With security lineups, baggage charges and pay-as-you-go meals, flying isn’t much fun these days. But getting airborne without a plane or a pilot is a far more uplifting experience.

Fly Zone Bodyflight, a short detour from Vancouver International Airport, gives mere mortals the chance to fly like Superman in a vertical wind tunnel, like the ones used by skydivers to train for a free-fall.

Unlike jumping out of a plane, there’s no need for extensive training and there’s a lot less danger. Almost anyone over the age of five who is in good health can start soaring after a few minutes of training, and an instructor is on hand to guide you safely along your flight path.

Just a few days after Fly Zone opened in mid-December, I put on a flight suit and helmet and got a quick lesson on how to take flight from operations manager Shane Tully. He showed me how to hold my hands in front of my head at eye level, keeping my chin up and my legs apart in the ideal aerodynamic position. Balance is key, since you’re about to have a stiff breeze of up to 230 km/h aimed at your torso.

Then I entered a three-metre-wide acrylic tube and, following Tully’s instructions, laid down on my stomach on the netting on the floor of the tunnel. When Tully was satisfied I was in the correct position, he gave the signal to turn on the turbine.

I was immediately buffeted by cold air and seconds later, I was airborne. I had to focus on fighting the current to stay in the approved Man of Steel posture while Tully grabbed my feet and hands to spin me around, giving me a real sensation of flight.

All too soon, my two minutes of solo flight were over. My arms were tired but I had an adrenaline rush that I imagine would be similar to sky-diving, with none of the heart-stopping fear of whether or not my parachute would open.

“For the average customer, it’s exhilarating, and they can do it in a controlled environment,” says Peter Zaoralek, who owns Fly Zone Bodyflight. “It’s exciting, but you know it’s safe.”

There are some limits to who can fly — you can’t be over 250 pounds or have previously dislocated a shoulder, for instance — but in general, it’s safe for most people. But it’s not quite as simple as floating on air. “It’s physically demanding — you’re going to use some core body muscles that you haven’t used before,” Zaoralek says.

A two-minute inaugural flight, including equipment and instruction, is $62.50, and four minutes is $99. Groups can also buy anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour of flying time to share among themselves for $225 to $750.

Only two other Canadian cities, Montreal and Niagara Falls, have wind tunnels that are open to the public, and Zaoralek says Fly Zone is the only mobile one in the country. So you could stage a flying party either at the company’s Delta facility or in your own backyard — either way, no boarding pass required.

If You Go

Fly Zone Bodyflight, 7150 Tilbury Road, Delta, B.C (about 20 kilometres from Vancouver International Airport). Website: www.flyzone.ca. Phone: 604-940-0100.