cost to open dropzone?

[DroptheMan04 0]

Anyone have opinion, how much cost to open new dropzone if airport welcome skydiving? Include for first plane Cesena?

[dbattman 0]

Wanna make a million bucks in skydiving?

Start with two millions.

[FlyinDawg 0]

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Anyone have opinion, how much cost to open new dropzone if airport welcome skydiving? Include for first plane Cesena?

That's ryte, more than millions dollars. If want King Air plane, must be more than $3 millions or more!

Flyin' Dawg or SkyDog


"To understand is to forgive, even oneself."

[voodew1 0]

Gear all new Tandem $10,000ea
student rigs $5,500ea
cessna 182 ---- $60,000
King air $300,000
opening a business $25,000



So I would say bare minmum of $95,000

maybe 25,000 less if you buy used gear and a shitty plane

Never opened a DZ but thats a ruff estimate

The pimp hand is powdered up ... say something stupid

[FlyinDawg 0]

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Gear all new Tandem $10,000ea
student rigs $5,500ea
cessna 182 ---- $60,000
King air $300,000
opening a business $25,000



So I would say bare minmum of $95,000

maybe 25,000 less if you buy used gear and a shitty plane

Never opened a DZ but thats a ruff estimate

What about pay staffs for job? I know they earn by doing tandem, camera n video, ground teacher, and etc.

Flyin' Dawg or SkyDog


"To understand is to forgive, even oneself."

[DroptheMan04 0]

do u need be pro rating, instructor, or something to open dz or use business degree while orginial skydiver?

[FlyinDawg 0]

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do u need be pro rating, instructor, or something to open dz or use business degree while orginial skydiver?

Good question, let's see and wait for anyone with answer with this!

Flyin' Dawg or SkyDog


"To understand is to forgive, even oneself."

[skinnyshrek 0]

You can open a drop zone with no ratings you don't even need to skydive. You just need to emply the appropriate ratings

http://www.skydivethefarm.com

do you realize that when you critisize people you dont know over the internet, you become part of a growing society of twats? ARE YOU ONE OF THEM?

[kelpdiver 2]

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do u need be pro rating, instructor, or something to open dz or use business degree while orginial skydiver?

well, given the low ROI, it helps to be a skydiver and have a little fun.

[DroptheMan04 0]

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do u need be pro rating, instructor, or something to open dz or use business degree while orginial skydiver?

well, given the low ROI, it helps to be a skydiver and have a little fun.

what is ROI?

[bob.dino 0]

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what is ROI?

Google.

[DroptheMan04 0]

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what is ROI?

Google.

oh got it "route of investigation"

[mjosparky 3]

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what is ROI?

I do not think you would be a good candidate to be opening any business in the near future.

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oh got it "route of investigation"

Yep, this would tend to confirm my earlier assessment.

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[Squeak 17]

more than likely Return On Investment"

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[Mr17Hz 1]

DropTheMan04,

Clearly, you don't speak good English; so to give you the benefit of the doubt, I will assume that you're actually a very intelligent person and planning on opening up a dropzone in a region where your native language is the primary language.

I think that the estimate above was lowballing it a little much. I would plan on something more like the following for a single cessna dropzone. This is all bare minimum:

Tandem gear: 4x @ $10k
Student gear: 8x @ $5.5k (remember you need different sizes)
Cessna 182: $60,000k
hangar rental & aircraft maintenance: $40,000yr
advertising budget: $5,000
opening a business legal/government: $15,000
business start up (furniture, computers, copy machines etc.): $15,000
legal consult - liability: $10,000

So you're looking at ~$230,000 to just get started; and you don't even have an office to work out of... a small office for $300/mo.. is another $3600

You also need to consider employees. A large place with a good following can get tandem masters cheaper because of how fun and accommodating the place can be for skydivers... but a single Cessna dropzone where there won't be any fun jumps? You're going to have to pay someone some kind of full time wage to keep them... and you'll need at least two - so at a conservative $20k each... plus a pilot for $30k, and one person on the ground to handle the phones - $20k...

now you're at ~$325,000.00 for one year, and you haven't even considered fuel prices - which i don't know enough about to quote...

if a Cessna can do one load every 30 minutes with 2 tandem passengers - that's 16 customers in an 8 hours day. If you operate every single day of the year at 1/2 total capacity, you could bring in $584,000 - however keeping yourself at 1/2 capacity isn't very realistic at all, not even large dropzones can maintain that. realistically you'd be doing good to hit 25% capacity. Remember that most people with money work during the weekdays; and that most places you have to accommodate cold and rainy weather.

When it comes down to it - opening up a dropzone is completely reasonable... *IF YOU DO IT FOR THE LOVE OF THE SPORT*. At the numbers above, it would be very difficult to grow into anything larger - and with such a small capacity; you won't be getting repeat customers often.

You'll have a hell of a time trying to find anyone to give you a private loan with such a risky business model, so you're only option is to have $350k in the bank... And quite frankly, there are a lot of other places that you can put $350,000 where it can make substantially more return.

If you consider opening up a larger operation - something with a king air or a twin otter, you'll be looking at closer to $800,000-$1,400,000 start up costs, however your business model would start to look a little better because your capacity per dollar invested goes higher..

When in comes down to it, it sounds like you're missing the two very necessary things to start up a business in such a specialized industry:

1) Industry Experience
2) Social networking

without industry experience you're not going to know the best way to advertise, and what kind of problems you may expect to run into

without social networking, you're not going to be able to find a pilot, tandem instructors, receptionists, packers, etc.. that would work at the rates that I quoted above.

If you're looking to get people up in the air in your region, that's awesome and I wish you the best... But if you're looking to make some money on your investment, there are considerably better places to invest your money.

If you do happen to have $350,000K in the bank and are looking to invest it, you're welcome to give me a PM and I'll shoot over a few ideas for you. :)

While we're on that topic - ROI means "Return on Investment"

-matt

Matt Christenson

[email protected]
http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

[BIGUN 1,053]

Some of the best DZ's started out of the back of a cargo trailer. To start a 182 DZ; you need the following:

1 Cessna w/commercial pilot (you can lease these on a per lift basis for a weekend DZ) especially if the pilot is working on their ATP ($45.00/plane + $5.00/pilot per lift to 4K)
4 student rigs at about $3,000 ea (used)
1 Static-line/IAD Instructor (paid per student for FJC and $5.00 per student drop + plus free Hop-n-Pop)
1 Rigger (give them an exclusive)
1 waiver w/attorney review ($300.00)
1 Sole Proprietorship checking account.

The MOST profitable instructional methodology for a 182 DZ is S/L or IAD - you don't have to start out with Tandems, but can grow into it. If there is a local TI with their own rig, you pay them 50% of the take for paperworking, training and jumping the student.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[recovercrachead 0]

Start a skydiving club no students. 20 to 30 people go in and get a 182. You do demos to maintain the plane and you are good to go. Everyone takes turn flying. NO bullshit dropzone. Had one on long Island for years and my best years skydiving.

Track high, Pull LOW!!!

[Andy9o8 0]

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1 waiver w/attorney review ($300.00) -- Priceless

Fixed it for ya!

[DougH 270]

If at all possible I would incorporate to shield yourself from liability. Better to just loose the investment in the business, than to loose everything you own.

Don't mix money, the business accounts are just that. Don't pay anything from your accounts, once you do you blurr the lines as to what is yours and what is the companies.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[riggerrob 558]

Plan on spending $100,000 on a Cessna 182 during your first year.
Sure you could purchase a "beater" Cessna 182 for $30k or $40k, but "beaters" have a bad habit of breaking down just as 20 tandem students walk on the DZ Saturday morning.
A "beater" will cost you $30k on unscheduled maintenance the first year and $30k the second year - and annoy a lot of customers - and wish you had invested $70k to $90k in a reliable airplane to begin with.
Reliable Cessna 206s start at $100,000.

[ZigZagMarquis 8]

IMO... if you're going to open a DZ, you should be able to fly the airplane and wrench on it too. You ought to be a jumpmaster too, but you can't fly the plane and be a jumpmaster on the same load (and use the plane again), so if you had to pick between the two, I say go for the pilot's license and AMP license.... sooo factor in the costs of that too.

I've seen two DZ's struggle with operating where neither of the owners could fly or fix the airplane.

[DougH 270]

I think it would be a good alternative to hire a pilot with his own plane, who maintains it himself.

Obviously you have to make him a partner, and give him a cut of the profits, but you have less overhead, and less risk of being sol if the engine in the plane goes.

Once you build a client base, and you are sure the business isn't going to fold you can invest capital in a plane of your own.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[Lastchance 0]

Not quite sure why everybody thinks it has to be a tandem or student operation. Iwent to the local regional airport. Not a small one by any means. Got all of the ok's that were needed. FAA, tower, saftey office, manager, superintendant, etc. Then found a pilot with a Cessna 180 that is waivered to fly with the door off, contact the tower and file our NOTAM with the controlling airspace, and then we jump. It may not be a Bonafide DZ, but we make a few jumps now and then and we have fun. We pay for his fuel and thats all he wants. So we pay about $12.00 a jump per person to 9 to 10 K.

I may be getting old but I got to see all the cool bands.

[Andy9o8 0]

So there's your definitive answer: it will cost you somewhere between $12 per jump and $250,000. Now go out in into the world and do good.

[cocheese 0]

Cost of Dz: $15,000-$1,000,000
Case of asprin: $300.
Case of Petol Bismol: $400.

Knowing you totally rock for running a drop zone?

PRICELESS.

For everything else, there's OPM (other people's money)