Going From Tdi An/dp To Helitrox?

[lukeb]

It has been 2 years since I took AN/DP, which is a while I agree. But the point I was making is that regardless of time, TDI says this is not possible. You have to to take the whole class.

 

[Marie13]

You’re out of luck unfortunately.

 

[lukeb]

Regardless, I was basing it (incorrectly), on what I read in this thread. I was just posting to confirm that per TDI this is not an option.

I'm not saying TDI's position is wrong. I am just trying to make sure no one else makes the same mistake I did.

 

[Edward3c]

I find it amusing instructors give different advice to the agency they represent.

 

[stuartv]

It has been 2 years since I took AN/DP, which is a while I agree. But the point I was making is that regardless of time, TDI says this is not possible. You have to to take the whole class.

Did they tell you specifically that the time passed does not matter? Or just that what you want is not possible?

As I said earlier:

...The only issue I could possibly see is if the span of time was too long from start to finish. If you did AN/DP and it has been more than 6 months and now you want to do the book work to get Helitrox, that could be an issue.

If you had finished AN/DP last week and did the Trimix classroom work that is required for Helitrox this week, then I believe your instructor COULD write you a Helitrox cert. I mean, how could that NOT be the case?

Also, who did you talk to at TDI HQ?

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I would've made people take the whole class if there was a delay of a few months between AN/DP and the Helitrox. They are paying for it. Why not get the extra dives in under supervision to correct any issues, even small ones, that might have cropped up during the delay.
Too many people want tech certs too fast. It's why I split up AN/DP when I was teaching them the last two years I did. 5 dives for AN and 5 or 6 (time permitting) for DP. We'd do AN over one 3-4 day period with classroom and confined water training/assessment. A month or so later after they had the chance to practice the skills we worked on and they learned in AN, we'd do DP. The results vs a 6 day AN/DP one shot were so much better in terms of knowledge and skill retention, dive comfort, and team dynamics.
I never bothered with getting my Helitrox instructor because the cost and demand for it wasn't there in my area. I referred people elsewhere for that.
My own Helitrox cert is through NAUI and I took it in combination with NAUI Intro to Tech. It was several nights in the classroom, a weekend of skills dives in a lake in West Virginia, and two 3 day weekends of diving in Lake Erie.
Helitrox is not required for the SDI normoxic trimix class. Get 25 or 50 deco dives in and then take the trimix class.
You'll be a better diver and have less stress on you when you go through the class.

 

[wedivebc]

It seems to me that you embarked on a course and due to what seems like improper research on your part ended up with a certificate that was not exactly what you had hoped for. If you wanted helitrox would it not have been better for you to seek out a helitrox instructor rather than complain about agency standards?

 

[wedivebc]

It's been a while, but I figured I would post a follow-up here in case anyone like me comes along later and reads this thread.

IANTD offers a course called Open Circuit Recreational Trimix. That certifies a diver for recreational dives to 130' with up to 25% Helium. I have just gotten email confirmation back from IANTD that the course does not require any dives (though an individual instructor may, at their discretion). Prerequisites are to be at least 15 years old and have the Deep Diver specialty.

So, for someone in the position that I'm in that wants to be able to add some Helium to their mix, the IANTD OC Rec Trimix course may be an option to look into, instead of putting all the time and money in that is required for TDI Helitrox.

Just an FYI for posterity.

It is easy to find shortcuts to proper training if you exploit the loopholes.

 

[lukeb]

I apologize for opening a can of worms here, that was not my intention.

Just to clarify my personal situation and position........ I'm not saying @stuartv was incorrect 5 years ago (I'm just giving an update on what TDI is saying now), I am not complaining in any way. I'm not arguing with TDI (nothing to argue, it's their standards, their classes, their rules). I'm not unhappy with my class at all (I got exactly what I wanted and what I had researched at the time - Helium wasn't even on my radar then!).

I had a great experience with my AN/DP class and have had a lot of fun over the last two years using the skills I learned, diving deeper and for longer (safely!). What prompted me into resurrecting this thread, was me looking into Trimix class options. I stumbled across the information in the first few posts, which I took to mean (incorrectly) that you could achieve the Helitrox cert by completing the Trimix coursework with your original instructor without redoing the whole class and thus saving $400. (Just to emphasize, it was and is still my intention to do full Trimix in the future, I just figured if I could get the Helitrox cert then why not?). I then spoke to TDI who informed me this was not the case.

I simply posted this for the benefit of anyone who made the same incorrect assumption that I did.

Again .....no complaints, I am a very happy AN/DP diver who looks forward to going through the full Trimix training as soon as I can afford it.

 

[stuartv]

I stumbled across the information in the first few posts, which I took to mean (incorrectly) that you could achieve the Helitrox cert by completing the Trimix coursework with your original instructor without redoing the whole class

And you can... if you do it in a timely fashion. Not 2 years later.