Tunnel to open in Milton Keynes UK

[CornishChris 5]

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Its not hard to do the maths here

Well it is kind of hard if you got £50 for 2 mins to equate to £500 for 10 mins....

CJP

Gods don't kill people. People with Gods kill people

[Adriandavies 0]

Bodyflight Bedford is offering its vouchers as an INTRODUCTORY offer ie even they haven't finalised their prices yet! Skyventure is keeping its website up to date with its construction progress but is yet to publish prices and at the moment it hasn't even got a confirmed opening date. Have you also considered that Skyventure are offering gift vouchers which I think are aimed at none skydivers and that a lot of their visiting time will be taken up with tuition rather than tunnel work.

[UKFSChick 0]

[This is a general reply to the whole thread].

It's weird how vitriolic/ defensive people can be when discussing the two tunnels due to open in the UK.

Let's bear in mind that:

Neither tunnel has a confirmed opening date.

Neither tunnel has confirmed flight rates.

SVUK says:
'We expect to be open late summer '

Bodyflight says:
'It's getting closer and closer to that special day although no exact date can be published yet.'

SVUK says:
'At this point we have yet to fix the pricing of all the fantastic flying options at SkyVenture UK.'

Bodyflight says:
'Our price tarrif will be confirmed shortly before opening.'

That they are both doing introductory rates is great, but let's also bear in mind that SVUK's is clearly aimed at whuffos:

'Free gear hire and all the training
Either a photo or video of your flights or a hat or T-shirt
Each flight is one minute in length - as a comparison, a tandem skydive from 12,000 feet is about 40 seconds of freefall'

Real skydivers don't need gear, hats or tandem comparisons.

I can't find Bodyflight's offer on the website so assume this is something they are only offering at Dzs...so safe to conclude it's a skydiver/ BPA member rate.

I'm also guessing that if either tunnel is doing 'special' rates for skydivers (unlikely not to), they don't want it emblazoned on websites that will be visited by full-rate paying whuffos and corporates. Hence SVUK's current rates on their sites, and the reference to minimum flight time ('an absolute minimum of two flights in that hour.') Hence Bodyflight doing 'private' DZ visits and word-of-mouth rate promotion instead of committing to a price in black and white on the net.

Having 2 tunnels in the UK will be a great thing for the sport, not only enabling British teams to train more and improve our competitive edge on the world stage; it will also raise the profile of the sport across the board and (hopefully) attract more in the way of corporate sponsorship for teams and individuals. Dz's will get increased business as people get a taste for (and get to see) what skydiving is about.

Intro offers to skydivers are made in order to attract flyers now, in the hope of establishing a loyalty that will continue.

But what will really make the difference to which tunnel skydivers use will be:

Air quality (is there dead air? how bumpy is it? can you control the speed?)
Tunnel quality (what are the walls like? how easy to get in and out? what is the antechamber like? can coaches walk or stand in there to coach students?)
Staff (well-trained? able to carry out safety procedures in the blink of an eye? understanding of skydivers' needs?)
Reliability (does it break down just as you arrive/ while you are flying and take 6 hours to fix?)
Coaches (FS/ freefly - how experienced in tunnel coaching?)
Availability of time (are all the premier time slots prebooked by whuffos and corporates?)
Cost (what discounts do you get as a skydiver? can you bulk buy? discounts for off-peak flying time?)

We don't know the details on these factors for both tunnels yet, although SkyVenture UK will be operating the same proven and tested systems and protocols as the existing tunnels in Orlando and Perris. For these reasons the British Women's team (representing the UK at The World Cup in October) will be training exclusively in SkyVenture UK when in Britain. It's a name we can trust on all of the critical points above, and SVUK have a wealth of experience in giving teams and individual skydivers what they need to get the most from training. Training in a sub-standard tunnel can be a waste of time and money.

Having flown in both of the US SkyVenture tunnels as well as Aerokart Paris, I have to say all tunnels are not the same and single factors such as size or cost are not the decider. I was disappointed by Aerokart, despite its size - the airflow was too powerful (yes this can be a bad thing) and they didn't turn it down (it was not a realistic freefall speed, so going back to the sky felt like being subterminal for a while - I don't know if they had to keep it high to prevent bumpy air, or if they just didn't care that we all had 30lbs of lead on!), the 'manifesting' system was difficult and inconvenient, and the dead air around the sides was crap, even just for 4way.

Anyway my point is, having two tunnels to choose from is a great thing and competition is always good for consumers. But the real test will be a few months after opening when rates are established, skydivers have used them, and any problems come to the surface.

Emma

[Newbie 0]

good post and points

"Skydiving is a door"
Happythoughts

[pincheck 0]

At the moment there are to many unknown variables for us to say for sure either wind tunnel will be a success.

Pricing will be key to both, if skydivers think they are being ripped off in comparison to prices abroad then they will fail. I would love to use either but will not pay over the odds and don't think many others will either, even if you lived local. i can get 2 jumps for £36 why pay £50 or £60 for 2 mins in a tunnel when i can get the real deal for less.

I would rather combine a trip to the states or europe as a holiday to jump /tunnel than stay in the uk, as its cheaper to jump their not sure about tunnel prices.
Thats just my opinion for what its worth and i don't need or want a free t-shirt just the cheapest prices you can offer.

Billy-Sonic Haggis Flickr-Fun

[Nicodemus 0]

Thanks for the well-balanced post Emma.

I think you're correct - having two tunnels to choose from is great for British (and worldwide) skydiving and the competion will ensure both facilities are kept on their toes, providing the safest, most progressive training possible as well as great air quality, value for money and FUN!
This means hard work for us and a more productive visit for all of you!

The Bodyflight team are well aware of skydivers' needs and want to give you what you're asking for as much as possible. We've been listening to your opinions on our DZ tour over the last few weeks. Thanks for your input, everyone!



***
Pricing will be key to both, if skydivers think they are being ripped off in comparison to prices abroad then they will fail. I would love to use either but will not pay over the odds and don't think many others will either, even if you lived local. i can get 2 jumps for £36 why pay £50 or £60 for 2 mins in a tunnel when i can get the real deal for less.

I would rather combine a trip to the states or europe as a holiday to jump /tunnel than stay in the uk, as its cheaper to jump their not sure about tunnel prices.
***

Don't worry!
The '£30 for 5 minutes' deal we are currently running is indeed an introductory offer but, as we've said before, I think you'll find our main pricing structure to be very competitive and a pleasant surprise!

See you all soon. (Our new prop was installed yesterday! Yay!)

[Gavin 0]

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I was disappointed by Aerokart, despite its size - the airflow was too powerful (yes this can be a bad thing) and they didn't turn it down (it was not a realistic freefall speed, so going back to the sky felt like being subterminal for a while - I don't know if they had to keep it high to prevent bumpy air, or if they just didn't care that we all had 30lbs of lead on!), the 'manifesting' system was difficult and inconvenient, and the dead air around the sides was crap, even just for 4way.
Emma

I think that the aerokart tunnel is underpowered or about the same, I tested my new jumpsuit Parasport jumpsuit and I was on level with everyone. When I went to test it in the sky I had to add a whole lot of lead. My Original jumpsuit was performed exactley the same in the tunnel and sky. I do agree with what you say about the roll of to the sides, but that can be managed easily if you know about it. I think there manifest is great, they turn it on and you just rotate in turns in the tunnel, just the same as Skyventure in Perris. If you are nervous going into the tunnel the first time you can end up being a bit of a board and not relaxing into your arch and then requiring lead


cheers
Gavin

[UKFSChick 0]

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I think that the aerokart tunnel is underpowered or about the same

It's not. Although perhaps you've had it turned up to max in Perris/ Orlando too, we are small and light so we notice when it can't be turned DOWN.

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I think there manifest is great, they turn it on and you just rotate in turns in the tunnel, just the same as Skyventure in Perris.

Not quite, you don't book in the same way and can end up waiting 10 minutes or more between your flight time while being confined to the outer tunnel chamber. Perhaps you haven't tried team booking. At SV you buy chunks of time and decide how to split it up yourself.

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If you are nervous going into the tunnel the first time you can end up being a bit of a board and not relaxing into your arch and then requiring lead

That can be true but I don't think it explains the difference in air quality between tunnels. In Perris I wear 6lbs as they turrn it down, the rest of the chicks on my 4way team wear 6lbs or none. In Aerokart we all had 20 to 30lbs on.

Unless...maybe you're onto something...Perhaps we were all just really SUPER scared being at Aerokart, what with it being so windy n' loud n'all, which made us turn into flying ironing boards? I'll be sure we all have a good stretch and do some meditation first next time...

[efex 0]

All I can add after visiting the bedford tunnel the other day is this:

1. When they say their pricing structure will be a pleasent surprise they are certainly not kidding.

2. The place looks like the inside of a space ship, i.e really really cool.

3. The tunnel is frickin massive, big enough to have a party way going.

4. The guy running the place, Paul, is one nice chilled out dude.

5. I can personally not wait to give the tunnel a go as I only live an hour away ,hehehe,

Marc

Warwick University Skydiving Club

[skytash 0]

Update on the Milton Keynes Tunnel here:

http://www.skyventure.co.uk/skyventure.html?/latest_information.html

and here:

http://www.airkix.com/

tash

Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

[MikeOne 0]

I may be cruising in a litle after the fact on this one but I think eveyone seems to be missing something quite important here. The Airkix tunnel (formerly known as SkyVenture UK) is aiming a large part of its business at non-skydivers in exactly the same way as the Orlando SkyVenture tunnel did and still does. The 1 hour package with 2-off 1 minute slots is desinged for non-skydivers who want to experience free fall, not for skydivers who can already free fall under control. It's a taster, a joy ride if you like.

The use of the tunnel for skydivers I understand will be block bookings in a similar way to the other commercial tunnels around the world. They haven't posted the block booking rates yet so keep an eye on the website www.airkix.xom for further developments.

Blue ones,

Mike.