Short of Breath

[shibu 1]

Last year my home DZ had a boogie with a Caribou rear exit plane (like this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgvDEdaqq08 ).

I had always wanted to jump out of a rear exit so I did ~4 times. Everything went fine but on the climb up I felt a little short of breath. Not enough to make me feel tired or like it was unsafe for me to jump but still short of breath.

Between those Caribou jumps, I also jumped from a Caravan (which I am used to jumping from) & I felt fine.

Was I nervous? I've never been short of breath when I was nervous before.
Is this common on larger planes with rear exits?

[Hermes70 0]

Yes. Because of the tailgate opening, the air in the cabin is sucked out the back end, creating a low-pressure area in the cabin. So it's the equivalent of being at a high altitude where there's less oxygen. And that leads some people to feel short of breath and to pant like a dog. Most people compensate by absorbing oxygen through their skin, like fish with gills. You might be one of the people who didn't inherit the fish gene, and so you feel it worst than most.

[airtwardo 7]

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Yes. Because of the tailgate opening, the air in the cabin is sucked out the back end, creating a low-pressure area in the cabin. So it's the equivalent of being at a high altitude where there's less oxygen. And that leads some people to feel short of breath and to pant like a dog. Most people compensate by absorbing oxygen through their skin, like fish with gills. You might be one of the people who didn't inherit the fish gene, and so you feel it worst than most.

Very few people don't carry the gill gene, natural selection weeded out the mouth breathers long ago.

Might be too much Spandex in the jumpsuit...Laboratory tests show the oxygen doesn't get absorbed through the skin as efficiently when wearing Spandex.

Jumping rear exit aircraft requires cotton fabric jumpsuits or better yet totally naked for those not use to doing it.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[theplummeter 15]

There's a lot of science happening here today.

[Remster 30]

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Jumping rear exit aircraft requires cotton fabric jumpsuits

I went with a poly-cotton blend. The synthetic fibers don't absorb water as much as cotton, making it possible to skin-breathe even if you inadvertently bust a cloud. Safety 1st. Cloud induced hypoxia has claimed too many lives already.

Remster

[airtwardo 7]

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Jumping rear exit aircraft requires cotton fabric jumpsuits

I went with a poly-cotton blend. The synthetic fibers don't absorb water as much as cotton, making it possible to skin-breathe even if you inadvertently bust a cloud. Safety 1st. Cloud induced hypoxia has claimed too many lives already.

As you well know that's the exact reason you are NOT supposed to be jumping through clouds anyway.

That restriction was put in place long ago when the jumpsuits were much heavier material and ground sweat wouldn't evaporate much at the lower free-fall speeds...busting a cloud totally blocked off all oxy-skin ability to breath.

It has been held over because of the old guys still jumping that gear, which never wears out...AND because of the OSHA test with Spandex.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[Remster 30]

You dino's are just trying to keep us down. Cloud busting is perfectly safe at the faster freefall speed we now do, and with proper gear.

Remster

[airtwardo 7]

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You dino's are just trying to keep us down. Cloud busting is perfectly safe at the faster freefall speed we now do, and with proper gear.

Yeah right n00b...I'm NOT getting into the whole Boots vs. Tevas - gloves/no gloves debate with you AGAIN!

Perfectly safe to wear a Pioneer double zipper 100% heavy cotton jumpsuit as long as your goggles are properly vented...at ANY freefall speed!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[dthames 0]

That is all rather surprising to me (the skin stuff). I spend a lot of time while I was growing up, practicing holding my breath. Maybe it was also part genetic but I got to where I could hold my breath much longer than the average person. Mostly by practice. The ambient temperature, person’s excitement level, and activity level all contribute to how much oxygen is used by the body. I don’t think the skin absorption is as much of a factor as some think it is.

To blow gently while exhaling will cause an increase in the oxygen you absorb out of the air. That might help.

Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

[airtwardo 7]

To blow gently while exhaling will cause an increase in the oxygen you absorb out of the air.

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With enough practice one CAN learn to breathe through their ears...at least that what my wife keeps tellin' me.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[Remster 30]

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That is all rather surprising to me (the skin stuff)

You're not the 1st one to be taken aback by it.

Remster

[Divalent 135]

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... Might be too much Spandex in the jumpsuit...Laboratory tests show the oxygen doesn't get absorbed through the skin as efficiently when wearing Spandex. ...

Maybe true for the first versions in the pre-Goldfinger era, but modern Spandex jumpsuits have that small rectangular opening right about in the small of your back that allows you to breath; just a little bit is all you need. (Just don't make the fatal mistake of wearing a Spandex undergarmet that covers this area; remember that chick?)

[shibu 1]

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Yes. Because of the tailgate opening, the air in the cabin is sucked out the back end, creating a low-pressure area in the cabin. So it's the equivalent of being at a high altitude where there's less oxygen. And that leads some people to feel short of breath and to pant like a dog. Most people compensate by absorbing oxygen through their skin, like fish with gills. You might be one of the people who didn't inherit the fish gene, and so you feel it worst than most.

Thanks. I've been wondering about this for a while.

[shibu 1]

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Yes. Because of the tailgate opening, the air in the cabin is sucked out the back end, creating a low-pressure area in the cabin. So it's the equivalent of being at a high altitude where there's less oxygen. And that leads some people to feel short of breath and to pant like a dog. Most people compensate by absorbing oxygen through their skin, like fish with gills. You might be one of the people who didn't inherit the fish gene, and so you feel it worst than most.

Very few people don't carry the gill gene, natural selection weeded out the mouth breathers long ago.

Might be too much Spandex in the jumpsuit...Laboratory tests show the oxygen doesn't get absorbed through the skin as efficiently when wearing Spandex.

Jumping rear exit aircraft requires cotton fabric jumpsuits or better yet totally naked for those not use to doing it.

I'll keep the spandex thing in mind but I was wearing a student jumpsuit at the time. Maybe I'll jump without a suit if it bother me again this year... if we are lucky enough to get another rear exit plane.

[airtwardo 7]

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Yes. Because of the tailgate opening, the air in the cabin is sucked out the back end, creating a low-pressure area in the cabin. So it's the equivalent of being at a high altitude where there's less oxygen. And that leads some people to feel short of breath and to pant like a dog. Most people compensate by absorbing oxygen through their skin, like fish with gills. You might be one of the people who didn't inherit the fish gene, and so you feel it worst than most.

Very few people don't carry the gill gene, natural selection weeded out the mouth breathers long ago.

Might be too much Spandex in the jumpsuit...Laboratory tests show the oxygen doesn't get absorbed through the skin as efficiently when wearing Spandex.

Jumping rear exit aircraft requires cotton fabric jumpsuits or better yet totally naked for those not use to doing it.

I'll keep the spandex thing in mind but I was wearing a student jumpsuit at the time. Maybe I'll jump without a suit if it bother me again this year... if we are lucky enough to get another rear exit plane.

If you soak a student jumpsuit in a bucket of pure prop wash and hang it out to dry on some flight line with suitable weights attached to the extremities, it will stretch the fabric making it more porous and usable for the rear entry & exit application.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[theonlyski 8]

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If you soak a student jumpsuit in a bucket of pure prop wash and hang it out to dry on some flight line with suitable weights attached to the extremities, it will stretch the fabric making it more porous and usable for the rear entry & exit application.

I don't know why you guys are giving him such a hard time.


OP: Just ask the pilot for the oxygen line that every skyvan has installed. They generally don't pass it out unless you ask.

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[Remster 30]

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If you soak a student jumpsuit in a bucket of pure prop wash and hang it out to dry on some flight line with suitable weights attached to the extremities, it will stretch the fabric making it more porous and usable for the rear entry & exit application.

I don't know why you guys are giving him such a hard time.


OP: Just ask the pilot for the oxygen line that every skyvan has installed. They generally don't pass it out unless you ask.

For fuck's sake! It was a Caribou. They don't have an O2 line. You have to ask manifest for the bag of oxygen before getting in the plane if you want some.

That's what's wrong with DZ.com... Bunch of 500 jump know it all skygods.

Remster

[airtwardo 7]

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If you soak a student jumpsuit in a bucket of pure prop wash and hang it out to dry on some flight line with suitable weights attached to the extremities, it will stretch the fabric making it more porous and usable for the rear entry & exit application.

I don't know why you guys are giving him such a hard time.


OP: Just ask the pilot for the oxygen line that every skyvan has installed. They generally don't pass it out unless you ask.

It was a Caribou not a Skyvan...Doubtful an 02 line would stretch from one aircraft to the other without the in-flight docking apparatus hooked up, and that not only screws up the rate of climb but reverses the jump-run direction.

Hardly worth the trouble if it's just a jumpsuit malfunction. Like I've always said, if they used buttons instead of zippers this would never BE an issue.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[dthames 0]

I don't think I could make it to the weekend without DZ.com. What a pool of.........talent!

Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

[PiLFy 3]

Damnit, Jim. Come on, man?! You know better than this. A little subtlety goes a long way. Had you not been so obvious in screwing w/him. We could've drawn him in & kept it going for a while. Now, it's just gonna make it that much harder to draw him in next time ...

[shibu 1]

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If you soak a student jumpsuit in a bucket of pure prop wash and hang it out to dry on some flight line with suitable weights attached to the extremities, it will stretch the fabric making it more porous and usable for the rear entry & exit application.

I don't know why you guys are giving him such a hard time.


OP: Just ask the pilot for the oxygen line that every skyvan has installed. They generally don't pass it out unless you ask.

Thanks. I appreciate it.

[Nutz 0]

By the way, its safety 3rd.

"Don't! Get! Eliminated!"