iFly Announces San Diego Wind Tunnel

iFly have announced that they will be adding another indoor skydiving facility to their rapidly growing portfolio, which now consists of 35 wind tunnels that span across 12 countries. The company currently has 14 tunnels under construction with another 12 planned for 2015. The new wind tunnel will be located in San Diego, California; on the corner of Camino Del Rio North and Qualcomm Way. The three acre site will be part of the $45 million Discovery Place development, with $10 million being spent on the wind tunnel facilities. Development on the new tunnel has already begun and is expected to be open some time next year.

While there haven't been any specifications on the power output that the tunnel will have, the tunnel will have a height of 48 feet and a diameter of 14 feet. It will be capable of handling 12 people every 30 minutes. The tunnel will be catered towards both serious skydivers looking to improve their freeflying, and the casual non-jumpers who are looking to experience human flight in a safer environment. The venue will have an observation deck, conference rooms, as well as a party room for group events and birthdays.

From the early information released, it would seem that the basic training packages will be offered from $70, which will include two minutes of flying. Early estimates on operating hours suggest that the tunnel will be open from 10am to 10pm during week days and from 8am until as late as midnight on the weekends.

The location of the new tunnel, puts it at almost mid way between the current iFly Hollywood as well as the popular Skydive Perris indoor skydiving center, one of the few North American wind tunnels to not be run by iFly, despite originally being built by the company.

While indoor skydiving has become an important part of competitive freefly training for skydivers, the prices involved are still not affordable for many people. It is a shared hope amongst many, that the rapid expansion of wind tunnels in both the United States and abroad, will result in a lowering of the pricing over time. It will also be interesting to see how the new wave of younger tunnel enthusiasts will change the dynamic of competitive skydiving over the years to come.