Official Skydiving Rules

Go Crazy with Spheremania!

Anyone who's ever wondered what it's like to fly – really fly, like a bird, not just up in a plane or something – needs to get down to their nearest sphere centre right away. Imagine a kind of backwards sky dive – a permanent flying or floating sensation delivered in the total comfort of an air filled sphere. That's spheremania: completely safe, completely mental and completely here.

Here's the science bit, for the geek minded: the air sphere is rolled (with you in it) into a vertical wind tunnel, or "flight chamber". The flight chamber works on the exact same principle as a test tunnel for F1 cars – it's just turned on its end so the air flows up from floor to ceiling rather than along from door to door. The sphere, once it's caught in the air stream, floats up into the air: where you get to experience the sensation of flying without having to grow a pair of wings!

Spheremania is completely safe for almost everybody. There are, of course, rules and regulations to be appeased before the flight commences – but the typical nine persons out of ten wishing to take off can do so in total confidence. There's no need to have any prior experience of any kind of sky diving (the activity that sphere flying most closely resembles, apparently, in terms of feel): and most age ranges are safe to give it a go.

With official centres opening in good locations all over the country, there will soon be no excuse not to have a crack at spheremania. The activity is perfect for all sorts of occasions – from birthday parties with a difference through to other parties. In the case of the latter, alcohol consumption is not advised beforehand. Use the air sphere as the day's activity and save the beers for the evening.

Not only is sphere flying perfect party fodder – now that the recession has bitten properly it's being subsidised by the vouchers shoppers get when they buy their groceries at one of the major supermarkets. That means addicts and first time flyers alike can get their fix without having to worry about price. The per person price of a spheremania session varies according to usage and group size, but is rarely expensive – on average, a single person can take two flights for 33: that's just over 15 per flight. Not bad for a sensation that you can't get anywhere else (unless you pay hundreds of pounds to get chucked out of a plane strapped to a supervisor!).

The awe inspiring fun of sphere flying makes it a perfect event for team building and corporate exercises too. Official sphere flight centres, like the Airkix flight centres in Milton Keynes and Manchester, are able to arrange full facilities for a corporate go at spheremania, including refreshments meeting spaces and presentation equipment. What better way to mix business with pleasure?