Indoor skydiving company iFly held a ribbon-cutting celebration in Long Island City Friday ahead of a grand-opening celebration at its western Queens facility on Saturday.
iFLY Indoor Skydiving, which operates more than 80 locations around the world including on several cruise ships opened at 10-20 Borden Ave. at the beginning of 2024 and will finally host its much-anticipated grand-opening celebration on Saturday, July 19.
The event, which begins at 11 a.m. and lasts until 5 p.m., will have a wide array of family-friendly activities, such as face painting, an ice cream bar, balloon twister, door prizes, iFly instructor air shows, and more fun at the day-long event.
iFly representatives joined members of the LIC business community July 18 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony ahead of the grand opening.
Matt Ryan, the CEO of the gravity-defying company, said iFly is “delighted” to be officially opening its new Queens facility.
“This is really exciting for us to be here in Queens,” Ryan said Friday. “I consider Queens to be one of the most vibrant cultural diverse neighborhoods in probably the world, and it’s a perfect place for iFLY, where we can serve the families and businesses and organizations across Queens.”
Ryan said the company aims to deliver the “dream of flight” to everyone and said the facility is suitable for field trips, corporate events, birthday parties, family outings or individuals looking to tick something off their bucket list.
“You can experience free fall here like nowhere else in the world. So please come join us,” Ryan continued. “It’s an opportunity for people who live here in Long Island City, in Queens, to really experience the dream of flight. We’re really excited to be part of the community.”
iFly Operations Manager Andrew Tencer said the company is looking to provide the experience of flying to as many people as possible, adding that iFly instructors are prepared to help newcomers through every step of the process.
“We make a point to walk them through the process multiple times to make things as simple and concise as possible,” Tencer said.
Andy Bracco, lead instructor at the new western Queens facility, said anyone who tries a flight with iFly always wants to come back again, no matter how nervous or excited they were before their first flight.
“Once you have experienced flight, all you want to do is more,” Bracco said.
Laura Rothrock, president of the Long Island City Partnership (LICP), said the Partnership is “so happy” to have a global brand like iFly set up shop in Long Island City.
“(iFly) is a global brand that brings something unique to Long Island City,” Rothrock said.
She added that Long Island City is the only New York City neighborhood capable of housing a facility like iFly, pointing to LIC’s growing population and close proximity to Manhattan. She said iFly should also offer a boost to surrounding businesses when visitors come to the neighborhood from other parts of the city.
“We’re so close to transit, so close to midtown Manhattan, so close to growing residential population, and so we’re really excited that families will come here, and hopefully they’ll walk around Long Island City and visit all that we have to offer.”
iFly’s LIC location is the company’s first in New York City, although it does operate locations in Westchester and Paramus, New Jersey.
The center’s 14-foot-diameter wind tunnel has a range of different speeds, allowing for guided sessions for beginners and genuine skydiving conditions for more experienced customers.
The vertical tunnel buffets air upwards to create a cushion of air that supports a person’s body weight effortlessly and can be adjusted to provide different wind speeds.
Anyone under 300 pounds and aged between three and 103 can try out the wind tunnel, with iFLY flight instructors on-hand throughout the experience for guidance and assistance.
Customers will be able to try a range of maneuvers during the flights, including turning left and right, moving backwards and forwards, and moving up and down.
Flight instructors can also take divers on a “High Flight,” a thrilling experience that sees them soar 20 feet into the air for an additional surge of adrenaline.
