d123 1 #26 June 24, 2012 [Drunk Irish Voice] I have bloody question for your "character". [hiccups] How does he get the initial capital for building the blooding vertical wind tunnel heh? [more hiccups /Drunk Irish Voice] Lock, Dock and Two Smoking Barrelrolls! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #27 June 25, 2012 Quote [Drunk Irish Voice] I have bloody question for your "character". [hiccups] How does he get the initial capital for building the blooding vertical wind tunnel heh? [more hiccups /Drunk Irish Voice] Wax Lips manufacturing facility on the other side of the property of course. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #28 June 25, 2012 QuoteMaintenance: How much upkeep of VWT is involved? How many people would be needed for upkeep, assuming it was opened for business 5 days per week? Materials: What basic materials are needed to assemble a VWT (Obviously steel, glass, fans and a motor might be some)? Time: Roughly how long do you think it will take to construct the wall-to-wall tunnel so that it's ready for use (after the ordered materials have arrived on site)? I think we need to distinguish between two different types of tunnels here. The typical back yard noisy tunnel is run by a big diesel engine and everything is prefabricated and mounted on a truck trailer. You just wheel it in, fire up the motor, and fly. If you're going to construct one from scratch, that's a permanent fixture, and with a few million dollars can run on an electric motor and be fairly quiet. So, you need to decide how much time, money and mobility your character has, to determine which of these two types of wind tunnels you want to use in your story. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Monko760 0 #29 June 25, 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvXQdLDiuaU&feature=related This DOES look fun! Can I come hang out at your house?I fly and stuff, its fun! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ShellyBella 0 #30 June 26, 2012 QuoteYou probably need a building permit. Maintenance: I'd figure 10 to 20% of initial capital cost for any kind of large infrastructure like that. Rumours I heard for sky venture tunnels are initial capital and construction costs of 14 million. Say 1/2 cap 1/2 construction, that 7 million capital, so 750k maintenance per year would be my back of a napkin feasibility analysis cost. Materials: lots of steel, acrylic for the chamber, and lots of concrete for he footings. Also, you don't need a recurculating tunnel. A regular "puller" like Eloy or Orlando would work fine, although the recirculating ones are quieter. Good, I'll research permits. Thanks! My character is well off but … Let's just say she'll be disgusted to learn how expensive upkeep is likely to be. I think she naively thought it would only be about a quarter grand per year. Hopefully if her neighbors live roughly 1/4 mile away, she can pull off the recirculating tunnel without too many complaints about noise pollution. But part of me is tempted to just go ahead and have her build the noisiest tunnel ever. Just because she can. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ShellyBella 0 #31 June 26, 2012 Quote [Drunk Irish Voice] I have bloody question for your "character". [hiccups] How does he get the initial capital for building the blooding vertical wind tunnel heh? [more hiccups /Drunk Irish Voice] She's the immediate relative of this famous bloody Irishman from a band that sold a successful album called The Joshua Tree and then went on to create hit albums of considerably lesser quality. When this famous relative of hers isn't on Safari or drinking heavily (usually both), he can be found on her property, assessing progress on the tunnel and drinking steadily. He's financing her project. He has too much money so he gives her .05% of it so he can sleep at night. His name might rhyme with "Mono". Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ShellyBella 0 #32 June 26, 2012 QuoteQuoteMaintenance: How much upkeep of VWT is involved? How many people would be needed for upkeep, assuming it was opened for business 5 days per week? Materials: What basic materials are needed to assemble a VWT (Obviously steel, glass, fans and a motor might be some)? Time: Roughly how long do you think it will take to construct the wall-to-wall tunnel so that it's ready for use (after the ordered materials have arrived on site)? I think we need to distinguish between two different types of tunnels here. The typical back yard noisy tunnel is run by a big diesel engine and everything is prefabricated and mounted on a truck trailer. You just wheel it in, fire up the motor, and fly. If you're going to construct one from scratch, that's a permanent fixture, and with a few million dollars can run on an electric motor and be fairly quiet. So, you need to decide how much time, money and mobility your character has, to determine which of these two types of wind tunnels you want to use in your story. This is great info. Since my character needs a way to direct her obsessive behavior over time, she'll go ahead and try to build this thing from scratch instead of the typical back yard tunnel you mention. So I guess she'll be using the electric motor and it will be more quiet. Right … In terms of time, money and mobility: luckily, she has plenty of each. She's sitting on a fortune and, since her kid died, she's driven to do something that's involved enough to keep her mind off her loss - something physically and mentally draining. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 24 #33 June 26, 2012 Well, 250k a year may well be more than adequate if the tunnel isn't used all that often (many tunnels work 12-18 hous per day, and sometimes 24 hours for some periods). So she may be able to skim a bit on maintenance...Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ShellyBella 0 #34 June 26, 2012 Quote Well, 250k a year may well be more than adequate if the tunnel isn't used all that often (many tunnels work 12-18 hous per day, and sometimes 24 hours for some periods). So she may be able to skim a bit on maintenance... Good to know. Thanks! I feel 100% more confident about writing the story now thanks to you and others Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shredex 0 #35 June 26, 2012 I found this site which has some F.A.Q's about buying a windtunnel: http://www.bodyflightconcepts.com/f_a_q__s.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ShellyBella 0 #36 June 27, 2012 Thank you Shredex. I will check that out and then get back to the business of writing my story Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #37 June 28, 2012 Quote Thank you Shredex. I will check that out and then get back to the business of writing my story Let us know if you ever build it. I mean, your character. Curious way to do business research, but whatever works for you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ShellyBella 0 #38 June 29, 2012 Quote Quote Thank you Shredex. I will check that out and then get back to the business of writing my story Let us know if you ever build it. I mean, your character. Curious way to do business research, but whatever works for you. Hi. Sure, I will let you all know when the story (hopefully) gets published. ... Actually, it's fairly common for writers to include online forums as one of several research tools. I quickly realized that getting technical info on tunnels would cost about $50 for a basic consultation if I really wanted to ensure everything was technically accurate. This just seemed easier and doesn't have a steep price attached. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The111 0 #39 June 29, 2012 Quote this famous bloody Irishman from a band that sold a successful album called The Joshua Tree and then went on to create hit albums of considerably lesser quality. Achtung Baby > Joshua Tree! But agreed on most of the others. www.WingsuitPhotos.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Squeak 17 #40 June 29, 2012 Quote Quote this famous bloody Irishman from a band that sold a successful album called The Joshua Tree and then went on to create hit albums of considerably lesser quality. Achtung Baby > Joshua Tree! But agreed on most of the others. Dont forget WARYou are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky) My Life ROCKS! How's yours doing? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The111 0 #41 June 29, 2012 Quote Quote Quote this famous bloody Irishman from a band that sold a successful album called The Joshua Tree and then went on to create hit albums of considerably lesser quality. Achtung Baby > Joshua Tree! But agreed on most of the others. Dont forget WAR It was before JT.www.WingsuitPhotos.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
