iFly Lets You Go Indoor Skydiving in KOP

Source: Philadelphia Style

Superhero wannabes can now channel Superman’s faster-than-a-speeding bullet powers at iFLY, a new indoor skydiving center that just opened near the King of Prussia Mall. The best part? There’s no need to jump out of an airplane—in fact, there’s no jumping involved at all. The towering, 14-foot-diameter glass flight chamber propels a breathtaking (literally) stream of air from beneath a grated floor to help achieve weightlessness. Fear not, first-time flyers: There’s a short training session to review basic body positions and hand signals, and head-to-toe gear is required.

Once inside the wind tunnel you do nothing but “relax and breathe,” as certified instructor and former Marine Casey Gardiner says. Gardiner acts as your in-flight anchor, making adjustments throughout and, depending on your comfort level, even taking you for a few loops around the tunnel. iFLY is racking up frequent flyer miles from Philly’s certified skydivers, retired veterans, three-year-olds, the handicapped, and—the center’s fastest-growing demographic—millennial women.

Plans are already underway to open a second area location this fall in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, but iFLY has had its sights set on Philly for years, according to Matt Ryan, president and COO of iFLY. “King of Prussia was a natural fit. The mall itself was already a world-class destination, but its recent expansion and all of the nearby developments mean we’re landing at the right time.”