WHAT’S your rainy day activity checklist with kids? Soft play, museum, cinema… how about flying?
No, not the kind where you go up in a plane – the real flying.
Reaching the tail end of the school summer holidays and fresh out of ideas for what to do with my seven year old, I decided to think outside the box with a trip to iFly Indoor Skydiving.
With five venues in Milton Keynes, Manchester, Birmingham, Basingstoke and London, we opted for the one at the O2 Arena in London’s Docklands.
And you can get half price iFly tickets with Sun Club.
Sun Club members can get 50% off tickets on first time flyer packages if they book between August 31 and September 29.
Read More On Sun Club Offers
But while your tickets must be booked by September 29, you can buy tickets to fly right up until January 1, 2027, so plenty of rainy day activity options for October half term and the Christmas school holidays.
Sign up to Sun Club for £1.99 a month or just £12 for your first year, then £19.99 thereafter, then head to the Sun Club Offers hub and find the iFly offers page.
Plus, you’ll get unlimited access to our award-winning articles plus exclusive showbiz scoops, and a huge range of other offers and discounts too – from early access to book Hols From £9.50, free racing tickets to top UK racecourses and 2-4-1 tickets to theme parks.
The concept to iFly indoor skydiving is simple(ish) – decked out in a jumpsuit, helmet and goggles, you stand inside a huge, glass wind tunnel that sends air upwards at speeds of 120mph to 165mph, and attempt to do your best flying squirrel impression.
The activity was barely on my radar before this summer, because I’d always assumed it was something exclusively for daredevils that needed to train for real flying out of planes.
But in reality, you don’t actually have to be any good at all. Because anyone is welcome aged 3 upwards, and they have highly experienced instructors on hand at all times.
After watching the safety video, my son and I were understandably nervous, but the instructor was so kind and patient that by the time we got to the tunnel, my child was confident enough to volunteer to go first.
The wind is STRONG. So strong that you simply have to flop forwards as you enter the tunnel. And it’s also loud, which is why they provide you with ear plugs and communicate via hand signals.
But I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a big grin on his face as the moment he first flew off the ground, which only got wider when he opted for the special “High Flight” add-on, where the instructor took him on a spinning flight, 40 feet up towards the top of the tunnel.
Each session lasts around a minute, and everyone in our group got four sessions as part of their package (although that might change depending on group size), with the opportunity to add a High Flight to each of their goes in the wind tunnel, which cost £15 a pop.
It’s well worth doing the add-on at least once if you can afford the extra cost, as unless you’re planning on jumping out of a plane anytime soon, this is the closest you’ll ever come to flying high above the ground.
If you’re not feeling confident (or flush) though, there is still plenty of tunnel time six feet off the ground, where the instructor helps you to steer around the tunnel, using hand signals to instruct you to bend or straighten your legs and arms.
My son has become obsessed with ‘once in a lifetime’ experiences, which apply as a justification for everything from eating an ice cream at the park on a sunny day, to buying the latest Lego magazine.
But when he declared at the end of our iFly experience that it was ‘truly the best once in a lifetime experience ever,’ I had to agree with him.
Forget pigs flying, this middle-aged mum never thought it would happen to her either.
And yet, I’ve got a school of flight certificate with full marks for my ‘stable belly flying’ to prove it.
18+ England, Scotland and Wales residents only. Sun Savers multiple code collect 29/08/26-05/09/26 or subscription to Sun Club or digital subscription required. Online access required. Booking closes 23:59pm on 29/09/26. Non-transferable & non-refundable. Offer valid on a first time flyer experience only at all IFLY locations across England. Flights must be booked between August 29- September 29 and must take place before Friday January 1, 2027. Subject to availability. Not valid on voucher purchases. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other other offer, discount, voucher or promotion. T&Cs apply, see sunsavers.co.uk or club.thesun.co.uk/sun-club. Sun Club new customer offer: £1.99 per month or £9.99 for the first year, then £19.99 thereafter unless you cancel at least seven days before your next billing date. Full T&Cs apply, see thesun.co.uk/club.