Motivating Mum UK

“I wonder what it would be like to fly?”  said my daughter, for no particular reason a few weeks ago.

The remark threw me a bit, because little did she know that during half term – the week of her birthday she would get to find out, as we had been treated to an indoor skydiving experience with Airkix in Milton Keynes by the very kind folks at Buyagift.co.uk.

As it was a ‘birthday surprise’, I didn’t tell the children what was coming until the morning of the ‘flight’.  Because we booked at the last minute and also because it’s half term, that meant hauling them out of bed at 5.30 to leave the house at 6am.  So I presented the gift box to my bleary-eyed  daughter over breakfast The present had the desired effect – before long both children were wide awake and hyped up, and the car practically bounced all the way to Milton Keynes, arriving well in advance of our scheduled arrival time of 8am.

We did hit a small snag at that point – along with some other families who had been told to report at 7.30.  Airkix wanted us there, and had given us very strict instructions not to be a minute late,  but the centre that they were in did not open the shutters until 7.45 so we spent a frustrating wait in the reception area of the adjoining Virgin gym, which was the only thing open nearby.

However that was just a small inconvenience and before we knew it we were checking in.  At this point I allowed myself a small hint of panic, as behind the check in desk, they were playing a video of people doing flips, flying up and down, hanging upside down in mid air and doing all other kinds of unfathomable stunts (see the video above).  Surely they weren’t going to get me to do this, what exactly had I signed up to?

I needn’t have worried.  Our hands were stamped to mark us out as complete beginners.  We were taken through for a safety briefing, where some simple hand signals were explained, and told that Sean the instructor (the second instructor pictured above) would be with us, holding us if necessary at all times.

After the basic training we were led out to suit up.  I took off my wedding ring for only the third time since I was married (the other two times were the last weeks of my 2w pregnancies), and we all wriggled into jumpsuits, helmets, goggles and ear plugs.  It was sad not to be able to take in our own cameras or video equipment – but I do appreciate their logic that any loose equipment within the wind tunnel can come loose, fly around and worst case scenario play serious havoc with their fan equipment. If we go again we will be sure to take a non-flyer (Dad because he has a bad back) with us, so he can take photos in the viewing gallery.

And then we were off.  We had two flights each – lasting just over 1 minute each. The first flight concentrated on getting basic technique sorted and flying in a straight line.  The second was a chance to practice this with an optional extra of flying up to the top of the tunnel with the instructor.  I told them in no uncertain terms that the children would probably want to do that but I would almost certainly not.

My first flight was funny.  I had to be constantly reminded to unclench my fists and relax, and to make hand and arm gestures less like Superman and more like Spiderman. But I did manage to hover in midair for a moment with an inane grin on my face – enough for them to take some pictures.  When I got out I was shaking, but in a good way and couldn’t wait to go again.

The children both enjoyed themselves too. My daughter was a natural and was soon flying like a bird.  My son found it a bit more tricky but still very much enjoyed himself.  I would note to parents at this point – this activity is billed as suitable for children over 4, but I would say that you need your child to be ready, willing and able to listen to and follow simple commands, like bend your legs, striaghten your legs, hold yourself still.

My 7-year old son finds listening a bit tricky at the best of times, and keeping still almost impossible, and this is why he struggled a bit. At one point he panicked, flapped his arms and wriggled in mid air, which caused him to drop like a stone. Of course the instructor caught him and he wasn’t in any danger but he did have a bit of a fright, as did I.

When it came to the second flights there were about five people in front of me.  Each one of them opted for the optional ‘high flight’, and I soon realised that in order to keep face with my children I really was going to have to agree to it.  So when my turn came, I gave the signal, that yes, I did want to ‘go up’.  Thankfully the souvenir video did not capture my involuntary expletive as we started to spin and ascend (footballers have been convicted for less).  Unfortunately, my notion that the noise of the wind tunnel and the fact that we were all wearing ear plugs would make my screams inaudible, was incorrect (maybe some screams would go unheard but I do have a good pair of lungs!)  My children are still teasing me about this now…..

When it was all over we were taken to remove our protective clothing and presented with our souvenir videos and a code to download photos from the website.  The video ended with an amazing display of skydiving techniques from our instructor, which of course left both children desperate to come back and learn more cool stuff.

All in all we had an amazing day – the children are desperate to come again, and I feel like I have conquered yet one more fear.We probably will return, and I am starting to wish we lived nearer to Milton Keynes.

I have to say that all staff both at Buyagift.co.uk and at Airkix were amazing and totally professional in every way, and they worked seamlessly together to make our day really special.  Thank you so much to all concerned.