Airkix’s £4m attraction lifts off
THE gravity defying thrills of ‘indoor skydiving’ are now accessible to everyone in the North West following the opening of Britain’s largest simulator.
Airkix has opened its second indoor skydiving centre at the Trafford Quays Leisure Village next to the Chill Factore ski slope with the creation of 20 jobs.
The Manchester office of RBS provided funding of £2.5m to support the build and installation costs at the £4m attraction which is expected to draw 55,000 people each year.
Airkix has successfully operated a similar facility in Milton Keynes since 2005.
The company uses four giant fans to pump 1.7m cubic feet of air upwards into a flight chamber at speeds of up to 170 mph to simulate the experience of a free fall descent.
The wind tunnel has a 14ft diameter and 35ft high chamber, making it Britain’s largest indoor skydiving centre by volume.
Skydivers use the facility by the hour and packages at the new attraction start from £29.99.
Airkix chief executive officer Simon Ward said: “The Airkix Manchester site represents a major expansion of our business and we are very excited by this prospect.
“We spent over two years looking for a suitable location to open a second site and decided on Trafford Quays due to its excellent transport links and its cluster of existing leisure facilities.
“Simulated skydiving is a fantastic sport both for absolute beginners and experienced jumpers.”
Phil Taylor from RBS worked with Airkix and its advisors to ensure the right kind of funding could be put into place to develop the project and secure the assets for Airkix.
Phil Taylor, relationship director at RBS, said: “Airkix is a highly successful, innovative business and has been very successful in turning its site at Xscape, Milton Keynes into a major visitor attraction.
“It has a very strong management team and is ambitiously growing its operations in the UK. We are delighted to be supporting a growing business.”
The company was also advised by Andy Brookes from Hazelwood Chartered Accountants, in Cheltenham, and Rod Thomas from law firm Harrison Clark, in Worcester, who have both worked with Airkix from its formation in 2004.
