Flying after 20ft dive

[uncfnp]

What day are you there? If weekend I pick option 3. Do BHB morning then a 2 tank boat dive that afternoon. Then fly next afternoon.

Otherwise, if no health issues that puts me at increased risk and nitrox certified I would pickup a tank of 36% at Force-e and go dive. Not saying this is right for you of course...

 

[JamesBon92007]

My girlfriend's Mares Puck Pro says to wait 12 hours to fly after being in a 6' pool for five minutes. Obviously this is ridiculous, but I think I'd err on the side of caution with the dive you described and wait the 12 hours.

We went on the manta night dive in Kona and were staying near Hilo. The low-elevation route takes you to about 4200 feet of elevation. The other route, I believe, is over 8000 feet. We rented a room for the night in Kona. I figure the price of the room was a lot cheaper and more convenient that a hospital visit and, even though it was just a studio, it was much roomier than any hyperbaric chamber that I've seen.

 

[uncfnp]

I looked back at my last several BHB dives. Never went over 22 feet and average depth was 11 to 12 feet for the entire dive. My dive computer never read less than 99 (its max) NDL for 70 to 80 minute dives.

 

[runsongas]

other option is to run your NDL for 8000ft altitude

 

[boulderjohn]

The US Navy has tables for what you propose and there are limits, (20 feet for 2 hours will require a 7:06 surface interval before ascent to an altitude of 8000 feet); however, I would recommend that you follow your training.

That is for a bit over a full two hours at 20 feet. If the diver does a total of 100 minutes at 20 feet, the required time would be 4:39.

 

[boulderjohn]

other option is to run your NDL for 8000ft altitude

Please explain the physics of why that would help on regular dives.

On this dive, it would show the true situation, because both the NDLs for that depth at 8,000 feet and the NDLs for sea level are over 3 hours.

 

[Jack Hammer]

Personally, due to the shallow depth and limited dive time mentioned I wouldn't lose any sleep about hopping on a plane 6 hours later. Interestingly I wouldn't necessarily recommend others do the same. I have no idea what therir physicality or dive experiences are.

 

[boulderjohn]

Personally, due to the shallow depth and limited dive time mentioned I wouldn't lose any sleep about hopping on a plane 6 hours later. Interestingly I wouldn't necessarily recommend others do the same.

That's the problem.

I think a lot of experienced divers would say the same thing. They would do it for themselves, but they are not going to tell you to do it. Notice how others, including me, are quoting sources like DAN or the US Navy. That is because if they tell you on their own authority something that is different from what those sources say and you got bent, they would feel responsible. If that person were your instructor, there would be potential liability.

 

[Altamira]

other option is to run your NDL for 8000ft altitude

I am not sure if you you are recommending using 8000' for running the NDL for the Op's planned dive because typical commercial aircraft cabin altitude will be 8000' or lower, or for some other reason. If it is based on the expected cabin altitude of commercial aircraft, the Op needs to be fully aware that cabin pressurization failures can and do occur. Recently SW Airlines lost cabin pressure when a fan blade from the engine broke off and pierced the fuselage, killing a passenger. As a passenger on board, you are going to have zero influence on the cabin altitude, even on flights where the company tells you the flight will not go above some low level altitude. What they don't tell you is that when the crap hits the fan, the Captain or Pilot-in-Charge is going to take that airplane to whatever altitude is best for the particular emergency. The flight crew's priority will be the safety of plane, crew, and passengers, and I can assure you that a diver possibly getting bent because he did not want to spend the money to stay overnight, is not going to be a player in the decision making process. Don't believe me--just check my profile.

 

[lamarpaulski]

I might do it, but I'd do the bridge dive on a high-octane mix. 80-90% O2 would work, if I couldn't get 100%.
More likely I'd just book an extra night.

Dirty Dog,

I seldom even dive nitrox mix anymore but isn’t 100% oxygen toxic at or about 20 ft ? If I recall my class admonition correctly. I thought we lost a cave diver who mixed up his tanks and did something similar on 100% oxygen at a shallow depth.