PERRIS -- Wind Tunnel -- Press Clips

[quade 4]

http://www.pe.com/localnews/morenovalley/stories/PE_NEWS_nmjump28.edb1.html

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Airport set to bring skydiving indoors
PERRIS: The $2.5 million wind-tunnel simulator could be open for business by September.

03/28/2003

By GUY McCARTHY
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE


PERRIS - Imagine free-falling at speeds up to 150 mph without a parachute -- and without the potential risks of skydiving.

Such an experience may be available at Perris Valley Airport by the end of this summer.

The airport owners, Ben and Diane Conatser, whose son and daughter operate Perris Valley Skydiving, plan to build a $2.5 million free-fall simulator in a 94-foot-high wind tunnel that will open for business in September. Powered by five 200-horsepower fans, the proposed SkyVenture simulator is modeled after a similar facility in Orlando, Fla.

The fans will generate a column of air strong enough to support up to 10 skydivers at a time, developers said. A 30-minute session, including two minutes in the wind tunnel, will cost about $50.

"We're excited about bringing this attraction to the Perris area," said Melanie Conatser, co-owner of Perris Valley Skydiving. "We're already one of the top three drop zones in the U.S. and the world. This simulator will attract experienced skydivers for training, as well as first-timers and beginners."

Perris Valley Skydiving logs about 120,000 jumps a year, ranking it with Eloy, Ariz., and DeLand, Fla., as the top three facilities in terms of numbers of jumps, Conatser added.

City officials already appreciate the business skydiving visitors bring to the Perris area. They are also enthusiastic about the proposed simulator, which they hope will bring more visitors, said Olivia Gutierrez, Perris' community development director.

"It's good for the city because it gives the airport an even bigger draw," Gutierrez said. "The people who come here to skydive and use the simulator will come to our restaurants and hotels and stores, too. They spend their dollars here, and that's good for the city's sales tax revenue."

Last year, the Perris Planning Commission identified the simulator's height and noise as possible concerns. The Orlando simulator makes almost as much noise as a passing train, but 500 feet from the structure the noise decreases to the level of a noisy office, according to an acoustic study cited in a city staff report.

The simulator is proposed to be available for operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week, because experienced skydivers will want to practice after daylight hours, the Conatsers said. Other industries in the area also operate on 24-hour schedules, city staff said.

The Orlando facility, which is near hotels and other structures, has operated on a similar schedule for the past 10 years.

On Wednesday, the Planning Commission voted 6 to 0 to amend an ordinance to increase the allowable height of structures in the airport area, and to approve a conditional-use permit for the simulator facility's construction.

A Lake Elsinore group has proposed building a similar skydiving simulator. But the developers have not approached city officials with a schedule or plans, and they have not requested any permits, said Lake Elsinore spokesman Mark Dennis.

Reach Guy McCarthy at (909) 567-2408 or gmccarthy@pe.com

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Ron 10]

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The fans will generate a column of air strong enough to support up to 10 skydivers at a time

OK how big is this supposed to be?

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The Orlando facility, which is near hotels and other structures, has operated on a similar schedule for the past
10 years.

10 years??? I don't think so.

I hate the news...

ron

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[skybytch 273]

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On Wednesday, the Planning Commission voted 6 to 0 to amend an ordinance to increase the allowable height of structures in the airport area, and to approve a conditional-use permit for the simulator facility's construction.

*doing a crazy little dance of joy in the middle of the office*

The tunnel is coming! The tunnel is coming! Whooo Hooo, the Tunnel is Coming!

[quade 4]

I'm almost certain that the reporter had a couple of facts confused. He -probably- meant to say that the whuffo sessions will have up to 10 people in them -- some flying while others watching.

Unless a person has experienced a wind tunnel, describing the operations of it to them and actually having them understand it is going to be very difficult.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[dreamsville 0]

I agree.

Another point:

"and without the potential risks of skydiving. " That's true, and no, I haven't been to the tunnel yet, but I hear it's also possible to slam into the sides at a pretty good rate if your body position isn't right. So I guess you still have to be a bit careful anyway.
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I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane.

Harry, FB #4143

[Ron 10]

I can give ya that....

Now what about 10 years?

Ron

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[skymama 37]

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Now what about 10 years?

That's how far in advance you have to reserve your time slot since it's so popular.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[billvon 3,116]

Although I'd be suprised if it's operating even within a year . . . wind tunnels aren't a cinch to build (yet.)

BTW party for the groundbreaking May 3rd! Be there or . . . be somewhere else.

[skybytch 273]

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BTW party for the groundbreaking May 3rd! Be there or . . .

I'll be there! That's the start of my birthday weekend!

*explanation* I love Perris. They have a $150 all you can jump boogie every year for my birthday. Sure, they call it the Cinco de Mayo boogie but it's really my weekend long birthday party.