Can you go Skydiving in Manchester?? Well, to do a real Skydive in Manchester you will have to visit the outskirts of Manchester like the Lake District, however you can do an INDOOR Skydive in Manchester which I did recently at iFLY Manchester in Trafford Park.
Visiting iFLY Manchester was a great experience, it was my first time doing an indoor skydive and I left feeling full of adrenaline!
This skydiving experience in Manchester is great to book as a present for someone, it’s a great new activity to try to push your limits, and if you are looking to do a skydive near Manchester later on down the line, it’s good prep too!
In this post I’ll tell you more about my indoor skydiving experience in Manchester including iFLY Manchester prices, offers and how to prepare.
Indoor Skydive Manchester
iFLY is the company who runs the indoor Skydive in Manchester!
They have locations all over the world including the USA and Australia. They have just 3 locations in the UK though with Manchester in Trafford Park (next to the Chill Factore) being the only Northern location so we are very lucky to basically have skydiving in the Trafford Centre on offer!
What is iFLY?
A visit to iFLY gives you the chance to feel the sensation of flying using a wind tunnel.
An instructor is with you in the tunnel guiding you and keeping you safe and best of all, this experience is for all abilities including children from 3 years up!
You don’t need to have a real skydive on the cards to be able to enjoy an indoor skydive and when searching for the answer to ‘does indoor skydiving help with real skydiving’, the answer is a bit mixed with yes and no.
It can definitely help with the body form, but it’s also a very different experience. To be honest, I don’t think the indoor skydive experience in Manchester benefitted me in doing a real skydive if I was to do one now… but I still really enjoyed it!
Keep reading to find out more of what to expect from your flight because I was really surprised by the short individual flight times and that we could take no photos or videos ourselves!
Indoor Skydive Manchester Prices
I know this is probably what you want to know so let’s touch on it first! What are the Indoor Skydive Manchester prices!
I booked my iFLY Manchester experience through Viator here and paid £68.00 per person for 2 flights.
iFLY Manchester do have a few packages on their website here, I’d say their Air-Born Plus Free Photo and Movie Package for £77.99 per person is a great option because this gives 4 flights and the photos and video from the flights.
For Indoor Skydive Manchester offers you might be able to see a Super Saver on the website which is great for those who are free in the week during the day at a price from £29.99 per person for 2 flights.
iFly Indoor Skydiving Manchester – What To Expect
Here are a few things that surprised me about the iFly indoor skydiving in Manchester so this part is really important before you book, and after you book.
Pre-Arrival Video and Form
A few days before your indoor skydive you’ll be sent an email with a link to fill in a form for each participant and a safety video to watch which must be done before you arrive.
Arriving Early
It’s good to be aware that you need to arrive 45 minutes before the time you book, so if your session is at 6:30pm you have to be at iFLY Trafford for 5:45pm. This is to complete the briefing and get changed.
What to Wear
Wear comfy clothes like jeans, leggings or joggers and a t-shirt or jumper. Trainers are a must and they must be able to tie tight so the wind force doesn’t blow them off!
You’ll be provided with an all-in-one suit which is easy to put on over clothes, plus a helmet, goggles and ear plugs because of the noise!
Noise of Wind Tunnel
The ear plugs surprised me! This is because inside the tunnel is so loud from the wind you need to wear these for ear protection and with the ear plugs in plus the noise wind, you can’t hear anything around you!
There’s a reason why you must watch the safety video and understand the hand signals because once your helmet and ear plugs are in you can no longer hear your instructor talking inside or outside of the wind tunnel, you can’t talk to your partner or friends or anyone else you’re with.
It is a bit disconcerting at first and I wonder if young children back out right before they start because of this.
1 Minute Flight Times
Each flight is just 1 minute which I was in shock about when I heard. At first it’s like what.. this whole experience and cost for just 2 x 1 minute of flying??
To be honest though, 1 minute at a time is enough as the wind is strong and intense. If you booked the 2 flight package as we did it is possible to pay more (£14pp) for a third flight at the end which we did too. In the end, 3 minutes was a good amount of time and added up to a great experience but it is definitely a shock to hear how short a flight is at first!
Check out tickets and prices for iFLY Manchester here!
No Phones or Cameras in Waiting Area
There are 2 seating areas in iFLY Manchester, one side is as you walk in which is a large area and has a cafe in it. The second is the seating area by the wind tunnel which is only for people who are going to do the flight and is it their booked time.
I assumed that whilst in the waiting area for the flight my husband and I could take photos and videos of each other flying so I was surprised to be told that phones and everything else on us, MUST go into a locker and therefore no photos or videos are allowed.
Once you’re by the tunnel this makes sense as there is so much pressure in the air but I didn’t expect it.
There are 2 ways around this:
1 to purchase the photos and video they take. Prices start at £10 for a photo but we paid £35.00 for the family combo which purchased all of our 7-8 photos each and each of the videos.
2 to get someone to sit in the cafe viewing area to take photos and videos of you and if you are going there as 2 people you could book different times and take it in turns. The downside to this is that you’ll be there for at least 2 hours if 2 of you go, and that the tunnel is quite scratched so phones and videos won’t come out that great.
Price of iFLY Photos & Video
In addition to needing to buy the media at the end of the flight and the cost this incurs, I will say that our photos didn’t come out very good.
They had a strong flash on which made us look like a ghost with really white faces and dark backgrounds. I did email support about this, obviously there is nothing they could do and they said they cannot guarantee the quality.
Luckily as I edit a lot of photos I managed to reduce the flash and edit colour back into us but it took me awhile and without the right editing apps this couldn’t be done.
Price of Extra Flights
Lastly, I mentioned doing extra flights. We booked the 2 flight package which is the standard package. During our briefing our instructor told us about the Hi-Fly which we could add into the end of flight 2 for £10.00pp and the option for a 3rd minute and flight for £14.00pp. Both of these he asks using hand signals once in the tunnel and after the first go.
I did LOVE the Hi-Fly I’m so glad we did that as it was really fun and the 3rd flight really finished off the experience for us so I have no regrets about doing them and I do recommend them too.
I just dislike when an experience costs a lot more than anticipated and we need to pay more for ‘extra fun’, especially when the cost is high to start with and they catch you in an ‘adrenaline high’!
Overall Experience with iFLY Manchester
Overall, I really enjoyed it. So much so that after our flights (still in a state of adrenaline!) we decided to book a set of more flights because it’s cheaper to book them after you’ve done your first initial round, and we booked a gift voucher set of flights for my step son’s birthday.
Our instructor was really good, he was incredibly clear in explaining things whilst also being very chilled out and fun. I wear hijab and he was really sensitive in helping me get changed in private and advising me of what to do so I’d be comfortable with the helmet on and hijab which I appreciated a lot.
It definitely helped that we were the only 2 flying. I think if we had been a bigger group it would have been ok as it is fun to watch others in the wind tunnel but going at 18:30 on a Thursday night meant it was just me and my husband with the instructor which did give a nice experience and it felt private even though it wasn’t.
I have no complaints about the experience but I would be mindful of costs as the costs can soon add up as I explained above.
The basic package for 2 flights can seem expensive and to add on the Hi-Fly (£10pp), 3rd flight (£14pp) and media (from £10-35) can really increase the price of the overall experience so it’s good to be prepared for this extra cost to pay it, or to decline the extras so there is no additional cost.
Manchester Skydive
And if you feel like you really want to do a Skydive in Manchester and new Manchester rather than an indoor experience or after the indoor skydive, these are the companies I have found around Manchester:
Black Knights Parachute Centre
Virgin Experiences Skydiving in Lake District
I hope this post has helped you book an indoor skydive in Manchester and at iFLY Manchester!
- For more of my Manchester posts see:
- Manchester United Museum & Stadium Tour! How Good is it?