Deflating a wing

[Xizang]

You have what is called a horseshoe wing because the bladder doesn't connect at the bottom.

oh ok I thought the horse shoe wing are the arch shaped wings..

 

[Soggy]

oh ok I thought the horse shoe wing are the arch shaped wings..

They are.

 

[ShakaZulu]

I'm also upset about the wing design. Those bottom dump valves is poor design and doesn't work properly (I have the DR Rec wing btw). This is the best horseshoe designed wing I ever dived.....very smooth, no wrinkling of the bladder to trap air inside.

 

[ScubaDadMiami]

The inflator hose is only used for dumping air when you leave the surface.

I would not say this at all. I use it all the time underwater, too.

 

[WJL]

I know I was in a perfect horizontal position when I tried using the rear dump valve...

Just a thought - sometimes it's hard to tell if you are in fact perfectly horizontal. In the Fundamentals classes I have been involved with, the students are sometimes surprised to see on video that their trim is not as good as they thought. You may be perfectly horizontal, but maybe you're not.

Some ways to check your trim:

• Get your chest close, as in inches, to a horizontal surface like a platform or pool bottom and then try to dump air from the wing. Your knees should not touch if you are really horizontal.
• Get a buddy who is brutally honest and also knows what perfect trim looks like to check you out in the water.
• Get somebody to video you in the water.

 

[Reinoud]

I would not say this at all. I use it all the time underwater, too.

This is what my DIR-F instructor told me. And since my fundamentals I've done it like this and it works great.
Are you able to dump air from you hose without getting out of trim?

 

[Reinoud]

I'm also upset about the wing design. Those bottom dump valves is poor design and doesn't work properly (I have the DR Rec wing btw). This is the best horseshoe designed wing I ever dived.....very smooth, no wrinkling of the bladder to trap air inside.

I see a couple of issues with this picture:

- the little balls at the end of the ropes from the dumpvalves are not DIR

- the dumpvalves seem to be at the wrong side of the wing. Underwater, they will be at the tankside (the wing will fold itself around the tank), so they are hard to reach

- why are there two dumpvalves? In DIR you normally use your left hand for inflation and deflation so a dumpvalve on the right side is not needed

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I see a couple of issues with this picture:

- the little balls at the end of the ropes from the dumpvalves are not DIR

- the dumpvalves seem to be at the wrong side of the wing. Underwater, they will be at the tankside (the wing will fold itself around the tank), so they are hard to reach

- why are there two dumpvalves? In DIR you normally use your left hand for inflation and deflation so a dumpvalve on the right side is not needed

The BCD in that picture is not DIR in any aspect. Hard to tell from the back, but from the shape of that bladder you're looking at a SeaQuest or ScubaPro rear-inflate BCD.

... Bob

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

This is what my DIR-F instructor told me. And since my fundamentals I've done it like this and it works great.
Are you able to dump air from you hose without getting out of trim?

Did your DIR-F instructor explain the reasoning behind this?

"Breaking trim" is sometimes a bit overstated as a reason for not doing something ... especially for the recreational diver who may or may not even be moving foward at the time. Using the rear deflator is meant to keep you in the slipstream, and minimize the amount of water you have to displace to propel yourself. if you stop forward momentum ... or are moving slowly ... it hardly matters. We all "break trim" at times, for various reasons ... it's important to understand the dynamics of what you are doing and make your choices based on the circumstances.

To respond to the question, you can dump from the inflator hose and remain horizontal by either arching your back or by twisting your left shoulder upward (which also allows you to dump from your drysuit valve at the same time). I usually use the latter method when ascending, since it lets me to dump from both sources with minimal movement (I'll have to raise my arm and shoulder to dump from the drysuit anyway).

FWIW - with the Oxycheq wing, using the rear dump seems to require a bit of a "butt up" maneuvering ... so even then you're "breaking trim" to some degree.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[reubencahn]

I find it almost impossible to dump from my inflator hose when underwater. I never use it except on the surface. Underwater, I use only the rear dump.