Loudon County. He asked if I wanted to go there the following night. Friday. Last night.
Last night was the night I flew. Thanks to my son making good on his offer of this gift. It was a fantastic gift.
No blow by blow report here and now. (No pun intended in reference to the gigantic blowers, the speed of which can be controlled at will, that create an environment in the form of a wind tunnel that is 15 feet in diameter and 60+ feet high.) Only to say that the place is fascinating, the instructors fantastic, and that it is half experience and half theater.
I think adults can appreciate the experience of weightlessness and movement more than children, who just take everything at face value and think that most things are possible. Adults know how remarkable this achievement of floating people in a wind tunnel is.
The instructors are adorable. They are skilled in their performance abilities, as well as in what they enabled us to do after a very few minutes of instruction. They do choreographed ballet, tricks, gymnastics. Science on parade. Great to watch very close up. I can see how it could be addictive because now I want to be able to control my own movements, rather than have the instructor physically guiding me. And that will take a lot of time and practice. One had better be “hooked” to make that investment.
A strange thing is that I was completely unaware that the instructor was making my flight possible by pushing me around in the tunnel. I couldn’t feel him moving me, which he did by grabbing loops on my flight suit, then taking me with him as he navigated. I could only tell that I was moving by seeing the direction and speed with which the spectators outside the tunnel passed in front of me. I think if the container were an opaque-walled tunnel - black or white – rather than the transparent tunnel that it is, I wouldn’t have known that I was moving at all without having something to “spot”, because the resistance was pretty evenly distributed across the surface of my body as I lay sprawling on air with the front of my body facing the bottom of the tank! With my chin up.
Jesse was magnificent on his flights. He’s so tall that he almost touched the sides when he assumed the position of sprawl, with his arms in front of him. Yet he flew, spun and escalated. It was remarkable to watch. We’ve been sent videos – a few seconds of each of us. We may even be able to get stills, which would make a great holiday card, in my long history of fabo holiday cards.
The only uncomfortable thing about it was that I had to stop smiling because the wind was drying out my mouth. Do you know how hard it was for me to stop smiling?
Yes, I can see how this could become addictive. I have always found happiness to be addictive whether it’s during a short indoor flight, or
at random moments during the long haul.