It has nothing to do with feeling secure. It has everything to do with
understanding how hard the ground is when you hit it in something like a
P51.
I flew a Mustang for many hours with a baseball cap. Hard helmets are a REAL
pleasure at altitude with the sun pouring in on them. It's like having your
head in a pizza oven. You wear them in the military because that's where
they put the avionics and O2 crap.
In fast airplanes, If you dig a hole at the speeds your airplane is capable
of handling, it won't matter much what you have on your head. Your head AND
the helmet will probably end up on some tree branch dangling in the wind
anyway. On a bike you have a nice breeze to cool off your bean. In a 51,
you're under a magnifying glass on a hot sunny day!
Bob Hoover uses a soft plantation hat that he sits on enroute, then puts on
after he lands to keep the sun out of his eyes while he taxies in. I did the
same on more than one occasion.
A helmet WILL save you from the occasional "bump" on the head, but
everything considered, many of us opt not to wear one if we have the option.
It has nothing to do with overconfidence and everything to do with quality
of life! :-)
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Commercial Pilot; CFI; Retired
dhenriquestrashatearthlinktrashdotnet
(take out the trash :-)

Greasy Rider© @invalid.com wrote in message
...
I was browsing a newsgroup just now and saw a gentleman flying a P-51
Mustang with what appears to be just a common ball cap. I got to
wondering if he is that secure in his abilities and crash worthiness
of the air frame to simply wear a ball cap?

As a motorcyclist I feel very strange if I'm not wearing the very best
helmet that I can afford. Why would a pilot operate a high performance
aircraft with anything less?

I know that a high dollar helmet and other protective gear has no
guarantees whether it's a car, motorcycle, pony or aircraft.

Am I missing something? Is the pilot simply exercising his freedom to
take his chances? (The law won't let me do that in some states.)