TO SAY it was exhilarating would be an understatement. But then again how often do get the chance to fly as if you had wings?

The Ripcord by Ifly ride on board Quantum of the Seas promises that anyone, whatever their age, can truly soar.

And my experience lived up to the hype, even if I felt I had flown across the Atlantic having spent just a minute in the, literally, breathtaking skydiving machine.

My chance to fly came as part of Quantum's unveiling to the media during her visit to Southampton before she left for New York last night.

A 'flight' in Ripcord was a must, especially after having watched other first-timers soar inside the amazing wind machine that sits at the stern of Quantum of the Seas.

First step was to undergo a short but simple to follow training and safety exercise carried out by the on board Ripcord team.

Then, leaving behind all jewellery and anything that could fly off during the experience, we were all given jumpsuits, earplugs, visors and helmets before taking our turn to be called to the door of the machine.

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I was last among our group to go and had the dubious advantage of watching as everyone else made the short flight look easy.

They were aided by our instructor Michael who grabbed each flyer as they entered the machine and helped them find their flight position and balance.

Only then would the machine's power be increased and flyer and instructor would soar towards the top of what from the outside looks like a giant, transparent kitchen blender.

The fact I was twice the size of Michael appeared to cause him no difficulties as I stepped into the machine.

At first we wobbled a fair amount as I adjusted to the sensation of floating. The noise was immense, and all instructions to raise my chin, straighten or bend limbs came through hand signals.

And then we were off towards the sky, the two of us twirling like giant feathers caught in an up-draught. The sensation was amazing.

True, I did manage to bump into the sides of the machine a couple of times, but at no point did I feel uneasy.

And then, after bobbing up and down two or three times, it was all over, my minute in the machine was up and I was guided to the open door and gravity did the rest.

Applause and high-fives from fellow flyers.

Before we returned to change back into our civvies we were given an amazing display of what the experts can do as one of the instructors soared, tumbled, spun, dived and flipped his way around the machine. Iron Man eat your heart out.

Afterwards I became aware of a few aching muscles, caused no doubt by the tremendous pressure of spending even a minute in such a rush of wind.

Was it worth it? You bet. Would I do it again? You bet.

If not Iron Man, then Spiderman had better watch out.

For a closer look at Quantum of the Seas - click here.