The need to “feel the wind in your hair” is best fulfilled by skydiving, though it can also be fulfilled by riding in a convertible, swinging on a tire swing, or getting sneezed on by a jumbo jet. Feel the rush with today’s Groupon: for $43, you get an Earn Your Wings Package plus a DVD of your session (an $87 value) from iFly Hollywood in Universal City. This Groupon is not valid on Saturday.
The one-person Earn Your Wings package includes:
- One training session
- Use of all flight gear
- Two one-minute flights in the vertical wind tunnel
- Hands-on assistance from an instructor
- A personalized flight certificate
- DVD footage of your session<p>
iFly’s technology, which is designed to be suitable for all ages, simulates the feeling of skydiving without plummeting toward the earth at 9.8 meters per second. iFly’s wind-tunnel simulates skydiving by suspending participants only a few feet off the ground sans parachute. This package gets customers two minute-long flights in the tunnel—the time equivalent of three tandem-skydives—giving them plenty of time to practice their MJ-tribute moonwalks, rid the dust from their gaming cartridges, or pop the question to significant others. The DVD lets skydivers relive their tricks and maneuvers for years to come and the personalized flight certificate gets 2.5 hours of free valet parking. Call ahead to schedule an appointment.
iFLY
At iFLY, "indoor flying" means something way cooler than jumping on your bed at home. There are helmets involved. Here's how it works: you show up, suit up, and go through an orientation lesson with expert instructors before lifting off in an air column powered by giant fans. The column is forceful enough to simulate the experience of freefalling through the sky, even though flyers are just a few feet off the ground. As with outdoor skydiving, the freefall experience lasts for about a minute but with the earn your wings package flyers get two flights, and may be able to execute turns and tricks at the instructor's discretion.