jaime aka: sidekick

[abadssr]

Was looking at the newspaper hard at work this morning low and behold an artical about jaimie's latest business adventure . If you go to san jose mercury news web page go to the news header then go to skydive simulator. This is what Jaime and his partner have been up to in California. Way to go Jaime get well and I'll take the jump .. for those who want to see it in print I'll bring the article with me to kingsburgh

abadssr-marc

[WOW_FCTR]

Article:

---------------

Sky diving for those who prefer to stay in the plane
FORMER HP EXECUTIVE NEARS OPENING OF FREE-FALL SIMULATOR
By Matthew Artz
MediaNews
Article Launched: 04/19/2007 01:36:09 AM PDT



As early as June, visitors to Union City can experience sky diving without ever packing a parachute, pulling a rip cord or jumping out of a plane.

Northern California's first sky-diving simulator is taking shape along Alvarado-Niles Road, between the Unocal 76 gas station and Lowe's Home Improvement.

What now looks like an 80-foot-tall sideways "E" soon will be a fully enclosed $6.5 million wind tunnel powered by four 250-horsepower electric fans. The machinery is capable of whipping gusts up to 150 mph - strong enough to suspend most NFL linebackers in flight.

A ticket for a one-hour beginner session, which includes two one-minute simulations inside the tunnel, will cost about $50, said Kent Sessions, who is building the simulator under the banner of SkyVentures Silicon Valley. The rest of the time is spent putting on safety gear, training for the simulation and waiting for one's turn.

Patrons jump and fall until the wind suspends them a few feet above a safety net, Sessions said, which is why children as young as 3 are allowed to participate.

Sessions estimates hundreds of people a day will "sky dive" in Union City. No more than four customers are allowed inside the 12-foot-wide wind tunnel at one time; beginners must fly solo. At optimum capacity, according to a city report, the tunnel could serve about 24 patrons in an hour.

Sessions, a former Hewlett-Packard executive, said he bought the territorial rights to open a SkyVentures in the Bay Area after taking his sons to the one in Orlando. SkyVentures has franchises around the world.
His financial backers include several high-tech companies, and Sessions said he expects the Union City locale to cater to an eclectic group from corporations to kids to sky-diving teams.

Union City, which will receive 3 percent of the tunnel's gross ticket sales, approved the project in December 2004.

Sessions said seismic conditions have slowed construction, but that he intends to get it running before summer.


http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_5...nclick_check=1

[abadssr]

thanks for posting the article wowfactor

[Gina]

This sounds like a new attraction we have here near Maggie Valley. Its about 5 miles from me. I will have to let Jamie know about this. I wonder if he knows its here. Some of you MV rally attendees may want to try this. Warning, its not cheap. We went and watched them fly last fall. It was so cool looking.

Some links: Be sure and check out the galleries in the 3rd link.

http://www.flythesmokies.com/

http://www.bodyflight.net/aac.html

http://www.verticalwind.com/aac.html

[wildcat66]

Thanks for the info and link Jamie

[ssrgarage]

AND SHARING!!!! Tim

[Focks]

Originally Posted by WOW_FCTR

A ticket for a one-hour beginner session, which includes two one-minute simulations inside the tunnel, will cost about $50,

Not sure if this is a misprint or a misquote by the newspaper, but at that price the second quote could never be right.

At optimum capacity, according to a city report, the tunnel could serve about 24 patrons in an hour.

[WOW_FCTR]

Originally Posted by WOW_FCTR
A ticket for a one-hour beginner session, which includes two one-minute simulations inside the tunnel, will cost about $50,

Focks:
Not sure if this is a misprint or a misquote by the newspaper, but at that price the second quote could never be right.


Quote:
At optimum capacity, according to a city report, the tunnel could serve about 24 patrons in an hour.

1 person @ 2 one minute sessions that would be = 30 people per hour inside the tunnel.
The other 58 minutes for the beginner session may be "class training". Where they tell you "how to fly".

Of course this is just a guess too......

(The place by Gina in Maggie Valley is charging $10 a minute for "fly" time with a minimum of 15 minutes....I think)