Indoor Skydiving Break-Even Analysis: $154K Monthly Revenue Target

Fixed costs $124.4K/mo Base overhead

Contribution margin 81% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $153.6K/mo Needed monthly

Break-even timing Month 1 Launch month

Break-even calculator

Test monthly revenue against variable expenses and fixed costs for an indoor skydiving facility.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Use total monthly sales from flights, packages, rentals, and add-on income. $ Low traffic Peak traffic Variable expenses Use direct costs that move with sales, like electricity, consumables, ads, and instructor commissions. $ Light spend Heavy spend

Money available to cover fixed costs $707,250 $862,500 revenue - $155,250 variable expenses

Margin ratio

82%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs Use the monthly cost base that break-even must cover, including rent, wages, insurance, and overhead. $ Tight base Large base

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which indoor flight facility expenses are fixed, and which move with sales?

Cost classification

Break-even only works if rent, insurance, and base payroll stay fixed while electricity, consumables, commissions, and marketing flex with bookings. Misclassify one large line, and Month 1 break-even can look safer than cash reality.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Facility Rent Lease	Fixed	Use $40,000 per month in the fixed break-even base.	Treating the lease as flexible when traffic dips.
Insurance Premiums	Fixed	Use $7,500 per month as required operating coverage.	Ignoring coverage needed before guests fly.
Routine Equipment Maintenance	Fixed	Use $15,000 per month to keep tunnel uptime protected.	Waiting until parts fail, then understating downtime risk.
Electricity Wind Tunnel	Variable	Model as 10.0% of first year revenue, then use the forecast rate by year.	Using only general utility rates and missing tunnel power draw.
Flight Consumables	Variable	Model as 1.0% of revenue for gear wear and flight supplies.	Leaving consumables out of gross margin.
Marketing Advertising	Variable	Model as 5.0% of first year revenue, with lower forecast rates in later years.	Cutting demand spend too early and starving bookings.
Instructor Commissions	Variable	Model as 3.0% of revenue, separate from salaried instructor payroll.	Mixing commissions with core payroll and double-counting labor.
Core Salaried Team	Semi-fixed	Use $635,000 in first year payroll, then step up when staffing levels rise.	Hiring ahead of bookings instead of matching staffed capacity.

How does break-even change from a lean launch to full indoor skydiving scale?

Scenario table

Here’s the quick math: lean just covers the fixed load, while base and full cases add real cushion as revenue grows and variable cost stays near 19% to 17%. The catch is still uptime; downtime eats this model fast.

Planning assumptions only; actual results will move with demand, pricing, staffing, and tunnel uptime.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch break-even	$153,600	$29,184	$124,417	81%	$0	Break-even is razor thin, so downtime can flip it to a loss.
Base Year 1 plan	$487,500	$92,625	$124,417	81%	$3,147,000	Year 1 clears break-even with a solid cushion if bookings hit plan.
Full Year 5 scale	$1,204,167	$204,708	$143,167	83%	$10,070,000	At full scale, the cushion is wide, but utilization still has to hold.

What breaks the break-even plan for indoor skydiving?

Stress test

The model still clears break-even, but the cushion depends on keeping bookings high and power costs in check. Low occupancy, higher electricity rates, weak instructor scheduling, maintenance downtime, and discounting are the main ways this can slip.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$153,600	$270,458 cushion	Base case clears break-even with room to spare.
Revenue shortfall	Sales run 20% below plan.	$153,600	$191,483 cushion	Weaker bookings still cover fixed costs, but the cushion shrinks fast.
Fixed-cost increase	Fixed costs rise 10%.	$168,961	$258,016 cushion	Rent, payroll, and upkeep pressure the hurdle, but the plan still clears it.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise to 24% of revenue.	$163,707	$245,583 cushion	Higher power costs or discounting push break-even up, so margin control matters.
Combined pressure	Sales fall 20%, variable expenses reach 24%, and fixed costs rise 10%.	$180,077	$159,541 cushion	All three hits still leave a cushion, but it gets much thinner.

What should the founder verify before signing the lease and ordering the vertical wind tunnel?

Founder checklist

Don’t commit until the site, power, staffing, and launch stack all clear the break-even math. The model can work, but a $15.725M build and a -$12.477M cash trough in Month 9 mean one weak assumption can break the plan fast.

1Site FitCeiling + power

Verify ceiling height, footprint, electric service, parking, traffic flow, and nearby demand before you lock the lease, because the building has to work for the tunnel and the first-year flight forecast.

2Fixed Burn$124.4K/mo

Verify rent, insurance, routine maintenance, utilities, software, cleaning, security, advisory fees, and Month 1 payroll fit inside cash, because Year 1 burn is about $124.4K a month before variable costs.

3Flight Margin81% CM

Verify flight pricing still leaves about 81% contribution after 10% electricity, 1% consumables, 5% marketing, and 3% instructor commissions, because break-even depends on protecting that spread.

4Month 1 Team9.5 FTE

Verify the opening team can cover manager, head instructor, sales lead, customer service, instructors, maintenance, and admin, because 9.5 FTE is the baseline that keeps day-one ops moving.

5Cash Trough-$12.5M

Verify you have enough reserve for the $15.725M capex plan and the Month 9 cash trough, because minimum cash falls to about -$12.477M before the site stabilizes.

6Launch Demand35.1K total

Verify booking, point-of-sale, security, and photo/video sales systems are live before ramp-up, because Year 1 demand assumes 30,000 individual flights, 5,000 group packages, and 100 private rentals.