speedylisa 0 #1 December 17, 2005 so I was just curious, since there's a new wind tunnel being built an hour away from where I live... what percent of skydivers use wind tunnels? what is the average time a skydiver has in a tunnel? what tunnels do you guys go to?_________________________________________ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tdog 0 #2 December 17, 2005 what percent of skydivers use wind tunnels? Quote Of the people who I know that are serious in improving their skills in skydiving - almost all of them. And if they haven't, it is because of money or time, not desire. what is the average time a skydiver has in a tunnel? Quote I know people with 5 minutes and others with 20 hours. Past that, it is likely they are paid to coach in the tunnel... what tunnels do you guys go to? Quote I have been to Perris and Eloy, looking forward to the new one in my back yard. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stumpy 256 #3 December 17, 2005 I have seen a lot of the more serious teams in each category come through Bedford recently, as well as quite a few of the freeflyers, but i couldn't tell you what percentage. Average time in the UK is growing pretty fast at the moment with 2 tunnels newly opened - i personally am building hours pretty quickly but hey, i work there!Never try to eat more than you can lift Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomvailco 0 #4 December 17, 2005 I am a newbie and I will definitly be going to the tunnel in Colorado along with AFF training It just makes sense! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flyangel2 2 #5 December 17, 2005 QuoteI am a newbie and I will definitly be going to the tunnel in Colorado along with AFF training It just makes sense! Tisk, tisk...........if you mention SVC, you have to remember to post a link with it. www.skyventurecolorado.comMay your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freefalling2day 0 #6 December 18, 2005 Ok,.. here is the link of the soon to be tunnel! www.skyventurenh.com And we look forward to seeing you Speedy Lisa when our tunnel is up and running. We will be out to visit you flyangel2 when the big fans are humming! Blue Skies! Laurie Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flyangel2 2 #7 December 18, 2005 QuoteWe will be out to visit you flyangel2 when the big fans are humming! We look forward to having you hereMay your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RossDagley 0 #8 December 19, 2005 Quoteso I was just curious, since there's a new wind tunnel being built an hour away from where I live... what percent of skydivers use wind tunnels? what is the average time a skydiver has in a tunnel? what tunnels do you guys go to? The US guys (and gals) have (had) much better access to tunnels than us UK guys, but thats changing now we've two tunnels here. The UK tunnels make the US tunnels look cheap, so anyone with serious time in the UK tunnels either has a bad BAD habit (like me ) or is getting paid/subsidised training or coaching. In the UK I'd guess you could count on (no more than) two hands at the moment those people with more than say 10 hours of time, but I suspect thats likely to change as time goes on obviously. Ultimately it depends oon what your objectives are - I found myself wanting to use the tunnel as a 'training tool' when I started. Now I've just over 6 hours in the tunnel, and enjoy it seperately to jumping. Its the same, but different Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cguest4 0 #9 December 19, 2005 Before Bedford opened I had at least 12/14 hours of tunnel, all done in the US or Paris. I am not a coach or anything, just done a couple of tunnel camps and a bit of team training. Once you start doing things like 4 way the time really racks up. There are a lot of UK jumpers who already have lots of tunnel time through team training, more than you can count on 2 hands. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flyangel2 2 #10 December 19, 2005 QuoteThe UK tunnels make the US tunnels look cheap I believe the Airkix tunnel and the Colorado Tunnel not to mention the New Hampshire Tunnel are all pretty close to the same From the SkyVenture website: QuoteSkyVenture U.K. - Airkix Region: Europe Website: http://www.airkix.com SkyVenture has recently completed construction and commissioning of its first recirculating wind tunnel at XSCAPE - a cutting edge shopping and entertainment center approximately 30 miles north of London. The 12 foot, 1000 HP wind tunnel is owned and operated by AirKix. The flow is smooth, consistent and quite fast. At present, we have the speed artificially limited to 160 mph but are using a fraction of the available power. The tunnel will allow teams or groups of four to work comfortably and accommodate flyers of sizes, ages and skill levels and features state of the art video and digital photography systems. QuoteSkyVenture Colorado Region: North America Website: http://www.skyventurecolorado.com SkyVenture Colorado is a state-of-the-art 12 foot, recirculating 1200 HP wind tunnel. It will be located in Lone Tree, Colorado just south of Denver. SkyVenture Colorado, LLC has purchased the land, received all land use approvals and permits and has begun excavation. SkyVenture, LLC has completed fabrication of the equipment and shipped the same to Colorado. SkyVenture Colorado is scheduled to open in Winter. It will serve entertainment customers, skydivers and the military. Their Mission is "to provide an unforgettably awesome experience to our customers, and a destination attraction to our hosts." QuoteSkyVenture New Hampshire Region: North America Website: http://www.skyventurenh.com This 12-foot, 1200 HP recirculating SkyVenture tunnel is under construction 45 minutes North of Boston on the Massachusetts / New Hampshire border. The Nashua, New Hampshire tunnel is adjacent to the future commuter rail station site that will provide direct train service to downtown Boston. This tunnel is ½ mile North of the busiest shopping mall in New Hampshire with numerous restaurants surrounding the tunnel. SkyVenture New Hampshire will serve sport skydivers, entertainment customers, corporate groups, and the military. The projected opening date is April/May, 2006.May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
daniel_owen_uk 0 #11 December 19, 2005 Not mentioning bedford there then Isn't bedford something like 4000 hp__________________ BOOM Headshot Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flyangel2 2 #12 December 19, 2005 QuoteNot mentioning bedford there then Isn't bedford something like 4000 hp I was just trying to show that the SkyVenture re-circulating tunnels here in the US were just as good as the re-circulating one in the UKMay your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RossDagley 0 #13 December 19, 2005 QuoteQuoteNot mentioning bedford there then Isn't bedford something like 4000 hp I was just trying to show that the SkyVenture re-circulating tunnels here in the US were just as good as the re-circulating one in the UK Sorry - to clarify. Cheap as in inexpensive! your tunnels are USD$600 per hour, give or take a little, whilst ours are USD$1,100 give or take. NOW you see where I'm coming from? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skytash 0 #14 December 19, 2005 QuoteI was just trying to show that the SkyVenture re-circulating tunnels here in the US were just as good as the re-circulating one in the UK course they are - you're just copying ours and tweaking it a bit. If we hadn't built ours, you wouldn't have had anything to copy tashDon't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skytash 0 #15 December 19, 2005 QuoteSorry - to clarify. Cheap as in inexpensive! your tunnels are USD$600 per hour, give or take a little, whilst ours are USD$1,100 give or take. NOW you see where I'm coming from? other upsides with the US ones - you can get a tan while waiting for your flight time Upsides with the UK tunnels - you can just pop in on a Thursday night, do 10 mins and go home again rather than having to fly across the Atlantic, stay in a hotel, buy pressies for people back home etc. I think someone has done some of the calculation comparing a week-end trip to bedford or airkix to get 2 hrs flying time with a similar trip to SVO or SVP to get 2 hours flying time. If you add it all up it may well come to less to go to bedford or airkix, even if you are coming down from Glasgow or Inverness because of easyjet and the like... tashDon't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RossDagley 0 #16 December 19, 2005 Quote ...someone has done some of the calculation comparing a week-end trip to bedford or airkix to get 2 hrs flying time with a similar trip to SVO or SVP to get 2 hours flying time. If you add it all up it may well come to less to go to bedford or airkix, even if you are coming down from Glasgow or Inverness because of easyjet and the like... tash Actually i think it works the other way round. If I remember right, the 'threshold' is 5.5 hours. If you do 6 hours or more in a 'block' (iirc it was 5 days) its cheaper to fly to SVO and stay in a hotel for the 5 days, than goto a UK tunnel... But to be fair, I've flown both. Whilst I love the SVO tunnel (and especially the level of skill of the coaches), Bodyflight Bedford has just a tad more room I've yet to test the Bedford tunnel staff's 'flexability' - I cant backfly for more than about 2 minutes because of a shoulder problem for example. At SVO, Rusty cleared it and was coaching me straight from walking to a sit - I'm yet to broach that subject with Paul @ Bedford Oh, and I wish you could just turn up and do 10 minutes at the drop of a hat - you'd need to book about 3-4 days in advance to get a 'specific' slot at Bedford at the moment. Getting an hour is best booked a week in advance. I remember being able to get 'squeezed' in for a 30 minute coached session at SVO with just a few hours notice - hopefully once Jo Public has got over the 'new thrill' factor, the regulars will be able to get some sime at shorter notice... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skytash 0 #17 December 19, 2005 that would confirm that a week-end 2 hour trip is cheaper in the UK, but 6 hours is cheaper going to the US. I've never been to a week-long tunnel camp and am not sure whether I could do 6 hours over 5/6 days , but then perhaps I don't trust myself to do something which I could do! Also agree that perhaps a booking is needed in any tunnel, but even 3 - 4 days notice and doing 10 mins or half an hour after work is a lot easier to organise than a trip to Orlando. Also better on the annual leave balance if not the bank balance tashDon't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RossDagley 0 #18 December 19, 2005 So tash, the only question remains is when am I gonna fly with you at Bedford? Presuming you do *do* flat too Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skytash 0 #19 December 19, 2005 used to only do flat, and I'm using the warmth of the tunnels to learn the vertical stuff over the winterCan't drive much at the moment 'cos of inflamed nerves in both heels (more on the left than the right), so even cancelled some time I had booked this week. Not sure whether I'll be flying anywhere this year. Let me know when you have time booked in January at Bedford and I'll try to come along! tashDon't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eule 0 #20 December 20, 2005 QuoteI think someone has done some of the calculation comparing a week-end trip to bedford or airkix to get 2 hrs flying time with a similar trip to SVO or SVP to get 2 hours flying time. I think somebody else did a more involved analysis, but I did a quick one back in August at http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1792459;#1792459 , and my conclusion was that the break-even point was around three or four hours of tunnel time. By now this may need to be adjusted for exchange rates, any discounts the tunnels are offering, etc. One of the assumptions I made for that one is that for someone in the UK, there isn't a substantial difference in money or time in the trip from home to a UK tunnel vs from home to Gatwick airport. My guess would be for that someone in or very near London this is probably true, but for people further out it may not be. EulePLF does not stand for Please Land on Face. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomvailco 0 #21 December 20, 2005 noted flyangel, won't happen again! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
