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ParacleteAero

Would you use a wind tunnel in Raeford, North Carolina

By ParacleteAero, in Wind Tunnels

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usskydiver    0

usskydiver
Justin,
You have no idea who the companies involved are and if you did you would not post that drivel so, two points of order:
1. If you are trying to start some sort or DZ rivalry, STOP IT NOW or
2. Clear it through your DZ owner, John Hayes

Tim Tennant
D-12780
Sky:ph34r:

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It would definitly be cool. I'd use it and would like to work there as well. Only thing I'd say is build it a little closer to TSP :)

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EDYDO    0

EDYDO
Man, you are really negative. If you were put in charge of commercializing electrical production, we would all be looking at our computer screens by candlelight. ;)


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Isn't the tunnel at Bragg a re-circulated one?

Does anyone else feel they are building too many tunnels? I just don't want any shutting down for my own selfish reasons.

SD Az is now advertising theirs, Perris has one, Orlando has one, we have the one in Vegas, the one in Tenn...the one in NJ has the greenlight as well once that "extreme park" gets up and going.

Is there really a market for all of those tunnels? The one in Orlando is in the most amazing spot - people get off at the same exit to go to Universal Studios and International Drive (tourist trap) is right there! Is it really financially feasable to open a windtunnel in a location that will try to stay open just from jumpers?





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ChasingBlueSky    0

ChasingBlueSky
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Man, you are really negative. If you were put in charge of commercializing electrical production, we would all be looking at our computer screens by candlelight. ;)



I am speaking from the reality of the business world. Remember how one or two companies made a ton of money on the internet years a go?? What happened next? EVERYONE had an dot.com site trying to make money and thined the crowd - demand went away and we had the dot.com crash.

Supply/Demand, feasability and cost (heard it costs $200,000 a year in electricity to run the one in Orlando).

How many people travel to Orlando and Perris for tunnel camps and trips over the winter for coaching? If we have a tunnel at every major DZ, do you think it would effect the bottom line of the tunnel in Orlando? Do you think those in Eloy that travel to Perris for tunnel will do so next year when they get theirs? Does Eloy have that many tourists to help offset the cost in the summer when there are not as many jumpers there? Are there enough good teams and coaches to run camps in all of those locations?

Not negative, just being realistic.

Remember - I am bringing this up for selfish reasons - I don't want the tunnels to go away! I love them, and worry that if they get spread thin I won't have a place to play. I'd rather travel then not have one.

Now, one to supplement the overflow at Bragg sounds like a smart move.
_________________________________________
you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me....
I WILL fly again.....

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Droopy    0

Droopy
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Isn't the tunnel at Bragg a re-circulated one?


Yep, but good luck trying to get into that one even you are in the military.

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Is it really financially feasable to open a windtunnel in a location that will try to stay open just from jumpers?


Yes. And I don't think it would be just from jumpers.


www.paracletexp.com

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krskydive    0

krskydive
A tunnel in Raeford would be great but a skydiving team haven in Raeford would be better!

Skydiving year round or tunnel flying year round is never a problem in Blue Skies Carolina. With the tunnel being climate controlled it will be nice to train in the tunnel and then drive a mile down the road to put into practice newly learned skills at the dz.

Financially, yes, it would be hard to have skydivers and/or teams support the wind tunnel year round. however, the Army overflow is an excellant source of additional income.

With the right marketing to non-skydivers, you can take in to account the incredible amount of tourism that comes in to North and South Carolina. You can literally drive from the ocean and to the mountains in less than a day. Why not add the tunnel to your intinary??

We're excited! We'll be there opening day with credit card in hand!

J & K

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base698    1

base698
Quote

Justin,
You have no idea who the companies involved are and if you did you would not post that drivel so, two points of order:
1. If you are trying to start some sort or DZ rivalry, STOP IT NOW or
2. Clear it through your DZ owner, John Hayes



I do know the companies involved. All I was saying was for MY personal convience I'd like it closer to TSP. It was a mere joke, you don't have to be a big ass-monkey about it. I've never been to Raeford and have no problem with them.

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ParacleteAero    0

ParacleteAero
Thanks a lot to everyone for their input!

Someone asked if the VWT on Ft Bragg was a re-circulating tunnel.
The design being looked at by Paraclete Aero is a re-circulating design as well.
Regarding running it with just skydivers, Droopy and LouDiamond are correct.
The availability of the Ft Bragg tunnel is limited to Mon-Fri 800-430. Most people in the Military Freefall community would probably agree to use a tunnel for training well outside these days and times.

Finally, the people who are doing the research and asking the questions are skydivers as well. We just want to have fun.

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SkymonkeyONE    3

SkymonkeyONE
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I do know the companies involved. All I was saying was for MY personal convience I'd like it closer to TSP. It was a mere joke, you don't have to be a big ass-monkey about it. I've never been to Raeford and have no problem with them.



Your original post reeked of petty local dropzone politics; that was Tim's point. As to your statement about it being more convenient: would you rather drive to Orlando to fly in a tunnel? Which option is more convenient to you in that scenario. Raeford is 22 miles from John's place.

The only thing that makes me nuts is that all this happened after I leave NC. Bummer.

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usskydiver    0

usskydiver
I do know the companies involved. All I was saying was for MY personal convience I'd like it closer to TSP. It was a mere joke, you don't have to be a big ass-monkey about it. I've never been to Raeford and have no problem with them.



I've never been called a big ass-monkey before (that name is already bestowed) I have however been called Maggot Monkey before from an old 4 way team with SkymonkeyONE back in 89 or so known as the Falling Maggots (taken from a GWAR song)

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katiebear21    0

katiebear21
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I've never been called a big ass-monkey before (that name is already bestowed) I have however been called Maggot Monkey before from an old 4 way team with SkymonkeyONE back in 89 or so known as the Falling Maggots (taken from a GWAR song)


Stop making me laugh! I'm supposed to be learning something here in this high quality Army school!

I'd love to see more wind tunnels. More tunnels means more competition and will ultimately lead to lower costs. I loved the idea of building up the dz's around the tunnel to facilitate training camps which incorporate team training along with tunnel time. I definitely would have taken advantage of that in Raeford.

I'm a green suiter and NEVER got any free Ft. Bragg tunnel time.

Drive on fellas!

Katie:)

Katie
Get your PMS glass necklace here

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Raefordite    0

Raefordite
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I've never been called a big ass-monkey before (that name is already bestowed) I have however been called Maggot Monkey before from an old 4 way team with SkymonkeyONE back in 89 or so known as the Falling Maggots (taken from a GWAR song)

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Stop making me laugh! I'm supposed to be learning something here in this high quality Army school!



I laughed as well when I read usskydiver's response. Good job. I can just picture him delivering that response......

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ParacleteAero    0

ParacleteAero
Once again, thanks so much for all the input!! Please keep it coming!!! We are exploring several avenues in regards to market research and want to make sure they are all well represented. With regard to the actual tunnel, we look forward to becoming a part of the skydiving community and helping people reach their skydiving goals. We will keep everyone posted on our progress via DZ.com and our own website which will be online soon. In the mean time we cannot say enough how much we appreciate everyone's help!

Be groovy!!

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slotperfect    7

slotperfect
1) The wind tunnel at Ft. Bragg is almost a non-entity with regard to this conversation . . .
a. It is only available to Military folks.
b. Within the military, it is only available to Military Free Fall qualified folks, or MFF Basic Course Students (the letter of the law).
c. As previously stated, it is VERY difficult to schedule tunnel time.

2) A wind tunnel open to anyone, including military overflow, in the vicinity of both drop zones in the immediate area, and several within a few hours' drive, opens up a lot of opportunity not only for skydivers but for the DZ's as well.
a. Individual tunnel training will increase our student retention (less students dropping off the map).
b. Tunnel camps will grow teams, teams will grow more competitions, both of which are just plain good for local business and good for the sport.
Arrive Safely

John

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Bodyflight.Net    0

Bodyflight.Net
Hey there, I have to put my two cents in of course.

I think there is plenty of market to go around, I have been running this industry site for several years, there are millions upon millions of dollars spent every year on wind tunnel flights limited only by availability. I don't think that until there is a wind tunnel in every state, will we have to worry about saturation, and skydivers are by no means the only source of income potential, as previously stated.

Currently the only problem facing owners is the limited income potential, but if you do your research I believe you'll make a good decision and have plenty of interest in your area.:)

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