The idea of a wind tunnel experience, where the airflow is brought to you was first tried by the American Military in 1964. In 1982 A couple of vertical wind tunnels opened in Tennessee and Las Vegas and the first SkyVenture tunnel opened in Orlando, Florida in 1998. Airkix is the seventh wind tunnel manufactured by SkyVenture and the first in Europe.

What made the wind tunnel experience so important to the skydiving community was when a team of instructors from SkyVenture Orlando took up skydiving and with very, very few jumps won their category. Since then just about every competitive team has used a wind tunnel experience and now two American Drop Zones already have their own permanent wind tunnel experiences.

Since opening in November 2006 Airkix have supplied their wind tunnel experience to over 50,000 people, including many celebrities such as Frank Bruno, Jo Wiley, Bradley Walsh, Frankie Dettori and the cast of Hollyoaks. Airkix have had TV coverage on Sky 1 Mission Implausible, Blue Peter, various news channels and The Apprentice and have appeared in Loaded, FHM and Boys Toys magazines.

Gift vouchers for the wind tunnel experience are valid at the Airkix sites in Milton Keynes and Manchester and include:

• A fun briefing and instruction period, in which you will learn and practice free-fall techniques
• Free gear hire - everything you need for your wind tunnel experience is supplied!
• Two flights of one minute each - that’s the same free-fall time as three tandem skydives
• A personalised certificate for each flyer - signed by one of the instructors
• 6 month validity on gift vouchers for ultimate flexibility
• A DVD covering your wind tunnel experience.