Keeping current in Canada through the winter

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

Hey Everyone,

I was just reading another post about currency and jumping after a 3 month layoff and was contemplating something.

I'm up in Canada, and it gets cold up here, which inevitably means no jumping. We "can" make winter jumps, but the weather and alot of other factors need to co-operate. I just don't want to have to come back and need an instructor to jump with me to make sure I'm going to pull or something.

My question is this:
What can I do to prevent from being uncurrent over the winter months? (This can be upwards of 5-6 months to say the least). I can't afford to go south for the winter, I'd be lucky to get "somewhat" south just to make a jump. I know this has been encountered before, so I'm sure there's an easy answer.

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[wildfan75 1]

Dress warm!

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

Oh you bet your ass we know how to dress warm, but it can get cold enough that the plane won't start, let alone fly.

I've been in -54(celsius) and exposed skin freezes in seconds with no windchill. It's painful to open your eyes in weather like that, the liquid in your eye begins to crystalize if you don't blink every couple seconds. No word of a lie. I could only imagine what a 120MPH windchill would do.


EDIT:
You're in Minnesota, so you have a good idea as well, but as far as Cessnas go, Unless they have deicing in the wings, it won't fly.

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[wildfan75 1]

I'm in MN, one of my favorite things to do in the winter when it's cold enough is take a glass of water, go outside, chuck it in the air and watch the water crystalize before it hits the ground. It's very cool.

I, too, am not looking forward to jumping in the winter, but where there is a will, there is a way...

[Lindercles 0]

Get your C license. That will buy you six months of currency.

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

now THAT I didn't know! Thanks!

Not gonna happen this year but maybe next

Does and A or B get any more than 30-90 days?

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

I've probably done that at some point, but damn. That's one of your favourite things to do? Thank god you got into skydiving.....Haha

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[Lindercles 0]

SIM Section 5-2D

[NWFlyer 2]

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now THAT I didn't know! Thanks!

Not gonna happen this year but maybe next

Does and A or B get any more than 30-90 days?

Note that he's referring to USPA regs - not sure if CSPA are the same.

My thoughts on currency are this - there's the official need for a recurrency jump, then there's your own comfort level. Your own comfort level may be shorter or longer than the official one. If it's longer, well, you may or may not have a choice in whether you do a recurrency jump (some DZs might be more flexible around that than others). If your personal comfort zone is shorter than the official one, then you may find yourself wanting to do some sort of recurrency jump, even if it's just making sure that your first jump back is a two-way with someone really experienced and you pull a little high.

That's just me, though. My personal currency threshold is quite strict - I don't like going more than a couple of weeks without a jump and I don't think I've ever gone longer than six weeks. That means some cold hop & pops in the winter sometimes, but at least it gets my knees in the breeze.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[Lindercles 0]

I figured their skydiving regs would be America Jr. just like everything else.

[Reginald 0]

If you don't jump in the winter it's because you don't want to. It may not be jumpable everyday but there will always be jumpable days, maybe few and far between, even thought it maybe 35f.

Of you can fly to Florida like everyone else....

"We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

You have no idea. 35 F is 2, which we do jump in, and would love if our winters were that warm. Have you ever been to Canada in winter? This past winter it averaged around 5 Fahrenheit.

That is a little cool, but I've see as low as -65 Fahrenheit. Have you ever been in anything near that?

I think some people might underestimate how cold it actually gets up here.

EDIT:
Sorry reginald, this sounded like a slam, but that's not what I meant. I saw you were from Texas and was joking about the winters you get compared to us. It really does get damn cold up here.

Do this some day when you;re bored. Walk into a garage in your area, then ask them to install a block heater for your car/truck. I bet they look at you in awe! Or try to buy gas line antifreeze, or windshield washer fluid rated to -60 (celsius). Not questions you see until you come up North. It's so common up here all the grocery stores sell these things, minus the block heater. No joke! Can you even buy snowblowers down there? hehe, I'll leave you alone now...

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

From my post above, I'm curious how many people know what these things are, or even better if you know someone who has these. Please only people from the deep south reply! ( I don't doubt that most have heard of them, but I bet it's not too common to see.

"""""
Do this some day when you;re bored. Walk into a garage in your area, then ask them to install a block heater for your car/truck. I bet they look at you in awe! Or try to buy gas line antifreeze, or windshield washer fluid rated to -60 (celsius). Not questions you see until you come up North. It's so common up here all the grocery stores sell these things, minus the block heater. No joke! Can you even buy snowblowers down there? hehe, I'll leave you alone now...
""""

*I love these forums...they amuse me and my retarded questions.

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[Amazon 7]

Get on a plane to Eloy.... join the Canadian Invasion in JAN....

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

Would LOVE to..

And I am trying to, but costs might override that decision.

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[Amazon 7]

If you book way in advance.. on Southwest... or America West into PHX... its not as bad.. I have gotten round trips from Seattle to PHX for a s little as $140 RT


I just did a quick check.. Jan 5 to 8th $159 each way.Manchester NH to PHX

Expedia... is listing
Ottawa to PHX as $804
Montreal to PHX as $729

[Fast 0]

Find 3 skydiving friends and take a road trip as far south as you have to to find a DZ that is jumping. Spend the night there make a few jumps each day, drive home.

If you can afford to skydive, you can afford to take a road trip south once every month or two. That or just make sure you are at your DZ any day that is jumpable.

Lots of work, but, hey... if you want it bad enough.

~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

That's an option as well, but I think we'd have to travel a decent distance to get to one. But That is a good option.

Thanks

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[pincheck 0]

I feel your pain dude ,coming from a colder climate in scotland where i jump all year round (weather dependandt) -20 to -40 last year lots off layers thermal but hop and pops its a killer when the door opens and you wonder what the fuck

Billy-Sonic Haggis Flickr-Fun

[mdrejhon 8]

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Hey Everyone,

As you may remember, Mile High Skydiving does winter jumps. I jumped 4 times in the winter to get my 'skydiving fix'. The longest I went without jumping was about 3 months.

I think I will go to Canadian Ivasion at Eloy, still thinking about it. A small [url http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/RainbowSkydivers]RainbowSkydivers Group[/url[ may go down there.

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

Man, that's awesome. I can only imagine, I jump now on days where it's about 12 degrees celsius on the ground, and you get to 10k and the door opens, and wow, it's chilly.

The day I did my tandem was October 22nd last year here in Ottawa, it was -6 in the morning, so around altitude, it was roughly -25ish (I know it's -3.5 per 1000k, but it's not a direct relationship, I think that's a guideline). When I jumped it was mid morning and it had warmed up to +2 on the ground, so it was still cool, but I didn't feel a thing and I was in nothing more than a sweater and a jumpsuit.

So I guess freefall is out of the question in the cold huh? Hop n' Pops is the way to go?

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

I know they do winter jumps, and I will go at every oppurtunity, but it's easy to get weathered in for 60 days and need to be coached to jump again.

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[mjosparky 3]

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I figured their skydiving regs would be America Jr. just like everything else.

Boy that sounds arrogant as hell. I sure hope you don’t travel out of country very often. Do you what the regs. are anywhere else besides the US?

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[mjosparky 3]

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I'm in MN, one of my favorite things to do in the winter when it's cold enough is take a glass of water, go outside, chuck it in the air and watch the water crystalize before it hits the ground.

You need to get out more often, and without the glass of water.

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[pchapman 262]

I just don't worry about getting uncurrent over the Canadian winter. That's the way life is.

I'd rather just make sure that I've got the money saved up so that I can be nice and current when the summer comes. So for example, if I had the money and time for 100 jumps a season, I'm quite happy to do them all in a few summer months, rather than spread it out over 12 months.

A shorter period of intensive jumping may not be quite as good for safety at the start of the season (due to the long layoff), but it will be better for learning new skydiving skills and really getting everything "dialled in" during the season. This might be the better choice over the long term.

(That being said, I do jump in winter, jumping a little bit all season at the DZ I go to, which is closed only December and January.)

Otherwise my recommendations are common sense ones: Take it easy at the start of the year, take some time beforehand to look over one's gear, refresh one's memory on skydiving techniques & safety, review one's accomplishments & performance from the last year, that sort of thing.