What's the latest on no-fly times for multiple trimix dives over several days ?

[fsardone]

We have a commercial airline pilot in the local diving circle here. He routinely gets on the plane with the hair still wet from the dive (probably not quite due to briefing times etc but you get the idea). Similar story as what fsardone described ... know that so long as the cabin doesnt depressurize it probably isnt an issue, if it does you have an entirely different order of issue at hand, and as the pilot you get to have a proper oxygen mask straight away ;-)

Something probably not worth recommending, but an indication that the 48h surface interval procedure might be a tad on the conservative side. In the absence of big scientific studies, and with DANs homebase in world champion country of litigation, its no surprise ;-)

As I said an explosive (sudden) cabin depressurization can impair even non divers, so having a crew member at the controls after a dive is not a demonstration of responsible behaviour. Do not think even for a second that the positive pressure mask will avoid being bent, it will only avoid loosing consciousness at 40.000 ft for the time necessary for an emergency descent to 25.000. In my case I was a passenger.
I wont comment further on this.

 

[RainPilot]

and as the pilot you get to have a proper oxygen mask straight away ;-)

I imagine there are some instances of Surface O2 Deco on a crew oxygen mask, which will obviously remain entirely anecdotal.....

As an interesting aside, as @fsardone indicated, a sudden shift from sea level to 20000 feet will introduce DCS in a surprisingly large sample of non-divers. Its one of the reasons we used to prebreathe pure O2 for 30 minutes before take-off when taking unpressurised aircraft above 18000' (high performance, high climb rate) or before depressurising before HALO exits.

The explanation I received at the time for the 18000' was that, as per Haldane, you could halve your ambient pressure at any time without incurring a massive risk of DCS, and 18000 is pretty close to the 1/2 ATM point.