Atlanta youth make dream of flight a reality

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Many years from now, Charlie Bomar will look back and say that one Internet search changed her life.

“We moved to Atlanta, right?  And my mom searched for fun things to do.  And iFLY popped up, and we were like, what is that?”

The answer is something truly amazing.  iFLY is Atlanta’s home for bodyflight, a growing sport in which flyers perform incredible feats of athleticism while suspended in a massive, vertical wind tunnel.  Nine-year-old Charlie says she’ll never forget her very first venture into the Atlanta tunnel:  “It was amazing.  I felt the wind hitting me and I felt like I was flying.”                                                 

Charlie is now one of several young flyers enrolled in iFLY Atlanta’s Flight School, a program which pairs them with instructors and elevates their skills to a competitive lesson.  Cody Hendrick is one of the instructors here in Atlanta, and explains the program: “Flight School is for kids ages four to 16, kids who have flown before and just want a little bit more out of their flight…to learn how to fly, progress together, and use this as an opportunity to have kids introduced to the sport of bodyflight.”

Four of iFLY’s young flyers – 11-year-old Cory Schimpf, 10-year-old James Ramer, and 13-year-old Owen Anderson, along with Bomar – competed in last December’s International Bodyflight Association Global Kids Challenge, and all placed well.  Not only do they plan to continue to compete, but also to help lead the way when it comes to future of the sport.  When asked his future goals, Ramer says, “To become an instructor.”

Click on the video player above to check out our interviews with Atlanta’s top young flyers, not to mention some incredible video of them demonstrating their skills.  For more information on iFLY Atlanta and the Flight School program, click here.