Skydive Indoors with Santa near Hemet

Santa Claus doesn't need reindeer to fly at Perris Valley Airport.

With the help of five 200-horsepower fans sucking him skyward, the jolly old gentleman floats as easily as Peter Pan.

With a helmet hidden under his furry red cap, Santa is spending his pre-Christmas days teaching others how to hover at the airport's "wind tunnel" -- a skydiving simulating machine. At the top of a 96-foot-tall vertical wind chamber, giant fans suck air out to create a vacuum that allows people to float.

The wind tunnel first offered "Flying with Santa" in 2003 as a sporty alternative to sitting on St. Nick's lap. Every holiday season since then, Santa has assisted children, corporate groups and celebrities alike in their quest to experience flying without jumping out of an airplane at 13,000 feet.

On Tuesday, Santa spent the lunch hour teaching floating techniques to a group of 10 managers and engineers from Temecula-based Abbott Laboratories, which visited for a team-building mission.

With the roar of fan engines overpowering the "flight chamber," Santa coached the students one by one, gently adjusting arms and legs until they struck some semblance of a "Superman" pose.

Santa's red jacket almost flew off several times amid the 120-mph gusts.

"The hardest part of Santa is my beard hits me in the face," said the slender Santa.

"It really surprises the kids ...They love to just see Santa fly, and they want to get in there with him."

Nobody in the Abbott group had free-fallen before. Some said they clenched their teeth and felt anxious going in. Each person had three one-minute flights, which included a snapshot with Santa.

"I thought, 'I hope that net can hold me,' " 25-year-old engineer Branden Smith said, referring to the wire mesh that divides students and teachers from an approximately one-story drop. They stand or lay belly-down on the wire net for a few seconds before the fans kick in.

By the end of his third flight, Smith and his comrades were all smiles, laughter and high-fives.

"Superman used to be my favorite character, so this was right up my alley right here," Smith said.

Production supervisor Dennis Ross, 36, said he couldn't wait to tell his kids he'd flown, "especially with Santa," he said.

Manufacturing supervisor Jerry Karban, 31, who organized the outing, called the team-building mission a success.

"You can't help but make fun of yourself when your cheeks are flapping," he said. "There's a little awkwardness at first, but then you just end up having fun. It's a bonding experience."

FLYING WITH SANTA

WHAT: Instructors offer the chance to "skydive" with Santa.

WHEN: By appointment through Dec. 24

WHERE: Perris Valley Skydiving, 2093 Goetz Road, Perris

INFORMATION: 951-940-4290

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