Fri, Nov 14, 2014
To Link The Terms ‘Indoor’ And ‘Skydiving’ Seems To Be Creating An Oxymoron, But The First Internationally Recognized Competition Is Underway
The 1st FAI World Cup of Indoor Skydiving competition is underway and is being hosted by iFly Austin, in Austin, TX. In January of this year the FAI and IPC voted to recognize wind tunnel competitions at the world level, making this the first FAI-sanctioned indoor skydiving event. This all leads to the question of, what the heck is indoor skydiving?
What started off as a scientific experiment in an Air Force wind tunnel at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 1964 has taken the same twist as many aviation experiments that started out as one thing and ended up as another.
Indoor skydiving involves a powerful indoor vertical wind tunnel that simulates the forces of a skydiver falling through the air. This allows a controlled way for someone to “float” in the air without the need to jump from an airplane. It has become an exciting recreational sport that can be highly controlled while providing the thrill of freefall skydiving. The iFly Austin website says, “No experience is necessary. Just about anyone can fly, including those with physical disabilities. Children as young as 3 to adults as young as 103 have flown with us.”
Events being scored in the indoor skydiving competition include: formation skydiving, vertical formation skydiving, free fly, and freestyle. Rules have been established for the competition and judges are certified. A live feed of the competition is being broadcast on the iFly Austin website starting the morning of November 14.
When it comes to anything dealing with “Aero” and “Sports,” you’ll find it in AeroSports update, and this is one example of an Aero Sport that has to rank high on the fun meter.
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