Grounding Yourself For Wind

[jumpjunkie2004 0]

Last Monday, I jumped at a new DZ. After my first jump, the winds picked up - gusting up to 21. I had to decide if I was going to stay on the ground. An employee from the DZ said the students would be grounded. I spoke to the DZO and together we watched a few loads land and it seemed as though jumpers were experience turbulence at around 15-20 feet off the ground.

I waited for the winds to die down - I kept checking the wind meter. Finally, they came down to gusts of only 14. Woo hoo! I put myself on a load and before I got to the ground the winds picked up substantially.

I made a bunch of adjustments to keep the wing above my head. I landed safely, but I felt like I had to fight with the canopy for control. I checked the wind meter again and the gusts had gone back up to 21.

Do you have a wind "cut off"?

How much wind does there have to be in order for the experienced jumpers to sit out?

Any suggestions for a newbie?

Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

[wmw999 2,121]

I think you showed excellent judgement. At a new dropzone, it's smart to have a lower cutoff because of the new obstacles etc. to deal with.

My cutoff is based on steadiness and where I am as much as wind speed. All open fields with virtually no obstacles and steadier winds means I might be jumping at 25. Gusty, or a place with lots of obstacles, or just not feeling on my game -- getting close to 20 and I'm very likely to just not get on a load.

A hard thing is to remember that when you're at a boogie or a camp. You feel like you've wasted all that time getting there, only to sit on the ground when others are jumping. Just remember that it sucks even worse to get hurt than it does to sit on the ground.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[piisfish 135]

If I don't like the conditions I stay on the ground.

Happened a couple of times that I regretted jumping, eventhough nothing serious ever happened (touch wood).

Remember staying on the ground at JSC (Johannesburg, South Africa) with a horizontal windsock and students still flying correctly (high altitude). So many good things to do on the ground too....

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[vt1977 0]

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If I don't like the conditions I stay on the ground.

Same here.

Vicki

[skybytch 259]

When students go on wind hold, I go on wind hold. Once students are allowed back up I'll generally wait and watch at least one load land before I jump again - unless I know the weather forecast is for winds all day in which case I'll find something else to do.

A lot depends on the wingloading of the canopy you're flying and your personal risk vs reward assessment. I jump a lightly loaded main and I don't enjoy flying in turbulence, so the risk of jumping in high or gusty wind conditions isn't worth the reward of a skydive to me.

[catfishhunter 1]

Flying Backwards SUCKS! I was slammed and dragged once, that was enough for me.

A friend with a TON of jumps stayed on the ground and told me it is better to be on the ground wishing you was in the air then in the air wishing you was on the ground. I laughed at that until i was under canopy and started flying backwards and wished I was any place other then under canopy. (I had about the same number of jumps as you have listed)

I don't really want to give a "suggestion" as I don't know you or your wing loading etc etc but if you are thinking aobut whether you should or shouldn't get on a load it is usually a good idea to NOT get on the load

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.

[akjmpplt 0]

You made a wise choice.

An old saying goes, "It's better to be down here wishing you were up there, than up there wishing you were down here."

SmugMug

[adobelover 0]

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When students go on wind hold, I go on wind hold. Once students are allowed back up I'll generally wait and watch at least one load land before I jump again - unless I know the weather forecast is for winds all day in which case I'll find something else to do.

A lot depends on the wingloading of the canopy you're flying and your personal risk vs reward assessment. I jump a lightly loaded main and I don't enjoy flying in turbulence, so the risk of jumping in high or gusty wind conditions isn't worth the reward of a skydive to me.

Yep, me too!

_________________________________________


Old age ain't no place for sissies!

[jumpjunkie2004 0]

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I think you showed excellent judgment

Thanks Wendy.

It was the gusts that were the problem. The steady wind was only 10 or so.

Even though it wasn't a boogie, it was very hard for me to stay on the ground. I was at West Point in VA.

I got to jump with Carol Clay once and I would have loved the opportunity to go with her a few more times. She's amazing!

Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

[ntrprnr 0]

They say good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement. :)

If the students go on hold, I go on hold. I have no problem with that. I figure I have under 100 jumps - if the teachers are keeping the students on the ground, there's an obvious reason.

_______________
"Why'd you track away at 7,000 feet?"
"Even in freefall, I have commitment issues."

[OzoneJunkie 0]

I ground myself when it "just feels too windy". Or, too gusty. I don't check with a meter, just go by my gut. If I was still jumping in California, where there's a lot of farmland, I'd still jump at 25mph steady. But on the east coast there's a lot less landing areas/outs where we jump.

Anyway, if you think twice about going up, there's probably a legit reason...

[jumpjunkie2004 0]

My wing loading is only about .80 or so. I'm still jumping a big canopy, but my personal risk threshold is low. I'm conservative.

In the future, I will keep an eye on the students. If they are sitting on the ground, so will I. Once I have more experience and my own gear, I may decided to be a little more aggressive.

Thanks for posting.

Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

[EvilLurker 2]

I've jumped when the students were on wind hold. There's a big difference between a steady wind and gusty winds, though. If it's gusting, I stay on the ground. If it's a steady wind, I'll jump as long as it's below 20 mph. , but I stay away from the upwind obstacles. There's no shame in grounding yourself and living to jump another day, no matter what anybody says.

[FrenchyDiver 0]

As many of the above posters have said, better be safe than sorry. I do ground myself without problem if I don't like the conditions. I do pay close attention when the DZ grounds students. Then I make my judgement call based on how steady the winds are (speed, direction, obstacles turbulences ect...) and what the gusts are. If the conditions are not to my liking, I stay on the ground.
Congrats on having made the decision that was right for you. I wish more people would do the same, regardless of their experience and skills. Good job!

Hispas Brothers President
HISPA #2,

[tombuch 0]

I use the 10 minute rule. If, after watching the winds for ten minutes you are still unsure, stay ont he ground. That's adapted from the SCUBA diving world where I was taught a "10 second" rule about weather evaluation. Wind is a bit more fickle, so I give it 10 minutes in skydiving.

I wrote a feature on The Ranch web site about evaluating winds at our drop zone. Much of it also applies to other DZ's. It is Article 6 "Evaluating Wind and Turbulence" available at http://theblueskyranch.com/STA.php. The article includes phone numbers for nearby airports with weather reporting. Check with your pilots and see if there are AWOS or ASOS weather stations near your airport too.
.

Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

[WatchYourStep 0]

I'm a new jumper much like yourself, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

I took the suggestion of a couple of my instructors and wrote my wind limit right in the front of my logbook. If I ever consider jumping in higher winds I look at what I wrote down and that keeps me in check. When I first got off of status I would jump in steady winds up to 20mph. I did a few jumps right at the limit and I didn't think it was bad. So I went back to my book scratched out the old number and wrote a new limit and why I was raising it. Now my limit is 23 and this weekend I jumped in 23mph winds and I found out that is my upper limit for sometime. Everything was fine but I wouldn't "feel" comfortable at a higher level. It also depends on if the wind is steady or gusting and what direction the wind is coming from at my DZ.

Hope this helps.

"You start off your skydiving career with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience up before your bag of luck runs out."

[demoss99 0]

As many have stated here I too go on hold when the students go on hold. I'm sub-100 jumps and do not feel I'm qualified to push that limit. However, up until recently I just had to imagine what it would be like to have to approach and manage a landing in high gusty winds.

But at SkyFest on the last day (Sunday) I saw a huge two otter load of jumpers try to touch down in the winds of an approaching storm front. Up until just a few moments before this the weather was very mild. It took everyone by surprise.

I saw highly experienced pilots flying backwards or just barely holding against the wind in 107 size canopies etc... I saw several hit going backwards, get drug several hundred feet. I even saw one guy with a canopy just like mine land off, get picked back up by the wind and slammed on his back. It was quite an eye opener to witness that first hand.

"I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."

[AlexCrowley 0]

I'll generally ground myself as a courtesy to everyone else on the plane.




..........Ohhhh that wind. My mistake..

TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

[daveb 1]

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I put myself on a load and before I got to the ground the winds picked up substantially. ...
Do you have a wind "cut off"? ... Any suggestions for a newbie?

I have ridden the plane down due to winds that picked up after takeoff, and would do so again. My personal limit is the lesser of 30mph or the limits of my current load. I also have a limit on gusts; I don't want to have to fly in 10-25 winds.

I highly recommend you pick a limit that *you* are comfortable with, and *stick* to it, without bending to peer pressure. Far better to miss a single jump than miss a season (or more) recovering.

-- Dave

[HydroGuy 0]

I fly a lightly loaded canopy, so if I get caught in a gust on final I lose all of my forward ground speed...and when I lose forward ground speed I become very aware of my descent rate and get vertigo or something similiar...

Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

[jumpjunkie2004 0]

Thanks for the 411 Tom.

You've always got something informative to offer

Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

[Dougiefresh 0]

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If I don't like the conditions I stay on the ground.

Same here.

And the motion carries. If I have ANY questions or hesitation about conditions, my butt is on a chair. It's just not worth it.

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

[airtwardo 6]

I stood down from a Saturday Airshow demo this weekend because of the winds, 18 kts. gusting to 25.

Better to stand down a day than let "Go Fever" make you stand down permanently!

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

[jumpjunkie2004 0]

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I stood down from a Saturday Airshow demo this weekend because of the winds, 18 kts. gusting to 25.

I really appreciate everyone posting here. It makes me feel better about my decision.

Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

[happythoughts 0]

I have two rules.

1. If I am at another dz and all the locals are sitting it out, I do too.

Living in Florida, I've seen a lot of "By God, I've only got 10 days of vacation, so I'm going". It is rarely a good idea.

2. I look at the palm fronds on the trees in front of The Sunshine Factory. Remember, they are up high enough to be in the clean air.

If they are whipping around, it is turbulent. If I see the bottom side stand straight up, it is too windy.

(Ok, it's weird, but that's how I do it.)