Flying and Diving, bring me up to speed

[HammerNoMore]

Dr Deco once bubbled...
If I were ever to “fly with my hair wet,” I would not let anyone know about it.

You don't think the wet hair would give you away? ut:

 

[BigJetDriver]

Dr Deco once bubbled...
Dear Scuba Board Readers:


Money

As BigJetDriver indicated, diversion of an airplane will cost money. If the airline believes that they can reasonably recover at least a part of that cost because of something that you knowingly did, they will attempt to recoup their money – from you. If I were ever to “fly with my hair wet,” I would not let anyone know about it.

I definitely would not fly like that, anyway. :nono:

Dr Deco [/I][/color] :doctor:

As the good Doc said, he would NOT do that anyway! And to reiterate what I said:

I have to admit that, since I am an instructor for IANTD, I believe in the often stated philosophy of our founder, Tom Mount. He believes that, once informed of the risks, we all have a right to risk ourselves as we see fit. I say again, I DO believe that.

If you wish to risk yourself and your health by flaunting known and conservative procedure by climbing out of the water from deco dives and flying with your hair still wet, have at it brother!

As a piece of sincere advice, DO NOT tell ME about it! DO NOT TELL OTHERS ABOUT IT! Above all, for God's sake (and your own) DO NOT EVER PUT IT IN PRINT.

If you do, I will be the one to testify to all of the above named agencies (NTSB, FAA, Plaintiff's Counsel, etc.) that you risked all of us on the airplane WILLFULLY AND KNOWINGLY!!! That, sir, is my job!:grad:

 

[djkeeler98]

Well, this is an interesting thread... I'll offer my 2 cents.

I'm a Navy helicopter pilot and have done my share of recreational and tech dives. Big Jet made several very excellent points and the best one is this - it's all about how much RISK you are willing to accept. Sure, you might get away with flying with your "hair wet" but are you willing to risk a trip to the chamber and a possible law suit? possible death?

Think of it this way...

There is a BIG difference in flying in a pressurized, commercial aircraft and cruising back from Catalina in a unpressurized helo at 500 to 1000 ft. A large portion of the world's population lives above 1000 ft MSL - are we telling them they can't drive home after diving? Of course not - however, if you hop in a commercial jet right after doing a deco dive and the aircraft suffers a rapid decompression above 10000' - YOU WILL BE UNHAPPY - if you live. The chance of that happening is small but is it worth it? It's your call and your life.

As a point of reference, the Navy's rules for pilots are pretty black and white. NO flying within 24 hours of any dive. We can cut it to 12 with a flight surgeons OK and they are pretty stingy. The rules don't differentiate between unpressurized and pressurized aircraft. That normally limits me to night dives on Friday and all day Saturday but I'd rather play it safe.

 

[NewScubaQ]

Hey all...I'm new to both scuba and these discussion pages. As a matter of fact, that leads me to my question...I did all of my pool and classroom training in northern NJersey, and will be doing my OW cert dives in the Gulf of Mexico off of Ft. Myers.

The dives (2 days, 2 each day) are on a Tuesday and Wednesday, wrapping up around 2:30 pm. I fly out on Thursday, at 12:40 pm, with a stopover in Pittsburgh. I realize that 22 hours vs. 24 hours is not much of a difference, but what are some of your opinions about the safety? Keep in mind that these are cert dives, and that the depth probably will not be deeper than 30' or so.

Thanks!
Q

 

[HammerNoMore]

NewScubaQ once bubbled...
Hey all...I'm new to both scuba and these discussion pages. As a matter of fact, that leads me to my question...I did all of my pool and classroom training in northern NJersey, and will be doing my OW cert dives in the Gulf of Mexico off of Ft. Myers.

The dives (2 days, 2 each day) are on a Tuesday and Wednesday, wrapping up around 2:30 pm. I fly out on Thursday, at 12:40 pm, with a stopover in Pittsburgh. I realize that 22 hours vs. 24 hours is not much of a difference, but what are some of your opinions about the safety? Keep in mind that these are cert dives, and that the depth probably will not be deeper than 30' or so.

Thanks!
Q

The most commonly accepted time to fly is 12 hours for a single day of diving, though some will say 24. For multiple days of diving the opinions vary. Some will say more than 24 hours. 24 hours is pretty common. Dan's statement on their website is:
current research suggests that it may be wise to wait 17 hours or more after making repetitive dives.

If all you are doing is your 4 open water dives then you will stay above 60'. I think the PADI maximums are 40' for 3 dives and 60' for the other. You can take that for what it is worth. Some will say the depth doesn't matter.

You should check with whoever you are diving with. If they say you will be done at 2:30 you may be through diving well before then. I.E. You have to (possibly) take a boat ride back and fill out paperwork. Are those included in the time? Also a 12:40 flight has little chance of leaving the ground before 1:00 .

My belief is that you would be safe to fly. However, note that as I have indicated, I personally feel it never hurts to be conservative and always wait 24 hours (though I would consider shorter in an emergency).

So the answer to your question is that you should make up your own mind on where you are comfortable with your personal safety. Or call the dive op and convince them they need to be done sooner....

James

 

[pasley]

djkeeler98 once bubbled...
...There is a BIG difference in flying in a pressurized, commercial aircraft and cruising back from Catalina in a unpressurized helo at 500 to 1000 ft. A large portion of the world's population lives above 1000 ft MSL - are we telling them they can't drive home after diving?

Well, maybe they should eat dinner and cool their jets for a few hours before they drive home. Just to be safe. Of course with driving I am assuming that the assent would be slower than that of a jet, to get to 8,000 elevation.

I have a dive buddy whose husband no longer dives. He got bent, and because they live on a mountain litterly could not go home for two weeks. Every time he tried, he got rewarded with pain. Finaly spent, if I remember right two weeks at a sea side motel.

I know 1,400 feet was enough to put me in pain when I got bent two years ago. For the most part they can drive home if they live above 1000 feet, but caution dictates, they should not be in a hurry to get there in just a few minutes after diving.

NOT A DOCTOR OR EXPERT, Just my $0.02.

 

[djkeeler98]

pasley once bubbled...


I have a dive buddy whose husband no longer dives. He got bent, and because they live on a mountain litterly could not go home for two weeks. Every time he tried, he got rewarded with pain. Finaly spent, if I remember right two weeks at a sea side motel.

I know 1,400 feet was enough to put me in pain when I got bent two years ago. For the most part they can drive home if they live above 1000 feet, but caution dictates, they should not be in a hurry to get there in just a few minutes after diving.

NOT A DOCTOR OR EXPERT, Just my $0.02.

Thanks - but I was referring to folks who are not experiencing DCI symptoms. When we rescue a bent diver at sea, we fly as low as possible, terrain permitting. If you are already bent, even a small pressure change will cause the bubbles to expand leading to pain and misery. Luckily out here in the south Pacific the one chamber is at sea level.

If a diver decompresses properly and has no signs of DCI after the dive and he happens to live at say 1500 feet MSL (say it's a 30-45 minute drive away) are we really saying he can't drive home? I'm all for risk management but this sounds a bit extreme.

 

[pasley]

djkeeler98 once bubbled...

If a diver decompresses properly and has no signs of DCI after the dive and he happens to live at say 1500 feet MSL (say it's a 30-45 minute drive away) are we really saying he can't drive home? I'm all for risk management but this sounds a bit extreme.

I agree. In most cases, you shoulc be able to drive home. But, as I said, the higher up the hill you live, the less of a hurry you should be in to get there. Take a little time and decompress before you drive home, have diner and hill a couple of hours resting and relaxing and telling stories about the dive. What could it hurt?

Natually there are many variables. If you have done a heavy day of diving and pushed the edge of the envelope, then by all means wait a while to off gas some.

Extreame? Maybe, but, you are probably hungry anyway and my motto is better safe than sorry.