What winds become 'too much' for you to fly your canopy in?

[regulator 0]

I went out the the DZ this past weekend to get a refresher course to get current again but on sunday the winds were between 20 to 25 mph steady gusting up to 30 mph. I saw a tandem instructor and student coming in on final and they looked like they were getting blown around a bit. So what winds are too much for you to fly in?

[BDashe 0]

With no ground obstacles stirring up some chop... 5 mph more than with em!!!

So there I was...

Making friends and playing nice since 1983

[madhatter 0]

I've jumped a Sabre 170, wearing a weight vest to load it at 1.45, and still landed while travelling backwards. I have no idea what the wind speed was, but I've called off show jumps for less.

The only reason was we had the opportunity to jump at an airforce test base and NOTHING was going to stop me from jumping.

It was fun, but I'm not saying I'm in a hurry to repeat that jump

A VERY MERRY UNBIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!
D.S # 125

[shropshire 0]

I don't like gusts.... they can hurt a body.

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

[skybytch 259]

I put myself on wind hold when the students go on wind hold or when it appears from watching others land that it's getting bumpy up there.

I skydive for fun. Neither bouncing around under canopy or coming straight down (or close to straight down) on final fit my definition of fun.

[skydveraz 0]

Just so it is under Hurricane force winds! And don't land down wind!!!

Arizona only has two seasons, Hot and HOTTER!

[CSpenceFLY 1]

Depends on if I'm getting paid or not. If not,it's when the wind makes flying the canopy no fun.

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

Recent relevant thread:

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3495951;search_string=wind%20gust%20;#3495951

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[firstime 0]

when the people with 1000's of jumps take their jump suits off.

[aresye 0]

If I overhear experienced jumpers stating they dislike the winds, then I ground myself. If it's a slow day because of higher winds, I probably won't jump. I've had my share of downwind landings, and I care not to repeat ANY of them with higher winds.

My personal rule. If I think landing crosswind, or downwind is too scary, or dangerous, then I won't take that risk.

Skydiving: You either learn from other's mistakes, or they'll learn from yours.

[diablopilot 2]

Depends on what I'm doing. On the average, much more than 15 to 18 and I'll call if for fun jumping, unless I'm doing something specific like organized big ways, CRW, etc.

As for work jumps (Tandem/Video) that tops out at between 25 and 26 MPH (or when AWOS reports better than 22 knots) and no more than a 8 knot gust factor.

----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[dragon2 0]

For me it's not so much the wind as the turbulence. The one time I landed backwards with a WL of 1.7 was waaay to much wind though

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[bfilarsky 0]

It depends on the gust factor and turbulence factor substantially. 10 knots may do it in gusty/turbulent wind - if its really smooth, I dunno. I suppose when the more experienced jumpers stop jumping!

[Tuna-Salad 0]

If I see people getting knocked around pretty good that is enough for me to pull myself from a load regardless of wind speed.

Millions of my potential children died on your daughters' face last night.

[mdrejhon 8]

Perris, I'd stop jumping when I see dust devils or everyone grounded -- sometimes that's as little as 15mph or a tad less.

I still fly 150's and 170's, so I do have the risk of backwards landings at the high end of winds that other experienceds jump in. Fortunately I have stood up all of them so far. So at a good big farmland dropzone with lots of soft outs, that I am familiar landing at, I'll probably jump reliably-steady approx 20-25mph winds if everyone else was jumping, and winds steady and not gusting, also based on my history of reliably standing up those winds. Situatiosn where it's farmland, few obstacles, no turbulence, easy to land backwards in the peas. I've landed my Sabre 170 occasionally that way. Even landed a Manta 288 flying backwards twice - standing up.

Now, I *have* flown through a dust devil before (at 1800feet at Perris - I opened right *above* the top of it!), canopy near collapse, recovered at 1700feet, and I am scared of that stuff now. If the winds are gusty or inconsistent, that bothers me far more than the wind's speed. Different dropzones have very different safety levels -- some dropzones that feel very safe at ~20mph while other dropzones are more challenging at 10mph. So I really pay attention to the consistency of winds and whether others are grounding themselves.

[Peej 0]

Quote

Depends on if I'm getting paid or not. If not,it's when the wind makes flying the canopy no fun.

That would be my answer too.

Advertisio Rodriguez / Sky

[quade 3]

Quote

Perris, I'd stop jumping when I see dust devils or everyone grounded -- sometimes that's as little as 15mph or a tad less.

If you stop jumping every time you see a dust devil at Perris, you're not going to be doing much jumping from say, March to November.

The trick isn't usually to stop jumping altogether (unless dust devil conditions are outrageously bad), but learn what to look for and how to identify them early so you can avoid them. There's no law that says you have to land where they are and there's typically a lot of other places you can land that are just fine. The main grass landing area being pretty much the worse area to land since they can become invisible there. It's not the dust devil you see and can avoid that is as much of a worry as the ones you can't see at all.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Chubba 0]

I will jump in 20 knot winds providing it's steady.

Anything above 20, I stay on the ground.

If it's close to 20, but gusty and turbulent, I stay on the ground.

[pirana 0]

Nice straight line breezes, 25 is my limit.

Add in turbulence and that number falls; usually to whatever the veterans will tolerate.

" . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

[tumbler 0]

Like others have said I have no hard and fast limit. Depends on gusts and roughness. One thing I do follow is I am way more conservative on working jumps, taking the tandems, than when I am on my own gear. Perhaps when I have more than 115 tandems I will be willing to take a little more wind risk, but for now that is not the case.

[justme12001 0]

if the plane is flying then I am jumping! Although at my home DZ they usually shut it down between 20 and 25. I have(but dont like) landed a cobalt loaded at 1.85 coming straight down

[markovwgti 0]

no fun when you really cant get any forward penetration trying to swoop!!

[Thanatos340 1]

Depends on the DZ, How Gusty the Winds are, Which Direction the winds are coming from, How "Open" the LZ is.

Generally if the students are sitting down, So am I. In a HUGE wide open Landing area without Obstacles that help create turbulence I will jump in slightly higher winds if they are fairly steady.

At My Home DZ, I am Much more likely to sit out if the winds are out of the South. Lots of trees on the south side of the landing area that can make it real bumpy under 100 feet on final. If the winds are out of any other direction, It is not so bad.

General Rule of thumb.. If others with a lot more Jumps than you are sitting down because of the winds, Join them.

[heavydude 0]

I vote for 15 as allot of its based on experience, with my low jump nos I aint taking chances although it seems as my best landings are in higher consistent winds. No winds give you the high forward speed that screw me up more often, but I am good at PLFs. Type of winds make even more difference, East wind days in CA are always weird to me, they are also gusty, etc. Last Sunday in San Diego was blown out as jump plane didnt even run as an example. Summer days at Perris can be intimidating as well with dust devils rollong through. I fly gliders and planes also and have been always very conservative/chicken about flying in bad weather. TIs in CA all usually have 10K+ jumps so they seem to be capable of flying in anything.

[jdfreefly 1]

I'll jump during a student or A license hold, but will usually sit out if they raise it to a B(or B-jump number equivalent).

I will then sit on the ground drink my beer and tell the dudes with 300 Jumps, "You guys are lucky, there's a 1000 jump maximum hold in effect, so I'm grounded!"

Methane Freefly - got stink?