Flying @ 1500 ft after shallow dives

[gajahduduk]

I’m planning on taking a short, (15 min), low-altitude (1500 ft) flight immediately after two very shallow (25 foot or less) dives.

I plan on doing this today. Is this risky? And if so, realistically, how risky? Is there any study of this risk you could cite?

I can’t find any specific info on < 2000 ft.

If anyone says this is a horrible idea I’ll abort and take a 3 hour ferry.

 

[skippy311]

Was just about to link you with the same information. I am also curious about this situation.

 

[HKGuns]

I would opt for taking the ferry.

 

[skippy311]

I would opt for taking the ferry.

Enjoy the trip and safe travels!

 

[tennjay]

When I drive home from some of my dives, I spend 30 minutes or so at 1600 feet. This is a pretty common practice for divers in the Upper Cumberland. My quarry elevation is around 600 ft, so about the same as Lake Huron or Lake Erie.

 

[Peter69_56]

How long after the dives? The reality is that often divers complete a dive and then get into a car and whilst going home climb mountain roads to 2000 ft or so. I personally wouldn't be to worried as long as there is some time before the flight, I hadn't had any issues with the dive like a quick ascent. Also how long will the dives be? Short dives, less risk, longer more risk. If you used Nitrox you would reduce the risk even more, say 36%

 

[ScubaMarc]

search for saba to st martin flights on SB. Many people do a few dives in saba, less then 110 feet, wait a few hoursa and then travel back to st. martin on the same day on a small plane that goes less than 2500 feet. Plenty of info.

 

[broncobowsher]

Define "immediately". Are you surfacing and getting in an airplane while still geared up and dripping wet? Were you spending so much time on your shallow dives that you got anywhere near your NDL?

My typical tech dive involves a planned deco dive, surfacing, boat ride back while packing, load everything into the car, leave. My one concession to driving over a nearly 5,000 mountain pass is I stop for a bite to eat before I leave town and go over the mountain.

With what you describe, I would not be worried about 1,500 foot elevation. In many places that is simply the drive home that overlooks the ocean.

 

[lexvil]

I live at 2300 feet, it does take about four hours for me to load, get air fills and get home. I would think the boat ride would be more enjoyable overall but the flight should be fine.

 

[justinthedeeps]

If you're going by standard decompression theory:
Can we calculate no-fly-times? – The Theoretical Diver

What's special about flying is that all tissues, including "slow tissues" are always saturated at 1 atm, whether or not you dived. Any additional saturation in "slow tissues" (merely a model parameter) from very long dives (of almost any depth) would in theory take a long time to subside. I suppose that's the rationale behind the 24hr waiting periods, as well as being stuck on a plane if any issues were to arise. As far as how much diving it would take to add significant loading of those "slow tissues," it's probably somewhere in between the models and personal physiology.