The group working to bring an indoor skydiving facility to Eastwood Road recently provided updates on the project.

iFLY Wilmington announced Monday a partnership with a high-tech training firm specializing in reaction and agility training for elite special operations forces in all branches of military service, according to a news release.

"As part of the partnership, Conflict Kinetics (CK) will install a sophisticated training room in iFLY Wilmington's Eastwood Road indoor skydiving center for use in military training," the release stated. "For the first time, the system will also be available for civilian entertainment and sports training."

According to the release, CK's electronic training platforms are data-driven experiential simulators used by elite units of the U.S. military for readiness and survivability training. The aim is to improve reaction time, hand-eye coordination, situational awareness and decision-making accuracy, the release stated, and side benefits of the training include measurable improvements in cognitive ability and individual self-confidence.
 
"We are beyond excited to offer this extraordinary human performance training to athletes, sports enthusiasts and everyone interested in improving their skills and abilities in the Wilmington community," said Dave Soler, COO of iFLY Wilmington, in the release. "We are particularly proud that this will put Wilmington in a class by itself as the only location in the world to provide access to this type of facility to members of the general public.”
 
Dan Schultz, chief executive officer of Conflict Kinetics, said in the release, "Our partnership with iFLY Wilmington was a natural collaboration. We have been looking for the right opportunity to make our award-winning programs available to the civilian marketplace. With iFLY Wilmington's mission of sports training, civilian recreation, and military training, this was a perfect fit."

iFLY Wilmington announced its plans to build a high-tech indoor skydiving wind tunnel in Wilmington last year and has been working steadily with local builder Monteith Construction, engineering firm McKim & Creed, and the city of Wilmington on design, civil engineering and permitting for its facility on Eastwood Road near the intersection of Military Cutoff Road, according to the release.

The company has also been working on completing its capital funding plan, which includes a combination of investments from its military veteran management team, commercial funding and interest-bearing “Patriot Business Bonds” being offered to the general public through another veteran-owned Wilmington business, Folla Capital, an SEC registered broker-dealer, the release stated. 
 
The capital plan for the project is nearly complete with a deadline of March 30 to invest. As of Tuesday morning, the group had raised $341,500, according to its Folla Capital page.