THE sensation of flying is something most of us have probably daydreamed about from time to time.

Let’s face it, it is one of the best superpowers of heroes like Super Man and Iron Man.

And although the team at iFLY cannot quite turn you into a comic book hero, they can give you that exhilarating feeling of weightlessness – if only for a few minutes. This is the world of indoor skydiving which is just on our doorstep at Leisure Village, conveniently across the road from the Trafford Centre.

Despite its name, the experience is unique and not really like parachuting at all.

Basically you get the opportunity to step into an incredibly powerful vertical wind tunnel – with air speeds of up to 180mph and up to 1,600 horse power – and float on a cushion of air.

There are very few barriers to entry with the experience open to pretty much all ages and only requiring a brief training session as the risks are minimal.

That was clearly the case when we visited because among the group was a three-year-old and an elderly woman who had been bought an indoor skydive as a present from her granddaughter.

Before suiting up, you learn about body position and how to communicate with your instructor using hand signals as the wind tunnel is so loud that speaking or even shouting in it is pointless.

But the biggest piece of advice the instructor gives is relax.

If you tense up, it affects your ability to float freely and since you are only in the chamber for minutes you will want to make the most of it.

Either way, it is the sort of thing that you can quickly get the hang of (although by all accounts it is difficult to master) and the instructor is with you every step of the way to ensure you are in the right position, do not lose control and are enjoying yourself.

So how does it feel?

You are instructed to lean into the wind tunnel so that you can easily get your body into a horizontal position and then the rush of air is the first thing that hits you.

At first it feels both exhilarating and odd to be floating a few feet off the ground and, as you gain control, you just don’t want it to end.

Another nice touch is that there is a viewing area so if you are bringing family and friends they can watch your every expression

A word of warning would be that it is all too easy to rack up extra charges so it is worth being mindful of that if you give it a try.

The standard taster session is two ‘flights’ lasting about a minute each – cleverly billed as the ‘equivalent freefall time of three 12,000ft skydives’.

But, as add-ons, you can get an extra flight and/or experience a ‘high flight’ where a huge blast of air shoots you towards towards the top of the 39ft-tall tunnel with your instructor. It was a special occasion so we both went for the additional flight and high flight.

The high flight is definitely worth it – you pay £7 for the extra wind power involved – offering a thrilling few seconds which is the closest you get to flying during the session. But between the two of us we didn’t get much change from £40 out of the extras and a photo package we bought.

But for most, this sort of thing is probably a one-off and although it can be pricey it is certainly fun and highly memorable.

And if you do fall in love with it, incentives are offered to make it cheaper the next time you go.

The session ends with feedback from your instructor, a certificate, information on how you can earn more of your ‘wings’ should you wish to take it further and hopefully a smile.

n David Morgan had the opportunity to visit iFLY as part of a Buyagift promotion to showcase its range of experiences. There are a range of indoor skydiving offers at buyagift.co.uk including a combined package that includes a three-course meal for two with wine at Zizzi. For more information about indoor skydiving go to iflyworld.co.uk