billyrocket 0 #1 July 6, 2011 I see a lot of posts from people that wish there was a wind tunnel near them, or wish they had one for themselves or for a bussiness... or for their DZ. BUT ... is there anybody out there that would actually buy one if it were available? ... and how much would that be worth? $100 k ?, 500k ? ... 3 Million? What is your price point? lets talk numbers and see what you guys think... have you done any math ? ... like what it would cost to run per hour... versus how much to charge people... etc. post your thoughts... or write me directly. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Divalent 89 #2 July 6, 2011 Looks like one is for sale. $120,000. Portable. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/detail_page.cgi?ID=112364;d=1 Edited to add: looks like you are the one selling it. So what does it cost to run per hour (including maintanence)? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 24 #3 July 6, 2011 Quote3 Million? That would be an OK down-payment on a medium sized Sky Venture tunnel.Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billyrocket 0 #4 July 6, 2011 well, the one for sale burns about 35 gallons per hour... so if diesel were $4/gal, then it costs $140/hour to feed it. In florida you can get off-road diesel, which is about 50 cents per gallon LESS that "road" diesel. Off road diesel is currently $3.44/gal. Oil change every 500 hours ( aprox $450. with new filters ), plus a couple of helpers at , say, $12/hour. You would need a place to set it up ... your land or someone elses... and if you get insurance, it's available for about $1,200 a month. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billyrocket 0 #5 July 6, 2011 yes, they are expensive... and, yet they are very profitable ... even when they cost millions. skydivers pay about $ 10-12 per minute ... wuffos pay about $20-30 per minute... THE SAME AS THEY WILL PAY IN A MUCH-LESS-EXPENSIVE PORTABLE MACHINE! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
beowulf 1 #6 July 6, 2011 To be straight forward, I see that portable wind tunnel as pretty much a wuffo tunnel. I wouldn't spend my money on flying in that tunnel. I am more interested in working on VFS in one of the Skyventure tunnels that can handle freefly speeds with 4 flyers. Good luck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
justme12001 0 #7 July 6, 2011 I have looked into it, and talked and emailed Trevor Thompson at skyventure about pricing. You are looking at around 3 million for a 14ft recirc, that is the structure, equipment,training of tunnel fliers, operators, and management. Then you have to have buy land to put it on, have it built, get it wired, pay for all the permits, and cover living expenses while you are supervising all this and learning how to run it. So all said and done you are looking at between 5 and 6 million start up cost. Well worth it, if YOU can come up with the cash, cause banks aren't lending to folks that need money, only to people that already have it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mchamp 1 #8 July 7, 2011 Of course you'd have to factor in electric prices depending on location and at the same time be in a relatively close proximity to a city so that you'd have customers. It's a delicate balance IHMOFor info regarding lift ticket prices all around the world check out http://www.jumpticketprices.com/dropzones.asp Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billyrocket 0 #9 July 7, 2011 Well of course ! You cannot compare the size or power of a portable, with the modern indoor tunnels... and for experienced flyers, and those that can afford to travel to a big tunnel, it is the better choice. I was speaking from a biz point of view. You can afford to put a portable at even small DZs, far away from an indoor machine... and for wuffos and begining skydivers, it is far better to have a small tunnel than no tunnel at all. also, if you charge anywhere near what the big machines charge, there is way more room for profit... since you have to pay for a machine that costs 5-10 % what their machine costs! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billyrocket 0 #10 July 7, 2011 That one of the reasons it is hard to get financing for a big indoor machine. You are betting BIG that the location you choose will pay off, because you are stuck there. With a portable, you don't have to commit to buying land... you can try different locations... or even go to temporary events and boogies, where the action is. Of course, that involves moving expenses, and you would have to decide and learn which ones are worth going to, and which ones are a waste of time... but at least you have choices. also, finding an investor that has 300K should be easier that finding one with 5-6 M to risk. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
michalm21 0 #11 July 8, 2011 If it's such a business, why are you selling one? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billyrocket 0 #13 July 9, 2011 spent all my money building the machine ... have no money to start the biz portion of it... hire staff, get insurance, rent property, etc ...so there sits a portable wind tunnel... just push the start button and fly ... rusting away in florida, for lack of $$. Better to have someone put it to good use. And please, no more offers like: You are willing to put up 20k, and we split the profits 50/50 .... I have 15 times that much invested, easy! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shah269 0 #14 July 11, 2011 Well I can talk about it now that the team disbanded. OK here is how it goes, I'm working towards my MBA and assembled a team to finance, build an run a "big" tunnel overlooking NYC. I looked around found a very competent manufacturer and we had a rather refined business plan and we were within a month or so of signing a contract and begin to raise funds to get it off the ground. Here is what we came up with. Cost to build, $1mill for building, $1mill for the land, $1mill/1m for the tunnel. We were going to run our tunnel at $20/min for bulk rate and $25/min for 3 min riders. We expected to have the thing running at 70% capacity and we were looking to be in the black in about 5 years. It was going to be BEAUTIFUL, imagine floating and running points while looking at the skyline of lower manhattan. Can it be done? YES. Can it be fun? HELL YEAH! Does it make people who would not consider it stand up and think of how great it would be? YEAH! If plans were to get back together would I put my self into it and work towards a world class tunnel next to a world class city? YOU BET! But it's a long shot.Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IMGR2 0 #15 July 11, 2011 If you can build a world class tunnel for just 1 mil I think your on too something. You can't get into any of the top manufacturers in the world for less than about 3.5 mil. And that is just the parts, you still have to put the damn things together. lol Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shah269 0 #16 July 11, 2011 $1m/METER The bigger she is the more it will cost you. You kind of like tits As for why the building and property costs were a bit low? Well that's our little secret. Just because the team is not working doesn't mean we are dead. Yes as with anything its LOCATION LOCATION AND YES...LOCATION Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IMGR2 0 #17 July 11, 2011 Well good luck, I think NYC would be a wicked cool place for a tunnel. Back in the day my old boss lived in Brooklyn and talked about building one in a barge so you could just tug it up to anywhere in the bay you wanted. As for me I am stuck here in Texas, the home of the Skyventure Corporation and we can't even get a tunnel here. Kinda sux. lol Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shah269 0 #18 July 11, 2011 VERY COOL! I got a peak at those plans! VERY SEXY! Wasn't he going to have it float off of Chelsea Pears? Yeah that would be SICK. But the price was going to be very high. I just walked into the perfect storm of a team. One of the members is well aware of real estate and had his fingers on a very nice bit of property. It's a shame...the north east with all of the skydivers here needs a solid BIG tunnel to have fun in. It was a nice business plan, we had various revenue streams and a very fun way of keeping the thing rocking 24/7 if needed. It's a dream. who knows? Maybe it will come back? But I doubt it, the best way to make money off a tunnel per our calculation is the dual 2m systems.Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lana26 0 #19 July 13, 2011 QuoteLooks like one is for sale. $120,000. Portable. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/detail_page.cgi?ID=112364;d=1 Edited to add: looks like you are the one selling it. So what does it cost to run per hour (including maintanence)? If this is the same one that was pitched up at DeLand for a while then i can offer my opinion. ITS SO LOUD in fact so loud you couldnt hear any manifest calls over the loudspeakers when it was running. To put it into perspective you could hear the machine over the aircraft .Also has lots of dead air around the sides so you have to fly dead center. It also stank so strongly of diesel that people were leaving the dz when it was running. First hand experience, maybe would be good for whuffos but pretty useless for skydivers imo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billyrocket 0 #20 July 14, 2011 Yes, the one for sale is the same one that was at Deland. There is supposed to be a noise barrier around the machine, but it was never installed at deland because the airport would not commit to letting it stay there, long story... and yes, in it's current condition it is primarily a wuffo tunnel, but i believe most tunnel-money is made from wuffos. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shah269 0 #21 July 14, 2011 most tunnel-money is made from wuffos. YES! When we ran our numbers, WUFFOS were the meat and potatoes of the operation. Keeping them around was going to be key. Local skydivers were to produce profit. But to keep the lights on, WUFFOS are what you need.Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BIGUN 1,051 #22 July 31, 2011 Well, the next thing you know there will be "Tandem Tunnels" and no where for the experienced tunnel timers to go. Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
