iFLY VR skydiving is as close to the real thing as you can get.
Indoor skydiving is now more real to life than ever before thanks to virtual reality technology. iFLY indoor skydiving uses a VR (virtual reality) helmet and headset to help simulate a free-falling experience that allows people to feel as though they are actually taking part in this extreme sport in real-world destinations.
The idea for VR indoor skydiving began with the evolution of cell phone tech.
“Now that technology is advanced with cell phones having integrated accelerometers, we realized we could take the Samsung Gear VR and program a package and slap that on one of our helmets and take 360 [degree] video,” said Andre Gardner, a certified flight instructor at iFLY Denver, as quoted in a 303 Magazine report.
Further commenting on the use of virtual reality technology with indoor skydiving, Gerner said that in addition to having the feeling of what it is like to skydive, “we’re able to take away the sense of being only six feet away from the wall and the floor in front of you.”
The virtual reality technology experience simulates free falling 13,000 feet to Earth.
The iFLY VR skydiving experience requires flyers to suit up in a special flight suit and wear a helmet and goggles. Flyers need to attend a short training session regarding safety and the use of appropriate hand signals, prior to entering the wind tunnel. Throughout the 360 degree VR experience, they are also accompanied by an expert flight instructor who provides them with support via the VR goggles.
Through the virtual reality headset, flyers see themselves jump from a plane, 13,000 feet in the air and soar over the ground below. They can choose from a number of skydiving destinations including Dubai, Southern California, Hawaii, the Swiss Alps, etc. Observers can even watch what flyers are seeing via the goggles on a TV screen.
The primary difference between real skydiving and flying at iFLY, according to Gerner, is that the force of the air in indoor skydiving is simulated to reflect the speed at which the flyer falls. The virtual reality technology is what makes the experience lifelike and is what causes the flyer to feel as if there’s no real ground in front of them.