Sebastian or Zhills for Christmas/New years.

[roostnureye 2]

lyosha

***I'm here at Sebastian now and have been for a week or so. Yes, they now ask that wingsuit jumpers have a D licence and deploy by 3,000 ft. I haven't had any problems though; the staff are their usual friendly selves and the vibe is quite relaxed.

Many DZs around the world have a 500 jump minimum so it's not that out of kilter, and no-one should really be deploying at less than 3,000ft without good reason on a normal wingsuit jump anyway.

The main reason I'm not going to Sebastian with my friends is that neither I nor my girlfriend could wingsuit there. Apparently even 200+ WS jumps isn't enough to satisfy the skygods there, while someone with 1 WS jump but 500 jumps total is "safer".

I was told by a friend that someone went in on a WS flight there because he didn't correctly buckle his leg straps causing the over-reaction by the owners. Whether true or not, I see no logical reason why a dropzone that offers AFF would be so draconian with regards to wingsuiting.
that incident was many years ago and had nothing to do with the current ban in place.

Flock University FWC / ZFlock
B.A.S.E. 1580
Aussie BASE 121

[rbignon 0]

The Ban is currently in place because there is nobody to oversee the safety and take responsibility of the wingsuiters at the moment at skydive sebastian.

While alot of what everyone has mention in this thread probably helped the management push toward a d liscense hold, none of it was the last straw. The incident that caused the hold was three winguiters totally ignored landing back on the dz and any sort of flight pattern therefore heading straight to the next town chasing clouds. That is when the ban was actually started.

The reason from my understanding that they decided to go with d license at the moment is because they really dont have someone who take take responsibility for the wingsuits and keep everyone in check.

Little by little things will get worked out and regular jumping will be back to normal. I have been trying since day one to get something resolved and i think we are close to some changes in the upcoming months.

Im sure this year zephyrhills will attract much more wingsuiters over new years but there will be plenty here in sebastian if anyone wants to join us

[dthames 0]

roostnureye

Where are all of the wingsuiters going to be jumping for the holidays?

We did a couple of 16 way dynamic formation jumps to close out the day yesterday (Zhills). Waiting for the fog to clear this morning.

Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

[roostnureye 2]

dthames

***Where are all of the wingsuiters going to be jumping for the holidays?

We did a couple of 16 way dynamic formation jumps to close out the day yesterday (Zhills). Waiting for the fog to clear this morning.
nice man! I was in Sebastian Fri, Sat, Sun. we got quite a few good jumps in.
thanks romain! averaging 6-7 ways mostly docking.

Flock University FWC / ZFlock
B.A.S.E. 1580
Aussie BASE 121

[keithbar 1]

roostnureye

nice man! I was in Sebastian Fri, Sat, Sun. we got quite a few good jumps in.
thanks romain! averaging 6-7 ways mostly docking.

well of course they went well. After all you were all " expert " skydivers

i have on occasion been accused of pulling low . My response. Naw I wasn't low I'm just such a big guy I look closer than I really am .

[Pendragon 1]

Good flying with you Jeremy. After you all left I realised that our sunset beach jump was my 1,500th skydive. Thanks for sharing and making it a good one!

Richard

--
BASE #1182
Muff #3573
PFI #52; UK WSI #13

[roostnureye 2]

Pendragon

Good flying with you Jeremy. After you all left I realised that our sunset beach jump was my 1,500th skydive. Thanks for sharing and making it a good one!

Richard

good flying with you too, and its funny you say that about your jump numbers. that beach jump was my 998!!! headed to zhills now to get that magical number

Flock University FWC / ZFlock
B.A.S.E. 1580
Aussie BASE 121

[maxtreme 0]

Dubai winter festival was pretty cool this year, next one will be awesome.
http://vimeo.com/117200033

[yeyo 1]

Some changes in Sebastian:

Quote

ATTENTION WINGSUIT FLIERS:
In order to jump a Wingsuit you must:
• Have a C-License
• Present a logbook with at least 20 skydives in the last three months
• Maintain a MINIMUM deployment altitude of 3,000 feet
• Demonstrate adequate leading/tracking skills or have proof of Wingsuit schooling
• Receive a briefing from an approved Wingsuit coach
• Share your flight plan with an approved Wingsuit coach who is familiar with Sebastian operations and weather patterns

HISPA #93
DS #419.5

[Bluhdow 31]

Every DZ can make their own rules, but some of these are nonsense.

I have 600 skydives, 300 of which are wingsuit jumps. But only a B license. So I can't WS there?

I get the currency, deployment altitude, briefing...even a "prove your skills" jump with a local. But the license thing is dumb.

By these rules someone with 205 skydives, 5 of which are WS jumps would get to go up while I sit on the ground. Radical!

Apex BASE
#1816

[dthames 0]

Bluhdow

Every DZ can make their own rules, but some of these are nonsense.

I have 600 skydives, 300 of which are wingsuit jumps. But only a B license. So I can't WS there?

I get the currency, deployment altitude, briefing...even a "prove your skills" jump with a local. But the license thing is dumb.

By these rules someone with 205 skydives, 5 of which are WS jumps would get to go up while I sit on the ground. Radical!

1+

Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

[wasatchrider 0]

you have to learn how to play by the rules, bend them or break them.
welcome to skydiving

BASE 1519

[rbignon 0]

If you don't like the rules your more than welcome to skydive at another drop zone. Or open your own dz and make your own dumb rules.

The rules took a lot of work to get back to where they are now.
You should appreciate the work the manager and jumpers put in order to get these rules back down to something reasonable and fair.

And 600 jumps nobody would have told you anything in the first place.

[Bluhdow 31]

Easy there buddy. I'm not trying to get everyone all bunched up here.

Chances are that I'll never even skydive in Florida. I live in CA and all of my travel is dedicated to BASE. Sky tourism just doesn't have as much appeal to me personally.

I was simply trying to point out what I felt was a weakness in your WS criteria. The C license requirement can serve to prevent qualified jumpers from flying there while allowing less-qualified jumpers to cruise right on by.

I think the number of logged WS jumps is a more appropriate measure of experience than a license number (I know these can be faked...but people cheat on tests too). And this is coming from someone who has been asked for feedback on WS criteria at a local DZ. Our solution is to mandate that every jumper first do a non-WS jump to familiarize themselves with the DZ, and the their first WS jump must be with an experienced local to show them the pattern and spotting landmarks.

Happy flying!

Apex BASE
#1816

[roostnureye 2]

Bluhdow

Easy there buddy. I'm not trying to get everyone all bunched up here.

Chances are that I'll never even skydive in Florida. I live in CA and all of my travel is dedicated to BASE. Sky tourism just doesn't have as much appeal to me personally.

I was simply trying to point out what I felt was a weakness in your WS criteria. The C license requirement can serve to prevent qualified jumpers from flying there while allowing less-qualified jumpers to cruise right on by.

I think the number of logged WS jumps is a more appropriate measure of experience than a license number (I know these can be faked...but people cheat on tests too). And this is coming from someone who has been asked for feedback on WS criteria at a local DZ. Our solution is to mandate that every jumper first do a non-WS jump to familiarize themselves with the DZ, and the their first WS jump must be with an experienced local to show them the pattern and spotting landmarks.

Happy flying!

200 jumps is what you need to put on a wingsuit.
200 jumps is also what qualifies you for a C license.
I'm sorry you are too lazy to get your C, but I see no reason to come bitch about your own laziness here. a logbook is a lot easier to fake than a C license.
Romain has been working very hard to keep wingsuiting in Sebastian.
we all travel the world for base trips, sometimes it's nice to be able to get a sky jump in a foreign place.
I don't know any other DZs that have an lz at the local bar on the beach,
it's kind of nice!

Flock University FWC / ZFlock
B.A.S.E. 1580
Aussie BASE 121

[WickedWingsuits 0]

Agree with Jeremy.

Anyone that wants to travel to skydive should have the highest license possible, if you qualify for a C then get a C. You will have far fewer problems turning up at any dropzone without having to call home to get confirmation of your logbook and currency.

Take the test on a weather day and hand over your money, easy.

Summer Rental special, 5 weeks for the price of 4! That is $160 a month.

Try before You Buy with Wicked Wingsuits - WingsuitRental.com

[wasatchrider 0]

true but I think is you are suppose to have 200 jumps just to put on a wingsuit and if you have hundreds of wingsuit jumps you are more qualified so the rules seem to be just to have an arbitrary licence for uspa

I dont care either way I have an C licence and wont be in sabastian any time soon.
I went straight to a C licence just for these reasons what is an a or b really get you but if you want to travel with a wingsuit I figure I would make things easier on myself

BASE 1519

[normiss 721]

Now that's just silly. It's beyond the requirements the USPA sets for wingies.
Maybe Sebastian has had too many issues with inexperienced wingies and are over reacting.

[Bluhdow 31]

normiss

Now that's just silly. It's beyond the requirements the USPA sets for wingies.
Maybe Sebastian has had too many issues with inexperienced wingies and are over reacting.

My point exactly. If they've had trouble with inexperienced wingsuiters, what does the C license requirement solve? None. It's arbitrary and meaningless.

However, they are very sensitive about their perfect rules so I'd like to formally withdraw any criticism I've ever made either directly, through implication, or even just thought quietly to myself about these criteria.

The reality is, any DZ will waive many/most of their rules for the right person (or price).

Apex BASE
#1816

[normiss 721]

If I'm not mistaken, the majority of issues at Sebastian were from things done by VERY experienced wingies.
With a few noob water landings thrown in for fun.

[Bluhdow 31]

That was actually the problem at our DZ too. We implemented all of these rules and protocols to prevent new people from landing off and getting hurt.

At the end of it all, it was the most experienced people who broke rules, landed off, and got hurt. Present company included.

There's no list of rules long enough to prevent shit. Shit just happens.

Apex BASE
#1816