Dolemite

How does the old saying go??? Something like "Its better to keep quiet and make everyone wonder if you are an idiot rather than to open your mouth and prove to them that you are an idiot." I always loved that quote...silence is golden in some instances. -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

Hmmm. I get a lot of crap from people about this, yet...SDU is gone, Sebastian XL is gone...ooooh...ooooh....where did Alchemy go??? Hmmmm. Suspicious to me...Sell....Sell...Sell. Owners on suspension....good stuff. -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

Does anyone know if there is a SDU campus anymore??? It is listed at their site, but from what I know Sebastian management terminated the contract with SDU... -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

Winds of change Sebastian Municipal Airport is being revitalized with a $1.1 million 40-unit T-hangar complex, $613,000 in infrastructure and $400,000 in security upgrades. By Marshall Carter staff writer August 8, 2003 The Sebastian Municipal Airport has received little attention since its construction in 1943. But now the 620-acre facility is in the spotlight. "The airport has been neglected for 50 years," said Jason Milewski, airport manager. The airport will soon be revitalized with a new $1.1 million 40-unit T-hangar complex, $613,000 in infrastructure work and $400,000 in security upgrades. Milewski said the T-hangar construction will start this month, and runway construction will start either in the late fall or early winter. Security upgrades are in progress, he said. Milewski said funding for the changes and upgrades will come from federal and state grants, with a smaller portion of the money coming from airport revenues. Runway changes Part of the city's plan is to close the 13-31 runway, which measures 4,000 feet long and 150 feet wide and runs northwest to southeast, and reopen the 9-27 runway, which measures 3,200 feet long by 75 feet wide and runs east to west. By closing the 13-31 runway, the airport will divert air traffic that normally travels over residential areas and also will open up a 160-acre parcel of land, which was previously obstructed by the 13-31 runway. The airport also has a 4-22 runway, which is 4,000 feet long and 100 feet wide and runs northeast to southwest. The numbers indicate the compass direction of the runway. Milewski hopes the land will attract more businesses to the airport to offset the city's residential growth. "We want to bring in businesses, we want to bring in jobs and we want to bring in tax base," he said. The airport is sandwiched between Main Street and Roseland Road and has entrances off each road. Milewski views the plan as a solid effort to bring new businesses to the airport. "As far as having a negative impact, I don't see any," he said. Business impact But some of the airport's business owners at the airport disagree. "Everywhere in the country, airports are trying to expand their runways," said Vic Moreira, general manager of Skydive Sebastian. "Here in Sebastian, we are doing the opposite." Moreira said other airports want to make their runways more favorable to pilots. By closing its largest runway, the Sebastian airport is taking a different turn, he said. But pilots are not the only people who will feel the effects of the change. Sky divers are gearing up for a change in their designated landing area. The drop zone, which is in the north infield of the airport, between the 9-27 and 13-31 runways, will be relocated to a 328-foot radius at the northwest corner of the airfield. For Moreira, the drop zone is not just being relocated; it is being greatly reduced in size. He said the north infield drop zone is about six times larger than the new drop zone. He said 50 to 60 people can sky dive at once when landing in the northern infield, but with the new landing area, only 5 to 10 jumpers can safely dive at one time. As a result, Moreira said he is anticipating huge financial troubles. "It will affect Skydive Sebastian in the way that I would not be surprised if we ended up having to close the business," he said. Skydive Sebastian has one of the smallest landing zones for a world class sky-diving facility, he said. He said sky divers from all over the world travel to the area every year, but he is not expecting their company in the future. "With the changing of the landing zone, people are just not going to come here," he said. Besides the well-kept facilities and closeness to the beach, Sebastian Skydive has another desirable trait. "We have one of the best safety records in the country," he said. Safety concerns But Moreira said safety is going to be a major concern with the new drop zone. With the north infield drop zone, sky divers enjoy a safe landing area. He said even when sky divers get blown off course, they can still land in the airport's south infield as a last resort. But the new location provides little room for error, he said. "On the new location, sky divers will be free-falling over the Roseland residential area, and in proximity to power lines, Roseland Road and the houses, especially Rivers Edge," he said. Also, with the smaller landing zone, sky divers will be forced to jump closer together, he said. "That is the reason why people are not going to come to Skydive Sebastian," he said. But Milewski sees things differently. He said the new area is about the same size as the previous landing zone and still meets the size recommended by the U.S. Parachuting Association. He said the new landing zone would actually be farther from power lines and buildings compared to the current drop zone. As the airport develops, additional land will be cleared and the new drop zone area will be more open than it is now, he said. But in order to open up land to attract new businesses, the landing zone must be changed. "It does have to be moved in order to best substantiate the development of the airport," he said. As for Skydive Sebastian, Milewski said they have known about the relocation plan for years. "The plan to relocate this drop zone is not a new one, this has been in the works since 1993," he said. "This isn't something that we just sprung on them all of the sudden." Although he has not given Skydive Sebastian a drop zone relocation date yet, Milewski said the business would be given a 12-month notice. He said sky divers would not be expected to use the new drop zone until the first business moves into the north infield. Other issues Other than the major difference in size between the two runways, another issue arises from the change. Scott Baker, vice president of Velocity Inc., a kit aircraft manufacturing company also at the Sebastian airport, said the 13-31 runway is more than just a bigger runway. "It offers more relief to crosswinds," he said. Baker said the nose of the aircraft needs to be pointed into the wind as much as possible during landing. With the 9-27 runway, at certain times the wind could blow against the side of the aircraft, forcing the pilot to overcompensate for the wind direction during landing. Moreira shares Baker's concern. He said the prevailing winds in Sebastian are out of the southeast and northeast. "That is why the Navy built this airport with a longer runway favoring the southeast and the northeast positions," he said. Changing the current runway could bring problems, Moreira said. "Some aircraft might not be able to land in certain weather conditions," he said. Milewski had one thing to say about those concerned with the crosswind factor. "They're misinformed," he said. He said weather conditions on the 13-31 runway are favorable to pilots 97.9 percent of the time. The 9-27 runway provides favorable conditions 97.4 percent of the time. "That's so negligible that's not even a point," he said. He said if the crosswinds were a problem, the Federal Aviation Administration would force changes to the development plan. "If anything, our current configuration is less common than what we'll be going to," he said. Milewski said airports all along the coast, such as those in Vero Beach and Melbourne, use the same 9-27 and 4-22 runway positions. He said although the 13-31 runway will be replaced with a much smaller runway, the airport will still use the 4-22 runway. He expects the smaller 9-27 runway and the 4-22 runway to be used equally. "The only traffic we would be losing is jet traffic," he said. "Most residents don't want that anyway." - [email protected] -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

So Sebastian XL isnt returning to Sebastian next year. I would imagine that they are going to Deland??? Anyone know anything about this??? -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

kill. kill. kill. kill...fucka... -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

I hate myself...what am I goiiinng to do. -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

Skydive U has an advanced body flight program... -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

"Does this rig make my ass look fat?" -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

Rehab is for quitters... -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

Are you suggesting that skyslut is intentionally misinforming and possibly endangering his students??? Thats kinda aggressive coming from someone who doesnt hold ratings. Just my opinion. I agree that not all instructors know everything, but just an observation. I double wrap the locking stows with large rubber bands as well...its a myth about that you cant double wrap your locking stows, unless you are using tube stoes. I wouldnt double wrap small rubber bands, but large ones are fine. I have sat in on at least 2 seminars with scott miller and 1 with jon leblanc, both of which mentioned that you can double wrap the locking stows with large rubber bands for most sport canopies, unless you have special lines...dacron or other larger lines. -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

Either way, you gotta root for YOUR home team! -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

I agree. Someone once told me that my skills wouldnt improve while I was doing a 4 way team. He said that real skill comes from big ways. 20+ stuff. Big ways are for fun, I have been on several 100+ and never been cut. Most places you cant get on a ripping big way. Most of the time you are sitting there waiting for some zoomie or deadspider to get into his/her slot. Not my idea of a good time or getting quality jumps for my money. If you want to work on skills get some ripping small stuff going on. There are some skills that are needed as Zoltan described, but sitting there looking at assholes and elbows for 60 seconds is maybe something I will do once a year so I can get a new picture on my wall of some record. Otherwise I dont partake too much in "fossil formations". -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

I wish that I could get in on some of that Casino money. I dont buy into the thought that "people cant better their situation" crap. If you dont like were you live or how little your job pays you or your people screwed my people hundreds of years ago...get your ass off the floor, get a better job, move somewhere else and do something about it. If people spent 1/2 as much time changing the stuff that they dont like as they do bitching about it...more would get done and people would be happier. We create our own destiny. Go out and find yours. -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

-Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

I must admit that this is again, one of the MOST entertaining threads I have ever read. Second, of course to his previous on in General Discussions. Is this guy for real???? I feel really bad for his AFF instructors this weekend, almost half inclined to call up Eloy and give them a heads up. As an AFF instructor, I would seriously consider wether I would teach this person. I think that he may be a full on danger to himself and others...nevermind he would be a major pain in the ass to teach. -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

Yep, read it. With my velocity...I only use 1 inch linestows. double stowed, large rubber bands. That is for different reasons other than hard openings. I would not recommend that for a sabre however. certain canopies can perform differently under different instances. I would go with what PD recommends on this one. -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

First thing, ANY canopy can whack you...poop happens. But for the most part, people that jump sabres are beginner jumpers, most of them arent aware of gear, canopies, etc. Therefore...more hard openings happen from shitty packing and gear knowledge. It could be rubber bands, short line stows, a number of things...all in all, crappy set up with little knowledge of how their gear works. -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

Oddly enough, I actually agree with Driver here. Any plane owner that cant afford to run his/her business has got to raise some eyebrows on where they are putting their money and how the a/c is maintained . I dont know paul, so nothing personal, but that is a legitimate reason to ask some valid questions... -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

logging a briefing??? kinda odd, I guess. Its like logging tunnel time. Whats the point??? -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

Sebastian, Deland, CrossKeys, Ranch, Dallas...thats it. Perris is gone...Politics. -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

Gotta check out that show...sounds quite entertaining...better than Gwar, assuming from that story. Although, Gwar is a pretty tough act to beat!!!

Glorified bus drivers!!!! -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

I think that we need a bigger sandbox to play in... -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"

Why not have the manufacturer pay for it??? -Dolemite "Officially disapproved by the man"