Under Canopy through Cumulus Clouds

[sgt_ludy 0]

yeeeees, my team and i have made some HAHO jumps with GPS with zero visibility over some pretty alpine regions right through some huuuuge cloud-formations... really awesome. these jumps were the most awe-inspiring and memorable jumps i´ve made so far! sorry, no cam, no pics... just sweet memories...

[mgattini 0]

The shadow you describe is sometimes known as a glory, an optical phenomenon produced by light backscattered, a combination of reflection and refraction.....

[screamingeagle 0]

One of the most beautiful things I have ever seen or experienced in skydiving was the opportunity to fly above a cloud while seeing my shadow on top of the clouds and a glory around it. It was incredible.

It should be noted however, that the shadow of a skydiver can easily be confused with a real skydiver when it is first caught out the corner of your eye.

And while I was in the clouds I was singing George of the Jungle's "Watch out for that tree song" since visibility is severely limited.

I have had to track around clouds a few times, with some success. Falling thorough a cloud definitely adds extra excitement to a jump.

Lastly, goggles can get more than foggy, they can outright end up with water inside. It's hard to see when that happens , even if you are out of the clouds.

Lastly, I rather avoid them in free fall, and if I have had to jump more than once through clouds in a day, I reconsider continuing jumping.

[johng3592 0]

Florida, summertime. Big clouds and cool air make the choice to do a canopy jump from 13k an easy one. Last few summers have been active for this sort of thing over Deland.

[JeanM 0]

Just curious - I'm a newbee. I've haven't flown around or through clouds. Is this not dangerous? Would your canopy react the same as a plane (turbulence) and are you risking the chance of your canopy collapsing?

[shropshire 0]

Depends upon the power of the cloud..... dont be playing with CuNims!!!

Cus are created when water vapour brought up by a thermal condenses (really great for us paraglider pilots, because they show us where lift is). The size (and shape) of the cloud is an indication of the power... If it's taller than it is wide (like Marge SImpsons hair!!) - I stay away and CuNims are extreme Cus!!

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[skyshimas 0]

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The ones you really have to watch for are the Nimbo-Cumulus like the ones at Rantual last year.One plane brought their guys back down ours went anyway We got to see a pretty light show too all around us One guy from Iowa got encores as he got sucked back up a few times. We were all sent to the shower building to wait a catagory 3 or 4 tornado to pass after it already touched down nearby. Nimbos can go with violent up drafts to 40000 or50000 feet. There is a book called "I rode the thunder" all about it

did you say 40000-50000feet? thats amazing and deadly maybe you meant 4000-5000? i wander how fast do you gain so much altitude?

[billvon 2,990]

>did you say 40000-50000feet? thats amazing and deadly maybe you meant 4000-5000?

No, that's 40,000. Some thunderheads have made it to 70,000 feet.

[johng3592 0]

There was a pair of paraglider pilots sucked up in the last year down in NZ, I believe. I think one was killed from hypoxia, one blacked out from hypoxia but recovered on the ride down...

Correct me if you have a better memory/info

[tempretired 0]

On one ride to altitude in a skyvan, I was sitting right seat. It was a summer day with tall/fat clouds. The pilot was climbing around them most of the time; however, at one point, he just went directly into the side of one of the huge towering clouds. Somewhere in the middle, we broke through into an open space and there was what appeared to be a ramp leading up around a corner to the outside. The pilot looked a me and smiled and proceeded to follow the path to the outside of the cloud.

Maybe it was dangerous (especially if an airliner flew through the other side), but it was the coolest ride to altitude ever. It was watching a 3D movie.

[Missingparts 0]

Here are a couple of my favorite pics, I cant think of anything better than standing in the door of the otter with my friends deciding which clouds to chase down.

[shropshire 0]

That 1st photo is fantastic

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[KindredSpirit 0]

We are used to seeing clouds from the ground...back-lit by the sun. When you are above them you can see cool prisms from the sunlight.
I fell through a small cloud once and as I was coming down on it I could see the suns reflection in the form of a round prism. It was my most memorable jump.
A guy I jump with told me he went through a cloud and could see his reflection off the water in front of him!
I'd like to do that.

"Kicking gravity's ass since 2003!"

[dorbie 0]

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There was a pair of paraglider pilots sucked up in the last year down in NZ, I believe. I think one was killed from hypoxia, one blacked out from hypoxia but recovered on the ride down...

Correct me if you have a better memory/info

It was a lightning strike that killed the Chinese pilot who didn't make it. The survivor had frost bite, she has described her hands being encrusted in ice and her harness filled with hail. She has a heck of a story to tell. She was rendered unconscious during her ascent and recovered during a violent descent, her vario recorded the details of her ride.

[northcave 0]

Those windsuit photos are ace.

How many jumps would you expect to do before trying out wingsuits? Obuiously it would vary but just curious.

Tim

[dorbie 0]

I've done that tracking, obviously you don't get the same glide slope but the principal is the same. I've exited over cloud, tracked for a gap, done a back flip as I fall through it and pulled after I exit cloud base, that kind of jump makes it worthwhile IHMO.

Tracking down a cumulus is like flying past a mountain, they are really massive, Even next to them you have no idea because you're falling so fast and you have no reference for scale, you really need to see someone else framed against them at a distance and then it's breathtaking. They really are massive beyond description.

[sparkie 0]

those cumulus clouds are a real treat for gliders too. Make sure you dont wrap around a poor guy's wing ;P, Although these days the gliders often have "bug" wipers on the leading edge of the wing.

I never enter a Cu cloud on purpose...it's turbulent as heck...you cant see poop...been there in glider...wasnt fun..you dont know who's under the cloud when you emerge from it. When I wasnt jumping yet in my early gliding days I strayed into DZ space once lured by a Cu. Scared the shit out of me when I saw a skydiver up close, quickly mea culpa'd and fled the scene.

Thats why i try never to go through the clouds. I mean, if I, in all my wisdom, made a mistake as a gliderpilot, a mere mortal might do the same.

(a mere mortal might have typed this piece w/o the typos also, but that another thing)

[jakee 1,489]

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Those wingsuit photos are ace.

How many jumps would you expect to do before trying out wingsuits? Obviously it would vary but just curious.

Depends what country you are in. Take a look at the FAQ in the wingsuit flying forum. 200 jumps with good currency is considered the baseline experience level.

Wingsuiting around clouds is waaay better than tracking around clouds

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[gravitywhore 0]

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The shadow you describe is sometimes known as a glory, an optical phenomenon produced by light backscattered, a combination of reflection and refraction.....

I found photo of one ... gotta be rare

[jakee 1,489]

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I found photo of one ... gotta be rare

Nah they're pretty common when you're above the clouds. Great photo though.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[parapilot 0]

Eva got sucked up to over 30'000ft, and was very lucky to survive, the chinese man who died his instrument stopped recording at 5900mts, so who knows how high. Official report says he died when struck by lightening at 5900 in the cloud.

Be careful with the big clouds guys, there is no worse feeling that being in a fully locked spiral and going up. Trust me. The cloud will also be sucking air in from all around, So flying away wont be possible sometimes, you be into a big headwind either way.

If you are not sure have a look around, if no other cloud is big, or towering, the one you are above / under is prob ok to, if others are towering and big take care. It can get quite rough in normal cloud to.

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=29&ContentID=21564

Fly safe
Jamie.

[DougH 270]

I hope that I wouldn't allow myself to get into that situation in the first place, but at what time do you cut your loses and cut away?

A paraglider can't cut away, but we have a reserve?

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[parapilot 0]

We also have a round reserve, but if you cut away and don't escape it you are well and truly stuffed then! It has happened and killed skydivers in the past going up under reserve. sure someone on here knows more.

[DougH 270]

I thought your reserve was designed to be used in conjunction with the wing in the event of a collapse or a malfunction?

Either way thanks for the info, but I don't want to cause any further thread drift!

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[shropshire 0]

>

Not 100% correct... I have Quick-outs on my Tandem (see pictures)...Now, I probably wouldn't use them to drop into free-fall and throw my reserve but I'd use them to cleay my glider if I was being blow backwards (Fast) on landing or if it was going to foul my reserve (afterall, it's MASSIVE canopy!!)

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome