Wind limit??

[riggerrob 643]

Even 5 knot gusts can hurt you.

[Stacy 0]

my general rule is that if the gusts are more than 2x the ground speed, it's definitely a no-go. grounds above 22-25 are a no as well. This is at my home DZ... when visiting other places that I am less familiar with I tend to be more conservative.
Stacy
http://astro.temple.edu/~sweeks

[weid14 0]

well, that's OK, Rob won't fly the otter in gusts over 20 anyway. I use the .."upside down leaf" wind indictor. if they're upside down, I don't go

[JDBoston 0]

I wanted to recycle this thread. Last weekend I was at the DZ and the winds were probably 10-12 mph steady, gusting to 15-20 mph. I made one jump, and as I was touching down at full flare got blown back on my ass (0.86 wing loading, Triathlon). Not very dramatically, just enough to knock me off my feet. That was jump #68.

I ended up sitting out the rest of the day, as did some people with more experience than me, while some people with less experience than me were up in the air. I know everyone has their own opinion on what's safe for them, but I'm just curious what the really experienced people on this board think about conditions like that w/my wing loading and experience.

My canopy control is fine - stand up fine pretty much every time (except when I get pulled back on my ass, or the first couple jumps getting used to my canopy), no out landings (1 or 2 beer line violations), and now land within 10m of target center the majority of the time.

I guess what it came down to for me is that wind is basically the 1 variable in the landing sequence you can't control, and if the winds are funky, there's one link in the accident chain right there. So what's the verdict: the right decision, or unnecessarily cautious?

Joe

[fasterfaller 0]

I set my max limit at 30mph but most dz's shut down at 20mph .

[AndyMan 7]

Willingness to jump in high winds seems to decrease with experience. That's my first observation.

Secondly, I really don't mind stronger winds, but what I REALLY hate are gusty winds. I'll jump in 20MPH winds if they're constant and the landing area is unobstructed, but I won't jump if it's 12 gusting to 20. Gusts are just too unpredictable.

It's not the strength of the wind, it's just that they can change so much - you WILL get blown around, just like you did.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[FallinWoman 1]

I posted this last November when I had about 100 jumps....and the interesting thing to me is that my answer has not changed....I now have 275 jumps, close to 200 on this canopy...and I still don't like gusty winds.

Steady up to 25....I just like steady wind!

Anne

~Anne

I'm a Doll!!!!

[steve1 5]

AndyMan,
I think you're right when you say the desire to jump in winds decreases with experience. At a recent jump meet, we had a lot of really gusty wind. One tent took off flying and several others were coming undone. It was next to impossible to pack unless you got behind a big wind break. And then it would calm down for a few minutes and even change direction. Not only that but there was a heavy cloud bank we were falling through for part of almost every jump. The jump plane was still flying, and I don't get to jump often, so I was getting on about every caravan load that I could get on. What I noticed though was the same group of crazy people on almost every load. Sure some of them had 5 to 8 hundred jumps, but the truly experienced jumpers were staying on the ground. One old guy who I've known forever was frowning at me and shaking his head as I geared up. I know now that these jumpers were staying on the ground for a good reason. So next time instead of looking at what the wind and clouds are doing, I'm going to look first at what the more experienced jumpers are doing, and take heed. I may be old, but I never said I was smart. Steve1

[Cajones 0]

I concur. I don't mind strong and steady. Gusty sucks (or blows). "It is better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air, than in the air, wishing you were on the ground.

The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

[ernokaikkonen 0]

Browsing through the thread, a question emerged:

Are there no regulations concerning wind speeds? Looks like a definite "no" in the US, how about the rest of the world?

In Finland:
-students may not jump if the winds are above 7m/s(~16mph)
-licensed jumpers with less than 100 jumps may not jump at over 8m/s(~18mph) winds
-no-one gets to jump if the winds exceed 10m/s(~22mph)

Erno

[BMFin 0]

All the limits in Finland are going to be +1m/s next year.

So:
Students 8m/s
Licence , less than 100 jumps 9m/s
Licence more than 100 jumps 11m/s

But i guess you , Erno , allready knew that ...

[AndyMan 7]

Quote

Are there no regulations concerning wind speeds? Looks like a definite "no" in the US, how about the rest of the world?

In the US, according to USPA BSR's, students can't jump in winds over 14mph, but this regulation can be waivered for individual DZ's on a case by case basis. If this were to happen, a different wind limit would be established.

Licenced jumpers can jump in whatever winds they want, provided they'll find a pilot that'll fly.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[PhillyKev 0]

Great quote from Brian Germaine.

Me: "Man, it's too windy for me today. I only have 100 jumps."

Brian: "Too windy for me too. I only have 3000 jumps."

**don't remember if 3000 is what he said, but something around there.

[Deuce 1]

24 max steady.

Gusts must be below 10 mph over the steady.

Worst case, 15 gusting to 24. Never with a camera, always with gloves.

If the smart skydivers ( I am am moh-ron, remember) are off, I'm off too.