'Flying like a superhero': CBC's Paul Karchut goes for a soar at Calgary's indoor skydiving facility
Eyeopener producer says experience in new iFly wind tunnel is very close to skydiving
Paul Karchut, director of CBC Calgary's morning radio show the Calgary Eyeopener, now knows what it feels like to fly.
Karchut experienced the iFly wind tunnel that opened this week in northeast Calgary.
- See Karchut and his iFly instructor soar in the wind tunnel in the video lower in this story.
"You're kind of like flying like a superhero in there" said Karchut, who is also a ski and outdoor lifestyle reporter.
"So much fun. I went skydiving before once, and it's amazing how close to skydiving that actually felt," said Karchut.
"Just the smallest little movement, the way you breathe, the way you relax your muscles, it totally changed how you were flying in there."
Along with the Eyeopener's Angela Knight as witness, Karchut took to the air with lead instructor Ryan Nichols guiding him calmly.
"He is probably going to be flying at somewhere around 90 to 100 miles per hour of wind, powered by four 300-horsepower fans," Nichols said before they got started.
"We recirculate air at up to 300 kilometres an hour."
Knight did a play-by-play commentary of Karchut's flight for Friday's Eyeopener.
"You can hear the wind through the tunnel. You can hear the wind increasing. Paul has the craziest smile on his face right now," Knight said.
"They are just going up and down in the tube and swinging around."
Nichols says they get consistent feedback on the experience.
"It is so much fun," he said.
Karchut says he will likely be back.
"As an adrenaline junkie, that definitely scratched the itch."
iFly is at 811 64th Ave. N.E. and flights start at about $60 for two.
- Listen to Paul Karchut's first indoor flying experience at iFly in northeast Calgary. Starts at 23:00:
With files from the Calgary Eyeopener, Monty Kruger, Paul Karchut and Angela Knight