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kai2k1

Clouds and Visibility Requirements

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Can someone tell me where In the SIM I can find the Visiblilty requirements and cloud clearance for above and below 10,000 ft?

I must be missing it, but i cannot find it in the SIM,

Thanks

There's no truer sense of flying than sky diving," Scott Cowan

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FAR 105.17 Flight visibility and clearance from cloud requirements.

No person may conduct a parachute operation, and no pilot in command of an aircraft may allow a parachute operation to be conducted from that aircraft—

(a) Into or through a cloud, or

(b) When the flight visibility or the distance from any cloud is less than that prescribed in the following table:

Below 10000 feet: 3 mile visibility, 500 feet below/1000 feet above/2000 feet horizontal

Above 10000 feet: 5 mile visibility, 1000 feet below/1000 feet above/1 mile horizontal

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If the UK used these rules we would only jump 1/2 of the year if we were lucky.

This is what the BPA ops manual says about cloud.


SECTION 8

3.1. Cloud

Parachutists may not leave the aircraft if, at the point of exit, the ground between the opening point and the intended landing area is not visible.

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***If the UK used these rules we would only jump 1/2 of the year if we were lucky.

This is what the BPA ops manual says about cloud.


SECTION 8

3.1. Cloud

Parachutists may not leave the aircraft if, at the point of exit, the ground between the opening point and the intended landing area is not visible.

That is so cool. Wish we could do that in the US. Our DZ was working on a proposal wiith the FAA to test lower cloud clearance limits, but it got shelved while we battled the county over zoning requirements. It would be a big help here in the cloudy, rainy Pcific Northwest.

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The parachute visibility and cloud clearance requirements are simply a copy of the VFR flight requirements for operating aircraft. One exception is in Class B airspace, where VFR pilots have to only remain clear of clouds (you can almost drag your wingtip thru it) whereas parachutists still have to have keep the 2000 feet lateral, 500 below, blah blah blah. I say that's discriminatory.

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Just a thought to all those pilot jumpers out there...

It is my understanding that you can loose your FAA ticket if you screw up by not obeying fars while jumping....whereas a normal jumper wouldnt be in such deep s***.

it sounds so obvious, but I didnt really think about it untill someone pointed it out to me.

has me re-thinking participating in "industrial haze" jumps.

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Quote

Do much jumping in class B airspace? :)
We actually jump through class C airspace where I am (depending on the wind direction), but I dunno how many DZs are near class Bs.

Dave

Yep, Kaowsin Field in WA is 26 NM SSE of Seatac, with Class B starting at 6000 msl up to, of course, 10000 msl. Most of the time, the jump pilots head south below the Class B, then come back above it and drop the jumpers into it, then descend through it. It does require a clearance, but I can't remember the last time we were denied, unlike the 20 minute delays reported up in Pitt Meadows in Canada. The cloud thing is a big issue up here in WA. I wish we could use the lower standards that VFR pilots can use in the same airspace. I also know of another DZ that is currently in Class C airspace that is changing to Class B soon. They jump very close to an arrival route, so I think they may be restricted some in the future.

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Has anyone EVER decided NOT to jump because there was a cloud, say half or 3/4th a mile away?

I think I'll use that as my reply should someone complain that our setup in the door took too long.

"Sorry Bob, I understand your frustration... But once we got out there we just couldn't launch the exit. There was this puffy lil' cloud about half a mile away. We had to wait until it was a mile out... you know... visibility requirements... ":D
“There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

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The exact position of a cloud boundary is imprecisely defined, clouds are in constant motion, and no-one has a measuring instrument that can accurately tell how far a third party is from a cloud anyway.

If FAA tries to bust you for being too close, ask for details of how they made that measurement, and what the margin of error in the measurement is.

Now, being IN the cloud is a different matter entirely.
...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

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