A guest article:
I don’t know who remembers the 80s song by Robin Beck, but for me it fits perfectly with my first flight in the wind tunnel at the Windwerk.
A voucher from Windwerk for Christmas was an unexpected surprise. My first thought:
“Oh, what am I supposed to do?”
Flying is not really my thing, I prefer to have both feet firmly on the ground. But well, you have to jump over your own shadow and try something new. I suppose that was also the purpose of the gift. 😊
Booking the date and flight online was super easy. In the confirmation email, I received a lot of information about the organization and the flight, which answered my initial questions: When do I have to be there, what should I wear, what about parking/public transportation, etc.?
When the time came, I was pretty excited. It was easy to get there and there were plenty of parking spaces. So into the Windwerk. In the entrance area there was a photo gallery of the employees, in a good mood and quite relaxed. Then up the stairs and my first glimpse of the wind tunnel. My pulse quickened noticeably. A warm welcome in the information area, quick and uncomplicated online check-in. I was told to be ready in 15 minutes to join other visitors for the introduction and to get changed. Enough time to watch the indoor skydivers in the wind tunnel. I should be in there soon?
I felt really sick to my stomach. Then I sat with my group in a separate room, where our instructor showed us how to move correctly in the wind tunnel and which hand signals we should pay attention to, as it’s too loud in the wind tunnel to talk to each other. The most important information for me was that nothing could happen. In my mind I had already seen how the air would suck me into the wind tunnel (which of course is not possible). What’s more, the instructor is always by my side and can intervene if something goes wrong while flying. That was very reassuring and the anticipation slowly built up alongside the excitement. Looking around, I could see that some of the others were also looking forward to the adventure rather tensely.
We then went on to the changing room. We were kitted out with overalls, helmets, goggles and earplugs. And then things got really serious: we trotted to the airlock, which took us into the wind tunnel. That was pretty spacy. Taking a seat on a bench. The order in which we would enter the wind tunnel was displayed on a screen. My heart was now beating up to my neck. There were two more in front of me, who did a great job and came back from their first flight with big grins on their faces.
Then me: standing in the doorway, arms up, face first into the wind tunnel – a sudden flood of impressions hitting me:
Wind, warmth, paying attention to the instructor, keeping the right posture, faces outside the wind tunnel and – flying! Madness!
Now I understood what the “handles” on the overalls were for, where the instructor could hold me and correct me if necessary. 60 seconds passed in a flash, then back on the bench with the others. Full of adrenaline, out of breath and mega happy. What an experience! The second flight was no less exciting, but I was able to concentrate better on my body movements. The third and final flight brought another surprise: firmly in the instructor’s grip, a joint speed round many meters up and down in the wind tunnel – the absolute highlight for me.
Back in my everyday clothes and with a normal heart rate, I was able to have a snack and a cool drink while relaxing and watching the skydivers in the wind tunnel. I looked at the photos and videos of my flight online at home (you get a code when you check in) with my family and was proud that I had left my comfort zone.
Conclusion: An exceptional experience thanks to the friendly Windwerk team and chilled atmosphere. And certainly not the last time for me! 😍”
