Skydiving is always subject to weather. In this article David Cowman outlines how the weather can effect skydivers and students in particular.
Skydivers need to have an understanding of the weather. As a student generally decisions will be made for you as to whether you can jump or not by your instructor or chief instructor. Once you reach the twenty five jump mark ( ¨A¨ License ) the decisions as to whether to jump becomes your own. While the British Parachute Association, as a safety orientated organisation has strict guidelines on the matter , some foreign DZ´s can have a more lax policy , and often the decision is yours. I wasnt in skydiving circles too long before i encountered the mantra " Better to be down here wishing you were up there , than up there wishing you were down here " .
Weather Forecast ?
Anybody who has done more than two or three jumps will pretty much know where to get the forecast, as a student jumper i became well accustomed to long range forecasts on a boring Monday morning, trying to figure out what was coming next weekend. The more experienced jumpers on our mail list , ignored my " long range forecasts " choosing to assess the conditions on the morning they hoped to jump. The internet is thronged with weather forecast sites and they often confict with one another. Its only if they all say that you are due really bad weather do you have the right to feel crushed and go the dropzone at your own risk. Many jumpers choose to go anyway, as the social scene in skydiving is electric and the war stories over a cold bevvy legendery. Quite often when the weather is bad on a dropzone, one of the more " thirsty " jumpers is dispatched to the pub under the impression that "everybody else " is just behind him...Really he or she is what is collquially known as the " sacrifical lamb "..it is hoped that their sacrafice (for if the weather does improve they cant jump ) will please the weather god and the skies will part sufficently for one load to take to the skies!
What are the regulations ?
We will take the regulations of the BPA , which in my view are the most sensible. Within limits individuals such as the Chief Instructor , or Senior Instructors have the final say as they know the weather limits and those of the landing area. For instance a small landing should precipitate a more cautious approach as you are going to find it sligtly more difficult to be accute, particularily as you learn to fly a parachute in your first 100 jumps.
Cloud - Can you see the ground ?
“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.” It also states that the minimum flight visibility must be at least 5 km.
from BPA operations manual.
Simply put this means you should be able to see where you are going when you open your parachute. If you opened your parachute inside cloud , you run the risk of collision with other " parachute pilots " in the mist. Flying in cloud which ive done not through choice is weird , in the " white out " your sense of balance becomes confused by lack of visual information and you feel like you are turning your parachute when you are not. IF you do find youself in cloud shout regularily to warn other parachutists of your presence... you dont know where your fellow jumpers might be..
Falling through Cloud ?
Bye and large a nice experience once its not too thick or doesnt contain hail ( on really cold days ) ..remember the choice , if the cloud looks thick and its a very cold day , retire to the greasy spoon , watch some videos and wait for the cloud to pass.
Falling through broken cloud is rather cool actually , i first encountered this on my AFF Level 3 , on one hand i was captivated seeing my instructor in front of me and then i saw the cloud " rushing up " .. really does give you a sensation of your speed . Awesome !
IF the cloud is too thick, ie its base is low and its top is high you may only have the opportunity of getting out low and doing a short feefall ( 3-5 s ) before opening your parachute. You must have completed your student training to be considered for these type of jumps. Sometimes static line students can still jump with a low cloud base. IF the base is above 3,500 feet you can " see the floor " and your jump can proceed. In these conditions though as you work your way through the progression system and have to go higher , you may be grounded as with longer delays the aircraft from which you jump must climb higher to give you the distance to fall.
AFF students will always need a cloud base of 5,500 feet and ideally not have blanket cover , nor cloud whos ´top´is very high. One the levels where you learn to hold a heading it can be a bit confusing if all around you is cloud. In my early days as an instructor one of my students started to turn slowly and just didnt stop , when i asked him why he didnt stop, he told me he could not find the point from where he started to continued to turn to try and find it again. Incidentally I passed him to the next level and he went on to graduate with no repeats , but my lesson was learned!
Wind: The limits.
BPA regulations state that the maximum ground speed limits for student skydivers is 17.25 mph and for intermediate and experienced skydivers the maximum is 23 mph.
As parachutes only have a limited forward speed we try not to jump in wind conditions too strong for us. It is no fun moving backwards under canopy which happens if the windspeed exceeds the forward speed of your canopy. While not a tight corner to be in and for experienced pilots and not difficult to deal with, for students its best to avoid such a scenario so you will find your instructor strict on this point.
Of mention is that that winds can do funny things at varying altitudes. It may only be five knots on the ground, but the higher of the ground the stronger it can get. The effects of these strong winds can push you in freefall, sometimes it is possible to notice this " freefall drift " from the ground if you watch skydivers jumping from altitude on a clear day.
Summary
Every skydiver know the frustration of not being able to jump due to bad weather, but as I said at the beginning " Better to be down here wishing you were up there , than up there wishing you were down here " . So if your instructor or tandem master says you cant jump, hes got your interest at heart. When you become charged with your own decision make an informed one , if you see the " old dogs " staying on the ground , you had best stay there too.
Stay Safe.
skydiving weather