Traveling Around The World To Fly In Wind Tunnels
FlyStation - Munich, Germany
I had passed through Munich airport a few times in the past but never had the time to know the city. When I read that a new wind tunnel was being built there and it had a 50% discount for pre-opening bookings, it was time for me to head to Munich!
FlyStation is a Russian franchise that came out of Saint Petersburg and had already opened a tunnel in Tokyo, Japan. Munich was it's first european venture. The tunnel is a 14" recirculating design and the building, situated about 30 minutes from the town's historic centre, looks very imposing from the road.
By the time I visited it was still under construction and it lacked a few amenities (pre-opening discount! :-)
No heating in the Bavarian winter and a minimalistic "bar". Add to that a team of Russian hackers adjusting the tunnel settings and making my flying times shift on short notice.
But I was here to fly and the tunnel was excellent!
And so were the staff and coaches who were working full time organizing the place and tried hard to please me.
In the end I had a great time, progressed on my flying and made new friends.
Even the Russian hackers were cool, and I am almost sure they didn't invade my iPhone.
And I got to know Munich, a lovely city, drank a lot of beer and ate Wurst every night!
By the time I visited everything was under construction,
but the space is big and beautiful
The building sits about 30 minutes by taxi from Munich's historic centre
The facilities are first class and when completed the building will have
everything a sport flyer needs
The tunnel is beautiful and powerful.
There were cables everywhere !
The driving station was still on a table outside the tunnel with the information system being worked on by the russian team
My coaches were Matt Lebel, Boris Peter and Nick Poland.
Cool guys, kept this old man safe
The "bar" was just a table full of small gifts from the staff to us flyers
The "Russian Hackers" working to make this beautiful machine work for us