Wind(s)

Frank · September 29th, 2003, 09:40 AM

Hey you all ,

I want to learn as much as possible about the wind in base jumping for al objects .
Can anybody help me with this ?

I know that the wind has to be measured on deployement altitude . ( let me know if this is wrong )
How much speed and wich direction is ok or not ok ? is 45° tail ( back ) wind fine , ... .

How much speed and direction is ok for pca ( break chord ) ?

Is there a trick to measure this when you are climbing up ( to check deployment wind ) or are up on the exit for pca ?

Maybe an internet site for more about this all ?

I have now 30 jumps butt want to learn much more about this ethic .
Hoping for much reactions .
Thx ,
Frank

Ps sorry no e-mail , typed this with a friend .

**crwper** · September 30th, 2003, 09:32 AM

I'd say there are a few things to consider when looking at winds:

1) Wind strength/direction/turbulence at deployment altitude.
2) Wind strength/direction/turbulence throughout the canopy flight.
3) Your own experience & comfort level on this particular object.

These things are very object-dependent. Sometimes you can gauge the winds on the climb up an antenna, but you'll need to take account of the possiblity that the winds have shifted while you were climbing. It's not uncommon for wind speed & direction to change quite a lot at various altitudes on an antenna.

You need to think not just about strength and direction, but about the environment. If you're jumping a rock and there's a buttress to your right, it should come into consideration not only when you think about your off-heading responses, but also when you think about how this object is going to shape the wind.

You need to think about this not just for your deployment altitude, but for the whole ride down -- right to landing.

You can gauge winds by looking for indicators like smoke -- they will tell you something about the layers. Meteorological conditions are also helpful. On a rock, you can hear the wind in the landscape below, and also on the face. You can do spit tests. You can look at the effect of the wind on bodies of water.

Most of this is gained by experience, I think. What you need to do is to jump well within what you currently think your knowledge of the conditions is. When you're wrong, hopefully it won't be so bad that you can't recover, and you'll learn from it.

I took a paraglider course recently and learned a bit about thermals and what you can tell from the smell of the wind. Keep your ears open to new sources of information, and judge them against what you already know. You can learn to use all of your senses to judge the winds, but it will take time and experience.

If you have a more specific example, I'm sure everyone here can offer a little more advice, but there aren't really any good "general" rules, as far as I'm concerned.

Michael