Full Face helmet regulations?

[rrobinn 0]

Hey! I have a question about a thing with full face helmets. I started skydiving in Australia when i was there travelling. I am originally from sweden but have not yet jumped back home.

As i read about different regulations in skydiving in Sweden i came over the rules about full face helmets. It is not permitted until you have 200 jumps. (???)

The thing is i bought my own gear in Australia and that includes a full faced helmet. I got around 100 jumps in total and about 60 with the G3 helmet. (because the rules were different in Australia)

Do you think that it still not gonna be ok for me to jump it? Even though i already jumped it several times? :)

I'm asking this because is that case i should really start looking for another helmet soon.

[mathrick 2]

1) Ask your instructors in Sweden
2) I thought it was 100 for fullface?

"Skydivers are highly emotional people. They get all excited about their magical black box full of mysterious life saving forces."

[rrobinn 0]

Yeah ok.
Yep i thought so to but i dont really get why its a regulation about that?
The only difference i experienced was that it didnt blow as much in my face... haha.

[riggerrob 643]

Full-face helmets were scary and unknown when first introduced.
Some early full-faced helmets made it difficult to see cutaway and ripcord handles.

CSPA does not have any BSRs specifically about full-faced helmets.
A while back a freefall student showed up for his fifth jump with a shiny, new, full-faced helmet. Once he proved (on the ground) that he could see and grab emergency handles, we let him jump it. He passed the jump and continued on to make many more.

[councilman24 37]

Full face helmets limit visibility, hearing, talking, other people being able to see your eyes and expressions and sometimes head motion. For those of you growing up with them it may not be a big deal but it can be. It took me 10 years to find one that had the visibility I wanted, and it still really doesn't.

Visibility issues? Can you see your handles, can you turn your head or does your helmet hit your risers, can you see your hook knife(s), can you see chest, mud flap, leg strap rated altimeters and can you see jumpers and canopies around you?

Hearing issues? Can you hear emergency commands in the airplane, exit counts, people under canopy yelling at you because your about to run in to them, the air rushing by (and in your face) to know how fast your going to indicate an issue with your canopy before your see it.

Talking? Can you give effective exit counts, communicate in freefall (yes you can yell and be heard in some situations but also your lips can be read), and can you yell at the guy about to run into you under canopy on a collision alternate base?

Other people see your face? Lip reading from above, facial expressions of horror when you see your buddies canopy coming out on the step or a newbie diver about to hit you from behind, eye motions to show your RW buddies where the next guy docking is?

Advantages? Quieter, less wind blast, face protection (from rain a few weeks ago was good), hear audibles better? (not for me so far).

Most advantages are convenience or comfort. Most disadvantages involve safety. Need to have experience to make an informed decision.

But I'm an old fart and still don't like my Phantom X, not because of any issue with the helmet but some of the issues above. But it did keep the pointing end of the raindrops from hurting.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[radical_flyer 0]

This might help. I don't speak swedish, but it looks like B license for flip-up visors and C license for fixed visors (due to fogging, presumably). Not sure what the license requirements are, you might have to convert to a SFF/SPA B license if the license you currently hold is APF. We have a similar rule in the UK.

[mathrick 2]

I was told it's because of the risk of fogging. It's weird to me too, but then your A is like 10 jumps.

"Skydivers are highly emotional people. They get all excited about their magical black box full of mysterious life saving forces."

[Maddingo 21]

You have different opinions out there. In general there are older skydivers that will say to stick to an open face for safety and then you have younger instructors who say that there is no problem wearing full-face.

I use full-face from the beginning and I had no Issues with FOV, hearing, fogging etc.

Modern helmets are designed by the latest standards and needs of a skydiver. I had a crazy line twist this year, was kicking sweating, breathing like crazy, was 100% the lens will fog up. At the end I only saw drops of water running down on the inside of my visor, that was it. I opened it after I kicked out the problem.

[faulknerwn 38]

A lot will depend on where you are located - more humid places have more issues. I had a friend who was tracking off on a 20 way when his full face completely fogged over. He had to pull blind, and spent a little bit under canopy blind while trying to open his visor. Scary stuff!