affording tunnel time

[arai 0]

I'm curious how all you tunnel rats afford tunnel time, I'm seeing posts throughout this forum with quotes of 20hr... even 45 hours of tunnel time. just based on looking at most tunnel sites it seems to be about 10 bucks a minute, or 600 an hour. if you were paying block rates for 45 hours thats over 26000 dollars.

Is it like snowboarders where they will work at a resort to get free lift tickets and therefore dont really need 1600$ for a seasons pass because it is free?

I'd have to imagine most tunnel rats with those types of hours have to be trading a case of beer or two for some favors from tunnel owners, or work at a tunnel. Does anyone actually afford 45 hours of tunnel time by just spending all their money from a regular job at the tunnel? just curious

[freefalljenn 0]

I know that when I go to the tunnel, I save money all year long and then buy 1.5 to 2 hours once a year. Also, some people are able to amass some tunnel time because they are coaching. They don't have to pay for the time they spend in the tunnel coaching someone because the time is being paid for by the person they are coaching. But, in the end, it all depends where you priorities are. If tunnel time is a serious priority, then it is easier to spend lots of money there. Once you have been in there, it will be easy to see how one can become addicted.

jenn
Tunnel Junkie Since November 2005! ;o)~
TPM #46
Paraclete XP TPM Delegate

[Bodyflight.Net 0]

I've paid for a little bit of my time, but once I knew it was something I loved, I dove in head first! I trade for almost ALL of my time now, which works well for me.. I spend my days doing things for wind tunnels and when I go visit one, I get to fly a bunch on credit!
I haven't accumulated time coaching or anything, but most of the rats I know worked as an instructor at some point in their life.

I've seen polls in the other threads about how much some skydivers pay annually to jump and I've seen numbers in excess of the cost of my house! per year!

[mdrejhon 8]

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I'd have to imagine most tunnel rats with those types of hours have to be trading a case of beer or two for some favors from tunnel owners, or work at a tunnel. Does anyone actually afford 45 hours of tunnel time by just spending all their money from a regular job at the tunnel? just curious

I put about 25% of my spring and summer income towards skydiving. That should give you a perspective as to how some of us spend our money.

Living downtown and spending only 10% of my gross paycheque on shelter (rent for a 2 bedroom), and not owning a car (I use a car sharing service instead), affords the extra disposable income that I use on adventures.

I plan to splurge on 1 full hour at Skyventure New Hampshire when it opens, hopefully before the Canadian 80-way. I want in on that so I need to get my experience levels up by middle of next year.

I can't believe how some people spend 30% of their income on mortgages.

[Andy9o8 2]

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I can't believe how some people spend 30% of their income on mortgages.

Believe it...

[DeepThought 0]

Also remember that is the cost for time in the tunnel.
If you have a 4way in the tunnel, the cost to yourself is 1/4 of that.

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You only have one life, make the most of it.

[artistcalledian 0]

i think its too expensive

________________________________________
drive it like you stole it and f*ck the police

[ladyskydiver 0]

Lots of saving. Lots of deciding what is important to you - tunnel time or name brand __________ (fill in the blank) when generic will suffice. It's what you choose to spend your money on.

I have 5 hours 10 minutes in the tunnel and it's not enough time but it's been worth every single penny. I will gladly get more tunnel time when I can afford it again.

Keep in mind, also, that some of the people that you see having tons of tunnel time (20 hours, 45 hours, etc.) - some are military that have access to a tunnel for work training, some actually work at the tunnel, some trade, some save and go when they can.

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[Eule 0]

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just based on looking at most tunnel sites it seems to be about
10 bucks a minute, or 600 an hour.

That's about what I found when I started pricing it out this summer.

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if you were paying block rates for 45 hours thats over 26000
dollars.

On the other hand, at one dropzone I jump at, a Twin Otter jump ticket
that will get you about 1 minute of freefall is $23. You can get them
for $21 if you buy blocks of tickets early in the year. So, the same 45
hours would cost about $56,700 to $62,100, depending on how you
buy the tickets. You'd also get to pack (or pay for a pack job) 2,700
times, plus pay for at least a couple reserve repacks. (2700 skydives
in 120 days is over 22 jumps a day, every day...)

A not-inconsiderable part of the tunnel time charge goes to pay the
light bill. In a perfect world, a 1 hp motor would draw about 750
watts. In the real world, it'll draw around 830 watts (about 90%
efficient). You'll lose another 10% or so in the electronic speed
control (VFD) for the motor, bringing you up to about 925 watts.

If you've got 2,000 hp of motors running full tilt for an hour, that's
about 1850 kilowatt-hours of energy. At residential rates, a kilowatt-
hour runs from maybe four cents (TVA) to fifteen cents (California).
At ten cents, that's about $185 (about $3 a minute) just to keep the
fans turning. Commercial rates, like a wind tunnel pays, are higher.
The actual bill is probably less, since the motors don't run flat out
all the time. Also, if you walk up to your local power company and
tell them you want to buy several dozen megawatt-hours of power a
month, they will probably be willing to negotiate on the rates. Still,
the tunnel operator gets to toss a pretty good chunk of change at
the power company, before they pay the employees, mortgage, etc.

I don't work for or otherwise get money from any of the tunnels; I
just went through these numbers when I was thinking about the cost
of tunnel time.

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Does anyone actually afford 45 hours of tunnel time by just
spending all their money from a regular job at the tunnel?

There's probably people who have done it. $26K is about $12.50
an hour with a 40 hour (ha ha) week.

Eule

PLF does not stand for Please Land on Face.

[skytash 0]

It's also a matter of the time period it is spent over. If you were to work out how much people will have paid in jump tickets from the jump numbers on here it is scary! But many of them have been in the sport for many years.

I afford my tunnel time by setting aside money for jumping/tunnel every month and spend it on the tunnel in the winter and on jumping in the summer!

tash

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

[Bowen 0]

I have around 40-45 hours of actual training/flight time.

I have a couple hundred hours of instructor time in the tunnel

Retired Tunnel Instructor, Sky/Tunnel Coach

Former dealer for 2k Composites, Skysystems, Alti-2, Wings