New Zealand’s first ever indoor skydiving wind tunnel facility, incorporating patented technology from the USA
The dream of flight
Located in central Queenstown this exciting new tourist venture makes the dream of flight possible. Essentially a vertical wind tunnel, lift is created in a central glass chamber by two large wind turbines in the roof of the building. These turbines blow wind down an 18m high air tower to create the ‘Venturi Effect’, enabling customers to fly. As the client’s Project Manager, we were instrumental in making this complex project possible from woah to go. Needless to say, complications were rife and we had to use innovative solutions and crystal clear communications to effectively deliver this project.
Rising above the challenges
Particular challenges included the project’s commercial confidentiality, which meant the design team had to complete the building design without full access to sensitive information. Furthermore, with the iFLY head office based in the USA, all measurements had to be converted from imperial to metric and back again, to triple check all drawings were absolutely accurate. Construction sequencing was also critical. With site constraints and USA supplied equipment and delivery schedules, seamless communication between all parties was essential.
Despite the unusually demanding challenges, not to mention a last minute set back when one of the fans failed just before opening, we delivered this exciting project in mid-2018, and it has been incredibly well received by the client, tourists and locals alike.
Points of interest
- When a fan failed near completion, the team worked tirelessly to arrange a replacement from the USA, remove the roof and install the new 8 tonne fan all within 10 days of failure, thus not delaying the iFLY public opening.
- To create smooth air flow within the flight chamber, dimensional accuracy was critical and the wind tunnel technology needed to be precisely integrated into the building form.
- The majority of the wind tunnel is formed by the building itself, with only a small portion of the airflow passing through fiberglass chamber. Areas of the building are constructed out of concrete up to 500mm thick.
