The region’s first indoor skydiving facility plans to open its doors on Eastwood Road at the end of the month.

Construction on the $14 million project began in January and was about 80% complete, as of last week. The facility is set to open to the public during a grand opening event on Nov. 30.

The Wilmington facility is part of the iFly franchise, which opened its first wind tunnel in Orlando in 1998. The chain has more than 80 locations across the U.S. and around the world. The company’s only other North Carolina facility is located near Charlotte.

When the local business opens its doors, it will have been six years since Patrick Maguire, who co-founded and co-owns the Wilmington iFly with his father-in-law, George “Jamie” Jamison, began to pursue bringing indoor skydiving to the area.

The facility is located on a nearly two-acre tract at 1441 Eastwood Road. Crews are currently working to finish the building's interior, install signage and pave the facility's parking lot. Monteith Construction is serving as the project’s general contractor alongside about two dozen other local subcontractors, Maguire said.

Maguire and Dave Soler, the local franchise’s chief growth officer and Maguire’s brother-in-law, showed off their progress on a recent tour. 

Customers enter the building through a check-in area that features a merchandise area, service counter and scales, which help gauge the wind speed needed to support each skydiver.

The facility's skydiving will be primarily reservation-based, Maguire said. The facility will also offer memberships, corporate and group tickets and aims to accommodate STEM programs, military training and other events.

The check-in area will include a memorial wall dedicated to Michael Ernst, a Navy SEAL who died last year in a parachute training exercise. Ernst was an early investor in the facility, Maguire said.

The floor plan and design of Wilmington's iFly are similar to other locations nationwide, but there is some room for personalization.

“We do have some flexibility,” Soler said, “and you'll see some changes that we've made that better facilitate and put our fingerprints on this iFly here in Wilmington.” 

After checking in, customers move into a larger room centered around the facility’s glass wind tunnel. There, skydivers receive their flight suits, helmets and other equipment and meet up with the flight instructor who will help guide them through the experience.

The Wilmington location will employ 10 full-time flight instructors, who all recently completed training at the iFly facility near Charlotte, Maguire said. Before entering the tunnel, instructors will give customers a pre-flight safety briefing, what to expect and answer any questions. 

“We consider them athletes,” Soler added. “Not only do they have to be able to maneuver themselves with the wind tunnel … they have to be able to do it with anybody that’s coming off the street to try this.”

Then customers enter the wind tunnel, which can accommodate about five people at a time, Maguire said. Skydivers can fly up to 35 feet above the ground – a height that’s controlled by the wind speed inside the tunnel.

The wind tunnel is powered by four massive fans located on the building’s roof. Air taken in through the fans is then directed into the building’s basement, cooled by water-chilled vanes and directed upward to support skydivers in the tunnel. The air is then recirculated through the system, Maguire said.

In addition to skydiving, the facility will also offer a 270-degree simulator room in partnership with Virginia-based company Conflict Kinetics. The company’s simulators have been used for military training to improve reaction time and hand-eye coordination. This is the first time the simulators will be available for use by the public, Maguire said. 

Once open, both Maguire and Soler will work out of the Wilmington facility. Maguire will serve as the location’s general manager, while Soler will work on the business-development side of the local franchise.

Ultimately, the business partners plan to open additional iFly facilities across the region. According to Maguire, they have “a 15-year vision to open multiple facilities throughout the Eastern Carolinas to include South Carolina.”