Skydiving at Sebastian Municipal Airport

Sebastian is a skydiving center because Sebastian Municipal Airport, the city-owned field coded X26, hosts parachute jumps from sunrise to sunset, 7 days a week, all year (City of Sebastian Flight Procedures).

The pilot notice on the City of Sebastian airport page reads: extensive skydive operations sunrise to sunset, 7 days a week, and skydive operations occur seven days per week on a year-round basis (City of Sebastian). The Federal Aviation Administration record for Sebastian Muni carries matching remarks, EXTSV PRCHT OPNS and AVOID OVERFLYING ARPT DURG PRCHT OPNS, which tell pilots to expect extensive parachute operations and to stay out of the airspace over the field while jumps are under way (FAA airport data for X26).

The city's own history of the field gives the scale. Local flight training greatly increased operations at Sebastian Municipal Airport in the mid to late 1980s, and frequent skydiving activity accounts for a large portion of operations at the airport (City of Sebastian Airport History). The same page describes the airport's role as primarily general aviation, says the airport currently supports and accommodates recreational activity, and states that it hopes to attract additional users in that category.

The setting helps. The City of Sebastian describes a general aviation airport between Vero Beach and Melbourne that serves mainly small personal and corporate aircraft, with two runways, the longest 4,000 feet (City of Sebastian Airport). The FAA record for X26 lists no air traffic control tower, a common traffic advisory frequency of 123.05 MHz and no ATIS, so pilots coordinate among themselves by radio around the jump aircraft (FAA). This page covers the public side of skydiving at Sebastian: the airport, its rules and where the public can watch.

Sebastian Municipal Airport began as Roseland Satellite Field, a Navy flight training station built in 1943, and the city has run it since a federal transfer on January 29, 1959 (City of Sebastian Airport History).

The approximate 1,025-acre airport was built by the United States Navy in 1943, and the military paid approximately $1,300 for the property. The War Assets Administration transferred the field to the City of Sebastian under the Surplus Property Act of 1944 (City of Sebastian).

That deed still governs what happens at Sebastian Municipal Airport. The city explains that the airport must be used without unfair discrimination solely for aviation purposes, and that the property goes back to the United States if the terms are broken (City of Sebastian Airport History). Since 1959 the airport, now 620 acres, has been maintained and operated by the City of Sebastian, and part of the original Navy land became Sebastian Municipal Golf Course in 1981.

The runway layout changed over the decades. The Airport History lists the closing of Runway 13/31 and the reopening of Runway 10/28, and the closing of Runway 18/36 as an active runway, with that pavement converted into a taxiway and apron (City of Sebastian). Runway 10 is now the reference line for the parachute landing area.

Skydivers at Sebastian land in the general parachute landing zone in the northwest quadrant of the airport, north of Runway 10, and pilots are told to stay clear of it during jump hours (City of Sebastian Flight Procedures).

During skydive operations the City of Sebastian asks pilots to exercise caution and monitor Unicom 123.050. The airport is noise sensitive in all quadrants, and the city lists voluntary procedures: air operations 0700 to 2100 daily, touch and go practice Monday through Saturday 0900 to 1700, no Sunday touch and goes, no intersection takeoffs, and a best rate of climb to at least 1,000 feet above ground (City of Sebastian).

The runway, frequency and weather rows come from the FAA airport data for X26 Sebastian Muni, which lists CTAF 123.05 MHz and no ATIS. The FAA record also notes that identification is required for airport access and that noise abatement procedures are in effect at Sebastian.

The public can watch Sebastian skydiving from the airport viewing park in front of the Airport Administration Building, at 202 Airport Drive E, which the city says offers an excellent view, especially on weekends (City of Sebastian Airport General Information).

The City of Sebastian describes the viewing park as being on the front right on driving in, with a picnic table in a fenced area next to the airplane ramp. All are welcome to use this part of the Sebastian park system (City of Sebastian). The airport reception desk is at 772-228-7001 (City of Sebastian).

Beyond the viewing park, access to the Sebastian airfield is controlled. ID badges are required for all personnel needing regular access to the airport property, all personal vehicles must display an airport access sticker available from the City of Sebastian Police Department, and the city has installed security cameras on all sections of the airport (City of Sebastian Airport General Information).

Two other public spots sit next to the same field. The Sebastian Pickleball Complex at 160 Airport Drive East lies between the golf course and the airport, and the City of Sebastian notes its view of the airplanes and skydivers daily (City of Sebastian Pickleball Complex). Sebastian Municipal Golf Course is itself one of the ten airport tenants (City of Sebastian Airport).

Low-flying aircraft reports in Sebastian go to the Federal Aviation Administration, whose Flight Standards District Office investigates them, because Sebastian Municipal Airport does not control or direct aircraft that fly in and out of the field (City of Sebastian Noise Issues).

The City of Sebastian says it has notified pilots that voluntary noise abatement policies are in place, and its noise page reproduces an Orlando FSDO guide on reporting low-flying aircraft. An FAA Aviation Safety Inspector from the local Flight Standards District Office will attempt to identify the aircraft operator, using flight records and witness sightings (City of Sebastian).

The rule that applies is Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 91.119. Over any congested area of a city, town or settlement, or over an open-air assembly of persons, it requires an altitude of 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet, except when necessary for takeoff or landing (City of Sebastian Noise Issues). Aircraft climbing out of or descending into Sebastian Municipal Airport are in that takeoff and landing exception, which is why the voluntary climb and touch and go procedures matter to the Sebastian neighborhoods around the field.

Sebastian Municipal Airport finished a new Taxiway Golf on the north side of the field in January 2026, after a Runway 5-23 rehabilitation in summer 2024 and three new west side hangars in May 2025 (City of Sebastian Infrastructure Improvements).

Growth is aimed at the same corner as the jumps. The city leasing page says the airport has over 80 acres available for aviation and non-aviation businesses, with terms up to 30 years, and anticipates most growth on the northwest portion of the airport as Taxiway Golf and its apron move into construction (City of Sebastian Leasing Information). That is the quadrant that holds the parachute landing zone, so jump operations and new hangars will share the northwest side of the Sebastian field. The FAA record also showed an active construction notice for X26 on October 14, 2026 (FAA).

Some city airport figures are dated. The economic development page still cites a Florida Department of Transportation report issued in August 2021, which showed Sebastian Municipal Airport with total employment of 281, a payroll of $16.1 million and an economic impact of $54.2 million (City of Sebastian Economic Development). That report is more than five years old, and the city does not break out a share for skydiving.

Contact details also disagree across Sebastian pages. The economic development page lists the Airport Director / City Engineer at 772-228-7056, while the leasing page lists the Airport Director, and the FAA record the airport manager, at 772-228-7013 (City of Sebastian). The city infrastructure page labels the AWOS frequency 118.125 as CTAF/UNICOM, while the FAA lists 118.125 as the AWOS-3PT weather frequency and 123.05 as the CTAF (FAA airport data). The reception desk at 772-228-7001 is the steady first call.

Last verified: October 14, 2026, against the City of Sebastian airport pages and the FAA airport record for X26.