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GQ_jumper

Any news on the Raeford tunnel?

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The existing Bragg tunnel is capable of speeds around 150mph and has a motor somewhere around 3000HP - at 14ft in Diameter -
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the bragg tunnel was designed to get even the most barrel chested Green Beret;) with full combat load off the net. I wonder if the extra horsepower has something to do with the design of the tunnel though, ie the dead space around the column of air, i wonder if that affects the need for power in any way.

History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.
--Dwight D. Eisenhower

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Hoke board OKs skydiving tunnel


Jennifer Calhoun
Staff writer

RAEFORD — Hoke County will soon be home to the world’s largest wind tunnel, a recreational and training facility for skydiving.

The county’s Board of Commissioners on Monday voted 3-0 to approve a conditional-use permit for the multimillion dollar facility.

Tim D’Annunzio, former owner of Paraclete Armor and Equipment, will build the wind tunnel on 58 acres at Brock and Fayetteville roads.

Commissioners Jean Powell and Tony Hunt recused themselves from the vote. Powell and Hunt visited a similar facility in Lone Tree, Colo., at D’Annunzio’s expense. County Manager Mike Wood, County Planner Heather Brown and two local reporters took the trip as well.

D’Annunzio initially requested approval for the wind tunnel during a Dec. 4 board meeting but withdrew the request in frustration when 13 residents from nearby subdivisions protested.

Residents said they feared the facility would be loud and would create traffic problems.

D’Annunzio countered their concerns Monday night by showing a video of himself at the Colorado facility, where he took decibel readings inside and outside of the wind tunnel.

In D’Annunzio’s video, readings inside the facility were at decibels of 79 to 83. Outside the facility, readings ranged from 66 to about 77.

According to a decibel chart provided by Brown, a measurement of 60 decibels is similar to conversational speech; a measurement of 70 decibels is equivalent to the sound of a car passing; and a reading of 80 decibels is equivalent to loud music or a vacuum cleaner.

D’Annunzio said the readings were higher when he spoke and when an airplane flew overhead.

Brown and Wood also recorded decibel readings at the Colorado facility and got decibel readings in the upper 60’s and 70’s.

Four people protested at Monday’s meeting. One protester said D’Annunzio’s video was impressive, but he worried the facility would create an undesirable humming noise in the area.

Brown said a transportation-impact analysis showed the tunnel will have no negative impact on traffic patterns.

Brown said the planning board approved the proposal because it would be built in an area that is zoned for commercial use and because the board did not believe it would cause noise and traffic problems.

Don Porter, executive director of Raeford/Hoke Economic Development, spoke in favor of the facility. He said it would bring tourism and jobs to the county.

Commissioner Ellen McNeill voted in favor of the permit because she felt the tunnel would be good for the county.

“I’m for progress,” she said.

Staff writer Jennifer Calhoun can be reached at [email protected] or 486-3595.

http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=252659

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