Diving and travelling in belize.

[yelrambob]

I have a trip planned for June in Belize. We only have a limited time while down there. Can someone help me with figuring something out?

I plan to dive two days when I first arrive (3 tank first day and two tank second day) and then the following morning take a hopper plane(3000ft) to Placencia. Is this a reasonable trip plan?

Thanks for any help

 

[diversteve]

2 tanks in the morning? Here's the DAN guidelines for this situation:

Revised Flying After Diving Guidelines for Recreational Diving - May 2002

The following guidelines are the consensus of attendees at the 2002 Flying After Diving Workshop. They apply to air dives followed by flights at cabin altitudes of 2,000 to 8,000 feet (610 to 2,438 meters) for divers who do not have symptoms of decompression sickness (DCS). The recommended preflight surface intervals do not guarantee avoidance of DCS. Longer surface intervals will reduce DCS risk further.

For a single no-decompression dive, a minimum preflight surface interval of 12 hours is suggested.

For multiple dives per day or multiple days of diving, a minimum preflight surface interval of 18 hours is suggested.

For dives requiring decompression stops, there is little evidence on which to base a recommendation and a preflight surface interval substantially longer than 18 hours appears prudent.

Neither Mayan Island Air or Tropic Air flies anything much bigger than a Cessna Caravan internally in Belize AFAIK and they're non-pressurized from the factory (hence the 3,000 feet) so it should be a non-issue.

Belize Flights | Our Airplanes - Maya Island Air
Tropic Air - about Tropic