borgy 0 #1 February 21, 2006 So Once again i heard something at The DZ and i've put the statement to you guys to clarify or laugh your asses off at me. A clown at the DZ was telling me that before a storm you can get an extreme updraft known as "cloud suck". If you were to open a parachute in these conditions you would be pulled back up to altitud. The guy who told me this is a very experienced jumper but he has messed with me in the past. so I leave it too you guys.I only trust two people in this world, one of them is me and the other one aint you. Nicolas Cage as Cameron Poe in "Con Air" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tdog 0 #2 February 21, 2006 Very true with a wing as big as a paragliger that has little sink already... You can struggle to get out of the cloud. Clouds are made from thermals. http://www.ushga.org/article19.asp Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
borgy 0 #3 February 21, 2006 So this could not be an issue with a skydiving canopy??I only trust two people in this world, one of them is me and the other one aint you. Nicolas Cage as Cameron Poe in "Con Air" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tdog 0 #4 February 21, 2006 Well, cloud suck could be as high as 1000 FPM lift or more... What is the sink of your canopy??? If you encountered it, I bet a spiral dive would get out of it... There are ways on a paraglider to get out of it too... And, would you be there in the first place - as you can't jump thru the cloud by rules in many countries???? So, to get there, you would need to open in the cloud or right below it... I guess anything is possible, but I never have heard a skydiver talk about it as a real concern, whereas it was "basic common knowledge" in paragliding first-flight-classes.... But, I have hit thermals on my skydiving canopy where I have gone up 500 feet... And that was without clouds - just a hot day... So, going up is not uncommon. Being sucked into a cloud is not likely... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,400 #5 February 21, 2006 Yes, cloud suck can pull skydiving canopies to extreme heights. I recall one story of a jumper who was pulled to some extreme altitudes (20,000+ feet) during one storm. A thunderstorm has a tremendous amount of energy and can generate a lot of lifting power; keep in mind that hail is kept aloft by such storms until it grows intto quite large and heavy ice missiles. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OSOK 0 #6 February 21, 2006 I remeber reading a while back about a fighter jet pilot that ejected into a storm. He said he was in the cloud for a very long time, can't really recall how long. Anyways, he was in it so long, going up and down, that the storm carried him a long way off where he was supposed to be. If anyone remembers this story, please let me know, I'd like to read it again. It was on a book that had pilot stories. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phoenixlpr 0 #7 February 21, 2006 You are not supposed to jump under those weather conditions. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMitchell 14 #8 February 21, 2006 An Australian demo jumper was sucked up into a thunderstorm years ago. Finally had to chop and freefall out the bottom, opeining his reserve at about a grand to escape. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lowpole 1 #9 February 21, 2006 Don't be that guy! If you see a storm rolling in, crack a beer and see what you shouldn't do It's alot better to be on the ground and wish that you where up there than to be in the air and wish you where on the ground!Darwin's Watching! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mockingbird 0 #10 February 21, 2006 QuoteI recall one story of a jumper who was pulled to some extreme altitudes (20,000+ feet) during one storm. A thunderstorm has a tremendous amount of energy and can generate a lot of lifting power; keep in mind that hail is kept aloft by such storms until it grows intto quite large and heavy ice missiles. That is about the coolest thing I've ever heard! Not that I'd want to actually have it happen to me. But it would sure make a cool dream... maybe if I think about it hard enough before falling asleep I can make myself dream it tonight...Blue skies & happy jitters ~Mockingbird "Why is there something rather than nothing?" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FrogNog 1 #11 February 21, 2006 Certain types of clouds do this. In Western Washington they are common only in Summer. I believe clouds with a nimbus component are the "suckers". Flying under canopy beside or underneath one of these clouds can result in the ground getting farther away, in my experience. Thankfully I have not gotten too close to one, so I have only enjoyed "mild" effects. -=-=-=-=- Pull. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Orange1 0 #12 February 21, 2006 Cloud suck has killed paragliding pilots, but bear in mind these are guys who launch and can fly far from where they did so (both distance and altitude) and end up in different weather conditions from launch. From what I understand skydivers should not be jumping in conditions that lead to cloud suck. You might find the book "Understanding the Sky" by Denis Pagen (not sure if i spelt it right) of interest.Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FrogNog 1 #13 February 21, 2006 QuoteDon't be that guy! If you see a storm rolling in, crack a beer and see what you shouldn't do It's alot better to be on the ground and wish that you where up there than to be in the air and wish you where on the ground! Some Summer days we get sparse cumulonimbus clouds that buzz through, shooting rain as they go. Because most of the day is beautiful and warm and blue, we tend to "jump around" these clouds and when we get too close to an edge that's when things get interesting. But, yeah, I jumped ahead of a cold front once and wished I hadn't done that. There were no nearby clouds to indicate the 1,000 fpm updraft and 30 mph wind at the landing area. That's what spirals, RSL Swiss links, and cutaway handles are for. (Followed by untangling the canopy and refusing to jump anymore until the next day. -=-=-=-=- Pull. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
popsjumper 2 #14 February 21, 2006 back in the 70s I heard a story of a jumper being sucked up and kept up so long he froze to death...no idea of the truth of it.My reality and yours are quite different. I think we're all Bozos on this bus. Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yossarian 0 #15 February 21, 2006 i was reading one of those 'strangest death' books once and it talked about a glider that basically got pulled apart in a thunderstorm, the two pilots bailed out and immediately opened their escape rigs and basically froze to death in the cloud they were kept up there so long before their canopies were pulled to rags by the storm and they fell out the bottom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jakee 1,257 #16 February 21, 2006 Interesting side note, back in the 60's and 70's glider altitude records were set by deliberately flying into thunderstorms and hoping you got to the top before the turbulence ripped your primitive machine apart. I read an account of one such record set in the uk, the pilot said he had to use full control deflection every few minutes to knock the ice of his ailerons and tailplane before it got too thick and totally jammed the controls. IIRC he topped out at 33,000 feet over the middle of the north sea and had a choice between flying west to East Anglia or east to DenmarkDo you want to have an ideagasm? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Orange1 0 #17 February 21, 2006 oldish PG fatalities report includes a death from cloud suck here http://www.ushga.org/safety/PG2002AccidentSummary.pdf interesting to see their analyses of incidents too...Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
L.O. 0 #18 February 21, 2006 About 14 years ago I was flying a 182 to alt. with 4 jumpers. there was a lot of convective activity and we got to 10G very fast. one of the jumpers was an 85 pounder, on a Manta. They jumped, I got down taxied to the gas pumps at one end of the DZ fueled then taxied back the the clubhouse on the other end of the airport. I walked inside and got some food. When I came back to the plane I noticed the jumpers from that load watching another jumper descend(she was at about 2000). I asked "what's going on, who's on the manta". Turns out it was the light weight from my load. Wow, it took another 5 for her to get down. almost no clouds but lots of surface heating and upward air movementHPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
councilman24 36 #19 February 21, 2006 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0135482712/ref=cm_cr_dp_pt/103-5389253-7912642?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=283155&s=books "The Man Who Rode the Thunder" Read the reviews. He's still alive. Bailed out. Spent a long time getting beat to hell in a thunderstorm. Got spit out and lived. I've got a copy somewhere but haven't read it in a long time.I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 558 #20 February 21, 2006 Brighter glider pilots go to the Owens Valley of California to set altitude records. Wave lift coming off the Sierra mountains can reach up to 30,000 feet and it is far smoother than updrafts in thunderstorms (cumulo nimbus). One time I ventured too close to a mountain wave cloud over California City (down wind of Techapi) and got my F-111 tandem "stuck" at 5,000 feet! Our only escape was to spiral until the student puked! Lesson learned: stay away from clouds under canopy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livendive 8 #21 February 22, 2006 QuoteQuoteI recall one story of a jumper who was pulled to some extreme altitudes (20,000+ feet) during one storm. A thunderstorm has a tremendous amount of energy and can generate a lot of lifting power; keep in mind that hail is kept aloft by such storms until it grows intto quite large and heavy ice missiles. That is about the coolest thing I've ever heard! Not that I'd want to actually have it happen to me. But it would sure make a cool dream... maybe if I think about it hard enough before falling asleep I can make myself dream it tonight... Personally, I classify dreams that involve me getting the sh!t kicked out of me by large hailstones while unable to get away from them as "nightmares". Blues, Dave"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mockingbird 0 #22 February 22, 2006 QuoteQuoteQuoteI recall one story of a jumper who was pulled to some extreme altitudes (20,000+ feet) during one storm. A thunderstorm has a tremendous amount of energy and can generate a lot of lifting power; keep in mind that hail is kept aloft by such storms until it grows intto quite large and heavy ice missiles. That is about the coolest thing I've ever heard! Not that I'd want to actually have it happen to me. But it would sure make a cool dream... maybe if I think about it hard enough before falling asleep I can make myself dream it tonight... Personally, I classify dreams that involve me getting the sh!t kicked out of me by large hailstones while unable to get away from them as "nightmares". Blues, Dave Ya' know, I think I must've quit reading after the word "power"! I could just see myself being lifted up 20,000 ft. in a cloud!! You're right tho', the hailstones like missiles part doesn't sound so hot. By the way, I DIDN'T dream about it last night. DARN. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jakee 1,257 #23 February 22, 2006 QuoteBrighter glider pilots go to the Owens Valley of California to set altitude records. Like I said, this was the old days. Now that wave lift is understood altitude records are far higher.Do you want to have an ideagasm? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
syntax 0 #24 February 24, 2006 Go to the thread "storm jumpers" general discussions.------------------------------------skydiving...the grounds the limit! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OSOK 0 #25 March 5, 2006 Quotehttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0135482712/ref=cm_cr_dp_pt/103-5389253-7912642?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=283155&s=books "The Man Who Rode the Thunder" Read the reviews. He's still alive. Bailed out. Spent a long time getting beat to hell in a thunderstorm. Got spit out and lived. I've got a copy somewhere but haven't read it in a long time. Yes! That's it. You're da man. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
