A developer is seeking a permit to open what he describes as the nation's first inclined indoor wingsuit facility on Triumph Boulevard in Lehi.
According to a September 21 report, Clark Robinson is asking the Lehi Planning Commission for a conditional use permit and a glass-facade exception for the project located at 2959 N. Triumph Blvd.
The proposed facility would utilize an inclined wind tunnel, which allows flyers to wear wingsuits and glide forward on an angled air column. This differs from vertical wind tunnels used for standard indoor skydiving. While the technology originated in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2017, no other such facility currently operates in the United States.
Robinson told city staff that noise from the facility would be less than the noise generated by neighboring Interstate 15 and stated that traffic and parking would not be an issue. However, the project is classified under Lehi's Commercial Entertainment Facilities category, which allows the Planning Commission to impose conditions to reduce noise or other impacts.
Robinson is also requesting an exception to a city requirement that 40% of a building's first-floor facade facing a frontage road must be glass. He argued that placing the wind tunnel machinery, which sits on the first floor, behind glass would increase noise and weaken the building's structural integrity.
The Lehi Planning Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the request on Thursday, Sept. 24, at 7 p.m. in the Lehi City Council Chambers, located at 131 N. 100 E. Residents can submit comments through the Engage Lehi page.
