Diving and flying?

[LiddleSharksyDoisters]

Why? Being dehydrated is not something that takes a long time to correct and is quite preventable. I totally agree that diving dehydrated is a very bad idea but I see no reason to wait to dive as long as you stay hydrated. Grab a 1L bottle of water before boarding the plane and keep drinking.

No it doesn't take long to correct, but by the time most notice it, it is too late. "Gee, I'm thirsty. Got a Coca Cola?"

When I say 18 hours consider that most guests arrive in the afternoon, say 4 p.m., and a proposed dive at 9 or 10 a.m. is the usual. If you look at it on the clock, it doesn't seem so bad. Most of the arrivals in the Caribbean seem to be late afternoon, as I recall.

Then factor in the hot baggage area, standing in the heat for customs and the transfer- most are on hot busses. Not usually a comfortable experience- usually leading to further dehydration.

Most guests begin drinking everything they shouldn't be consuming: coffee, alcohol, caffeinated drinks, etcetera.

A one liter bottle of water sounds like a good idea- if you were flying an hour. Most of my guests have flown 6 to 8 hours and I have them fairly well trained to drink water and then drink some more.

 

[BarryNL]

I am obviously new to the world of Scuba diving. I am excited about my trip, but I want to be safe so I can keep on enjoying this hobby I have discovered for years to come and have a question about some flying rules and Scuba diving. I remember from my YMCA certification class that they talk about diving and flying and that you should wait about 24hrs after your last dive before you fly home. My question is this. Do I need to wait any amount of time when arriving?

Hmm, I'm guessing they didn't really explain decompression issues in your OW class. Decompression problems occur when moving from a higher to a lower pressure (e.g. sea-level to aircraft pressure). Moving from lower to higher pressure is not a problem, so you can step straight out of the plane into the water if you want.

You should, of course, ensure you are not dehydrated when diving.

 

[diver 85]

Sould not be a problem after flying, just keep hydrated as best you can.....We do it all the time flying into Cozumel in the AM & dive that afternoon & nite......enjoy.....

 

[RonFrank]

The real question when getting off a plane and deciding on if to dive is how tired are you, what is your mental state, and do you keep your hydration up on a regular basis.

I'm generally pumped if getting off a plane to go diving, but it also depends on the flight. If you have been on route for 12 hours, than maybe a good nap is in order before getting wet.

There is no medical reason like DCS not to dive once arriving at a dive destination.

Departure is a different story. I generally don't dive for at LEAST 18 hours before a departing flight. Agencies keep switching around the numbers, but I think 12 is minimum for multi-dives over several days, and I try to do 24 if possible. if I can squeeze in a shallow night dive or something the night before the plane leaves, I will.

This summer, we fly out at around 5:00pm leaving FL, and if I want to do a night dive the day before I will. Just depends on the weather, and my mood!

 

[DandyDon]

Hey Ron!

The real question when getting off a plane and deciding on if to dive is how tired are you, what is your mental state, and do you keep your hydration up on a regular basis.

I usually just want to set up camp in my room, get my gear and cameras ready and catch a nap. I have to leave the house at 2 or 3 am to catch the 5 am flight out, and sleeping on the planes doesn't cut it.

Departure is a different story. I generally don't dive for at LEAST 18 hours before a departing flight. Agencies keep switching around the numbers, but I think 12 is minimum for multi-dives over several days, and I try to do 24 if possible. if I can squeeze in a shallow night dive or something the night before the plane leaves, I will.

This summer, we fly out at around 5:00pm leaving FL, and if I want to do a night dive the day before I will. Just depends on the weather, and my mood!

The 12/18/24 hour rule I posted above has been the DAN guideline since the 2002 conference and was being used in 2001 if I recall correctly. Yeah a 5pm departure would mean no diving after 11pm the night before; no problem.

I have had other times I cut that with the use of Nitrox and shallow dives, but that required study and planning form the NOAA Dive Manual. ilot:

 

[peterbj7]

Moving from lower to higher pressure is not a problem, so you can step straight out of the plane into the water if you want

BSAC (British Sub Aqua Club) doesn't agree with that. They say that you should have a period acclimatising to ambient surface pressure before diving. Fortunately the period is short and can usually be ignored.

 

[seaducer]

Moving from lower to higher pressure is not a problem, so you can step straight out of the plane into the water if you want.

True, but only from a divers perspective. from an aviation perspective this is not recomended unless you have a seaplane

 

[BarryNL]

BSAC (British Sub Aqua Club) doesn't agree with that. They say that you should have a period acclimatising to ambient surface pressure before diving. Fortunately the period is short and can usually be ignored.

Hmm, I've not heard that and if it's correct I'd love to know their reasoning. If anything, you have less nitrogen in your body after a flight because you will have been off-gassing to the internal pressure of the aircraft. It should actually be even safer to dive straight after a flight (though of little practical difference).

 

[mcf57]

Thanks for all the info. It has been real educational. I have been reviewing my Scuba manual since it has been several months since my class ended so I am trying to remember the rules and charts. I will make sure to drink lots of water on my way down there.

As far as returning to Atlanta, my flight is scheduled to leave Grenada at about 7:30am. This would mean I should not dive any time after 1:30pm the previous day (18hrs), correct? Doing shallow dives of around 30ft would also be suggested too, right? Could I do a shallow dive later in the day as well and not have to really worry either?

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Why take the chance? My rule is no flying for 24 hours after diving. So my last dive in your situation would be to not dive the last day. I'd snorkel maybe, take in the sights, buy all the souveniers that people think you spent alot of time picking out( and generally don't deserve em anyway), and relax. I don't know who your instrcutor was but I drill into my students on mutli day- multi dive trips no flying for 24 hours. USED to be the DAN recommendations that said 18 hours after one dive and 24 for the above mentioned. On the website they revised to 12 and 18 but I'd rather play it safe. Course I'll do 4-5 dives a day while I'm wherever I'm at. Usually that last day a little rest is needed.