Richmondites who want to experience what skydiving feels like without actually jumping out of a plane will be able to do so next year at an indoor skydiving centre.
iFly is currently being built at 9151 Van Horn Way, next to the Bridgeport Canada Line station, and is expected to open next summer.
The company, based out of Austin, Texas, already has two similar facilities in Canada, one in Calgary and one in Toronto.
The Richmond indoor recreational skydiving centre will be inside an 80-foot-tall, 11,636 sq. ft. building.
According to iFly鈥檚 website, anyone can try indoor skydiving and no skill is required. Instructors are on-hand throughout the session.
Each flight inside the vertical wind tunnel lasts 60 seconds - compared to the free-fall after jumping out of an airplane, which lasts about 45 seconds. Each iFly experience lasts under two hours.
Fans placed at the top of the vertical wind tunnel draw air upwards through the flight chamber, then push it back down the sides through 鈥渁ir return tunnels,鈥� compressing and speeding the air up before it re-enters the flight chamber, according to the company鈥檚 website.
聽鈥淭he result: a smooth column of air that enables you to fly.鈥�
The developer has agreed to make improvements to the Ace Badminton Centre and parking lot that already exist on the site.
According to the company, the Richmond location should open mid-to-late summer 2020.
