sneezing while flying helicopter

[Simon]

Hi, I am interested in helicopter flying and may book a lesson, etc.
I have a serious question that perhaps is slightly comical.
I have read lots of info, and it seems to me that a sneeze could be
fatal.
I mean, it's dodgy in a car - more dangerous than adjusting the stereo
perhaps.
To the experienced pilots: if you are flying a helicopter on your own,
how do you handle a sneeze without jolting the sensitive cyclic
control of which you must never let go (or so says some info I read on
the R-22).

Thanks,
Simon.

[Glenn]

"Simon" > wrote in message
om...
> Hi, I am interested in helicopter flying and may book a lesson, etc.
> I have a serious question that perhaps is slightly comical.
> I have read lots of info, and it seems to me that a sneeze could be
> fatal.
> I mean, it's dodgy in a car - more dangerous than adjusting the stereo
> perhaps.
> To the experienced pilots: if you are flying a helicopter on your own,
> how do you handle a sneeze without jolting the sensitive cyclic
> control of which you must never let go (or so says some info I read on
> the R-22).
>
> Thanks,
> Simon.

It's a little like juggling a cat and a running chainsaw at the same time
..... it's something you must do very carefully.
HTH

[Clive]

"Glenn" > wrote in message
...
> "Simon" > wrote in message
> om...
> > Hi, I am interested in helicopter flying and may book a lesson, etc.
> > I have a serious question that perhaps is slightly comical.
> > I have read lots of info, and it seems to me that a sneeze could be
> > fatal.
> > I mean, it's dodgy in a car - more dangerous than adjusting the stereo
> > perhaps.
> > To the experienced pilots: if you are flying a helicopter on your own,
> > how do you handle a sneeze without jolting the sensitive cyclic
> > control of which you must never let go (or so says some info I read on
> > the R-22).
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Simon.
>
> It's a little like juggling a cat and a running chainsaw at the same time
> .... it's something you must do very carefully.
> HTH
>
I always fly with my right forearm resting on my right thigh. About 20 years
ago flying a 47G I realised I suffered from Hay fever (having landed in a
'cut' corn field)!

I quickly learnt NOT to rest my arm on my leg when sneezing!!! The joints in
the arm/should take out any movement from the torso whilst sneezing.

Very funny at the time though :-)

Clive

[Andrew Crane]

"Clive" > wrote in message
...

> I always fly with my right forearm resting on my right thigh. About 20
years
> ago flying a 47G I realised I suffered from Hay fever (having landed in a
> 'cut' corn field)!
>
> I quickly learnt NOT to rest my arm on my leg when sneezing!!! The joints
in
> the arm/should take out any movement from the torso whilst sneezing.

Last month I was flying an R44 from Wales to London. I'd just got airborne
and radio'd through for zone transit of some Matz and was given a new QNH. I
leaned forward to change it and caught a wasp between my leg and belly. I
think I climbed a hundred feet or so when the git stung me, but nothing
life-threatening. I spent the next hour of the flight adding "wasp" to my
scan. At least you get a warning with a sneeze.

Regards
Andrew

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welcome

[Stan Gosnell]

(Simon) wrote in
om:

> Hi, I am interested in helicopter flying and may book a lesson, etc.
> I have a serious question that perhaps is slightly comical.
> I have read lots of info, and it seems to me that a sneeze could be
> fatal.
> I mean, it's dodgy in a car - more dangerous than adjusting the stereo
> perhaps.
> To the experienced pilots: if you are flying a helicopter on your own,
> how do you handle a sneeze without jolting the sensitive cyclic
> control of which you must never let go (or so says some info I read on
> the R-22).

It's not as dangerous as you think. Sneezing is no more dangerous in a
helicopter than in a car, & actually less so. In a car, you're always
inches away from a collision. In an aircraft, you have room on all 6
sides. I learned to fly in a TH55 (Hughes 269) that is as twitchy as any
helicopter you'll ever see, & I very quickly learned to light a cigarette
using book matches while flying. (Uncle Sam had thoughtfully provided free
cigarettes in C rations, & got me hooked on them.) You can't let go for a
long time, but a couple of seconds isn't a problem. A sneeze might cause a
slight bump because you move parts of your body, but it isn't a real
problem.

--
Regards,

Stan

[Shaber CJ]

>From: Stan Gosnell
>Date: 8/15/2003 9:11 AM Pacific Daylight Time
>Message-id: >
>
.... I very quickly learned to light a cigarette
>using book matches while flying. (Uncle Sam had thoughtfully provided free
>cigarettes in C rations, & got me hooked on them...
>--
>Regards,
>
>Stan

Stan flying helicopters CAN be dangerous. Smoking cigarettes IS fatal.

Just because I care, : )

craig

[CW9371]

>Stan flying helicopters CAN be dangerous. Smoking cigarettes IS fatal.
>
>Just because I care, : )
>
>craig
>

Errr smoking doesnt kill everyone sooooo it can be fatal should be the correct
comment. Life is fatal. 100 out of 100 people always die lol

[Stan Gosnell]

(Shaber CJ) wrote in
:

> Stan flying helicopters CAN be dangerous. Smoking cigarettes IS
> fatal.

Everything is fatal eventually. Some people smoke until they die of old
age after 100. I quit ~20 years ago, but I still resent the collaboration
between the Armed Forces and the tobacco companies that got me (and
tens if not hundreds of thousands of others) started in the first place.

--
Regards,

Stan

[Mike Williams]

My instructors Hughes 269 has an electric cigarette lighter as a standard
fitting in the panel. When I remarked on this he pushed his finger into a
slot and an ashtray popped out. I asked him do you smoke while flying, he
said no, but you can and there is a training available to do so.
"Shaber CJ" > wrote in message
...
> >From: Stan Gosnell
> >Date: 8/15/2003 9:11 AM Pacific Daylight Time
> >Message-id: >
> >
> ... I very quickly learned to light a cigarette
> >using book matches while flying. (Uncle Sam had thoughtfully provided
free
> >cigarettes in C rations, & got me hooked on them...
> >--
> >Regards,
> >
> >Stan
>
> Stan flying helicopters CAN be dangerous. Smoking cigarettes IS fatal.
>
> Just because I care, : )
>
> craig
>

[Chris]

One thing I learn from my days flying Hueys- if you're on a check-ride and
the IP asks if it's alright with you if he "lights one up", the answer was
always - sure, go right ahead! It helped immensely on the outcome of that
ride.


"Shaber CJ" > wrote in message
...
> >From: Stan Gosnell
> >Date: 8/15/2003 9:11 AM Pacific Daylight Time
> >Message-id: >
> >
> ... I very quickly learned to light a cigarette
> >using book matches while flying. (Uncle Sam had thoughtfully provided
free
> >cigarettes in C rations, & got me hooked on them...
> >--
> >Regards,
> >
> >Stan
>
> Stan flying helicopters CAN be dangerous. Smoking cigarettes IS fatal.
>
> Just because I care, : )
>
> craig
>

[Stan Gosnell]

"Chris" > wrote in
m:

> One thing I learn from my days flying Hueys- if you're on a check-ride
> and the IP asks if it's alright with you if he "lights one up", the
> answer was always - sure, go right ahead! It helped immensely on the
> outcome of that ride.

Absolutely. And I never cared, because I smoked, too. You never wanted a
cranky CW3 grading your ride - get some nicotine in his system (make sure
he has plenty of caffeine before you go out also) and he's much easier to
live with.

I swore when I quit that I would never be a 'reformed smoker' so I don't
complain about other people smoking, I just wish I had never started. Lots
of money burned up, nevermind the lung damage, although they were dirt
cheap at the commissary. I was paying $1.86/carton in Germany in 1982 when
I got out. The sticker shock in the civilian world was a big incentive to
quit.

--
Regards,

Stan

[Stu Fields]

Understand..I was paying $1.00/carton whilst working for the USAF in Puerto
Rico. Even then we knew that they weren't doing anything positive for our
health Recent DER inspection on a new homebuilt Safari required the builder
to add a "no smoking" decal to the dash. It seems that FAA can reach
further than I thought.
Stu Fields.
"Stan Gosnell" > wrote in message
...
> "Chris" > wrote in
> m:
>
> > One thing I learn from my days flying Hueys- if you're on a check-ride
> > and the IP asks if it's alright with you if he "lights one up", the
> > answer was always - sure, go right ahead! It helped immensely on the
> > outcome of that ride.
>
> Absolutely. And I never cared, because I smoked, too. You never wanted a
> cranky CW3 grading your ride - get some nicotine in his system (make sure
> he has plenty of caffeine before you go out also) and he's much easier to
> live with.
>
> I swore when I quit that I would never be a 'reformed smoker' so I don't
> complain about other people smoking, I just wish I had never started.
Lots
> of money burned up, nevermind the lung damage, although they were dirt
> cheap at the commissary. I was paying $1.86/carton in Germany in 1982
when
> I got out. The sticker shock in the civilian world was a big incentive to
> quit.
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Stan
>

[Rod Buck]

In message >, Stu Fields
> writes
>Understand..I was paying $1.00/carton whilst working for the USAF in Puerto
>Rico.
..
Well, as someone who quit aged 9, (one crafty drag in the schoolyard,
and I thought "these are awful, why does anyone DO this?") I'm amused by
the current costs in the UK.

As far as I can tell, a 20 pack is now around UKP 4. Call it $6????

(Mostly due to very high Govt tax - there's a lively smuggling industry
bringing tobacco in from the continent, where cigs are much cheaper.
Paradoxically, we're told that most of the tax on tobacco and booze goes
to fund our more-or-less free Health Service. Er - guys, if people
didn't drink and smoke, the costs of the Health Service would be less
than half what it is!)

And still people queue up to kill themselves, paying around $42 a week
or more for the privilege...who says there's intelligent life on earth?

What puzzles me is this:

How does anyone stick it long enough to get addicted?

I mean, no kid EVER lights up his first ciggy, and thinks...."Oh, GREAT,
this is what I've been waiting for all my life"

Let's face it, they all taste absolutely crap at first, no? So why does
anyone persist with it until they can't do without it?

I'm interested to know.....

--
Rod Buck

[Rod Buck]

In message >, toadmonkey
> writes
>I've seen a lot fo family and friends fall to that. Maybe they'll be getting
>jobs left and right, that's just fine. I'd rather be an honest poor man that
>has respect for himself than a rich druggie that has to bend over and kiss ass
>for a living.
>TM

Yeah, I can see that some firms might want guys that fit into the
corporate culture (IE respond to peer pressure). Original thinkers
usually ask too many awkward questions, don't they?
--
Rod Buck

[Rod Buck]

In message >, Stan Gosnell
> writes
>.
>Nicotine is highly addictive - probably at least as addictive as
>cocaine, heroin, or any other drug. Once you get started, it's
>very, very tough to quit.
>

I think it's probably far MORE addictive - although never a smoker,
like I say, I rejected them as a kid - one only has to look at the
numbers involved, and compare it to other drugs to see that nicotine is
by far the most addictive.

I speak from experience, too - after a bad accident at work, with a 30ft
fall from a rooftop into the yard, (the worst landing I ever made!) I
had a month-long stay in Intensive Care, with many broken bones. I was
on large doses of Heroin and Morphine for pain relief for 2 months
afterwards - in fact ,when my wife went to the pharmacist to get the
supplies, he thought I had terminal cancer when he looked at the
doses...

Anyway, I never got the slightest "high" from either drug - I was just
damn glad of the pain relief - and did staged withdrawal over 3 months
or so without any addictive problems at all.

Later on, the Senior Anaesthetist (Anaestheologist in USA?) later told
me that, if people are in severe pain ,you can whack enormous doses of
morphine etc into them, and they don't get addicted at all - the brain
breaks it down as fast as you provide it whilst countering the pain
stimulus.

He said that people only get addicted if you provide large doses to them
when they're NOT in severe pain. And even then, it's only a minority of
people that have any great problem getting off - the personality has a
lot to do with it, he said. People get addicted to shopping, gambling,
sex, you name it. Narcotic drugs is only one other example.

But nicotine is far more insidious, and affects a wider band of people -
and addiction is easily obtained, as, of course, no one NEEDS the stuff
before they get it - like wounded guys need morphine. So, you try it a
few times, and...



--
Rod Buck

[Micbloo]

>Later on, the Senior Anaesthetist (Anaestheologist in USA?) later told
>me that, if people are in severe pain ,you can whack enormous doses of
>morphine etc into them, and they don't get addicted at all - the brain
>breaks it down as fast as you provide it whilst countering the pain
>stimulus.

When I had a kidney stone about 14 years ago they had to use morphine to ease
my pain. It worked and I never felt...high or buzzed. Just happily NOT in
pain anymore.

Gerard

[joe]

I had a ruptured appendix, last year. I _LOVE_ morphine.

Joe


"Micbloo" > wrote in message
...
> >Later on, the Senior Anaesthetist (Anaestheologist in USA?) later told
> >me that, if people are in severe pain ,you can whack enormous doses of
> >morphine etc into them, and they don't get addicted at all - the brain
> >breaks it down as fast as you provide it whilst countering the pain
> >stimulus.
>
> When I had a kidney stone about 14 years ago they had to use morphine to
ease
> my pain. It worked and I never felt...high or buzzed. Just happily NOT
in
> pain anymore.
>
> Gerard