iFly – session 3 – Brian Johnson

Well, my wife has created an expensive, flying monster – actually, three of them.

At the end of 2021, I went flying at iFly Minneapolis for the first time, and loved it so much again I came back for another round two days later. After seeing the pictures and videos from those experiences, my sons Cameron and Atticus expressed interest as well, so this past weekend we headed out to iFly Minneapolis for their maiden flights.

My sons have extremely different interests and hobbies, and honestly, cannot get along for more than five minutes at a time. So as a dad, I was cautiously excited that this might be something the three of us could enjoy together. On our drive to iFly, that excitement quickly turned into concern when I started doing some quick mental math on what it would cost me if they both started wanting to do this on a regular basis.

We got checked in at the front desk, then fitted for our flight gear. I have to say, we looked pretty sharp:

As we waited to be ushered into the training room, the boys were in different places emotionally. My older son, Cameron, had been 100% psyched about this experience from the minute I had told him we were going, but my youngest son Atticus had some reservations. I could tell he was nervous because he was a little bit quiet (he’s never, ever quiet) as he studied the current group of students doing their flights.

Our instructor brought us into a training room to watch the short safety video. Atticus watched with quiet intensity. When it was over, our instructor came into the room to review the hand signals we would use while in the tube. I was so proud of Atticus for shouting out correct answers to all the questions. I could tell he was taking this seriously and wanted to do his best.

We got our earplugs in and helmets on, and were escorted to the room on the side of the tube to line up for our flights. My son Cameron went first and had what my wife would call “a big dumb smile” the whole time. To see him light up like that is one of those moments that, as a parent, you forget about how much a thing costs because there isn’t a dollar value you can place on that level of joy:

I took my turn next, and got lowered to the floor of the tube to resume work on specific skills. Per the video below, I’m trying to gain better control of left and right turns, as well as moving up and down and back and forth. I’m getting the hang of it, but still feeling like I’m an airplane constantly seconds away from a crash landing. It helps having videos like these so I can see where to make small corrections towards better flight control:

When he came out of the tube, he was all smiles. He sat down next to me on the bench and gave me a hug while he continued to beam. I had to laugh because even though in the waiting room you can’t hear anything, both sons kept tapping me continuously, wanting desperately to tell me all about their awesome experience.

We lined up a “high flight” for each boy’s second ride, and I loved watching them smile even bigger and wider as they sailed up high in the tube while twirling around in circles, Superman style. As they awaited their third and final ride, Atticus started tapping me on the shoulder and flashing me a peace sign followed by two “zero” signs. I gave him a gesture indicating I was confused. I thought maybe he was asking for a two-minute ride by flashing me “2-0-0.” He leaned forward and shouted loudly with a big grin, “TWO HUNDRED MORE TIMES!”

And while I would’ve loved to be able to take us all on another 200 rides, our adventure for the night had unfortunately come to a close. Suffice to say, I think it’s safe to say that we’ll be back again soon. I was encouraged to setup a Tunnelflight profile, which will allow the iFly instructors to vouch for my progress and help me advance to the next levels of flight. I’m definitely interested in keeping the skills progression going, especially after seeing my final flight of the night below, which I think demonstrates a little improvement!