"Big John" wrote in message
...
As an aside. When I bailed out in a snow storm in the arctic
(Greenland) I took the booklet included in my survival pack and tore
out the tropical instructions and used to start a small fire.

On matches the kit contained a small container that held 12 or so
'kitchen' style matches. Container was water proof and anyone
interested might look in some of the military surplus stores to see if
they have any.

While there was water in the survival kit in a sealed container, I
always carried about a extra quart of water in several smaller
containers. If one got broken in crash I still would have extra water
(which is a life saver).

Heavy coat, gloves and knit cap. Set of knit long johns would be nice
also. For those who say don't need this in summer need to send a few
night in mountains where it gets cold at night even in the summer.
This clothing if selected with the down or plastic filling can be
rolled into a very small package and only weigh a couple of pounds. It
can be stuffed in almost any little space in cabin that is not used
for any thing else. Air out at least once a year.

A knife and other things are also high priorty but basic life saving
items are a necessity.

Hope you'all never have to use a survival kit.

Big John
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On Fri, 09 Jun 2006 17:49:54 -0400, Roger
wrote:

On 8 Jun 2006 09:42:43 -0700, wrote:


wrote:



MATCHES

...

The two basic types of match are those which may be scratched anywhere
versus the 'safety' type which can on be struck on an abrasive pad
treated with red phosphorus. The 'strike-anywhere' type are
preferred since there's no need to provide for the special
striking-surface.

The surprise came from hearing some folks insist that the
'strike-anywhere' type of match was not available, at least to
them. I assume they are the victim of some do-gooder regulation which
allows only the sale of 'safety-type' matches in their locale.

Before the last long trip we took I specifically went shopping for
"kitchen matches" IE the ones that come in the large box. When I got
them home the damn things were safety matches and I didn't want to
have to take the whole box with me. After several days of hunting
with no success, I gave up.

I did find the Tapers (SP?) or fireplace matches work well, but are
expensive and you end up throwing most of each one away, but they are
great if you don't want to get too close to the fire. OTOH a box of
the things have enough wood to make a small fire :-))

As to the paraffin, as a boy scout we dipped the whole match, usually
molding 6 or 8 together. When we wanted one a thumbnail would peel
one off the bunch and clean off the paraffin to the back of the tip.
You learned to hold them hot end up as with all that paraffin you
could get quite a blaze including your fingers when held hot end down.

The new LED flashlights are great. I have several. Some have switches
like the old flashlights that are momentary when pushed part way down
and toggle when pushed all the way down. If you know the Morse code
these can be really handy IF whoever sees it can read Morse. I have a
couple that are a single LED on a flexible "goose neck" and a clip
that will hold them to my shirt. The brightness is just right for the
panel. I had one of the earlier single LEDs that also was about the
right brightness and it would clip on to the bill of a cap which meant
they lit up where ever you were looking. Unfortunately the cheap
plastic clip broke. OTOH I have a TAC light with 5 LEDs and they
are BRIGHT!. In the center is a single red LED that can be seen from a
long way off.

Knives: I almost always carry a "box cutter" that folds up like a
jack knife, is all metal, has extra blades, and clips to my belt.
There is usually one in the glove compartment with the spare batteries
and flashlights.

Tinder: You look for tinder with a chart case full of bible paper?

Of course this is assuming that you can get back to the stuff in the
plane you are not carrying on you.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com


I've been there and done that several times.

Real story:

I'm down in the mountains at 8200 foot elevation at a deserted airstrip
having landed a glider there at about 8PM. Crewperson is 350 road miles
away and doesn't have a car charger for the cell phone which has dying
battery. Crewperson also has a problem with the idea of travel from A to
B. I THINK crew knows where I am.

I'm dressed in shorts and T-shirt. I have three liters of water left in my
water pack and a Pemican Meal Bar in my survival vest which does nicely for
the evening meal. A quick check of my 12V sealed lead acid battery shows
12.6 volts after 7.5 hours airborne - the radio will work if I need it.

It's cool and getting colder by the minute so I get back in the cockpit and
close up. After a while it gets cold in the cockpit and the canopy starts
to fog over so I break out the space blanket from the vest. Now I'm toasty
but sweaty. I think about a fire but there's nothing even remotely flamable
in sight - anyway the fire danger is extreme and theres a "Red flag" warning
in effect for wildfires. Lighting a fire might get expensive with the
fines. I'll stick with warm and sweaty. After a while I work out a
ventillation scheme that gets the humidity out of the cockpit - much better.

The remaining problem is boredom. There's a lighted runway about 35 miles
away with pilot controlled lighting so I try 5 clicks on 122.8 and lo! the
runway lights come on - kewl. Then, just visible in the moonlight, a grey
fox trots by and freezes when hes sees what must look to him like a huge
wounded bird with one wing on the ground. He cautiously approaches the nose
until I wiggle the rudder. He jumps three feet straight up and streaks out
of sight.

Still worrying about whether my crew got my position before their cell phone
died, I try a passing airliner on 121.5 and get a quick response. I explain
my situation and get an offer of help. In a few minutes, he calls back to
say that his operations folks have called my departure airport. They know
my situation and my crew is on the way - ETA 1AM. Jeez! That A to B thing
again. I thank the guys in the big airplane and settle in.

Crew arrives at midnight to find me asleep. We're on the road with the
glider in the trailer in 15 minutes. Crew then complains about being tired
and hungry. Darn! No Rambo knife. We get a very early breakfast at a truck
stop and all ends well.

BTW, I notice that Satellite phones rent for less than $30 a week and air
time is about $1.50 a minute with no pre-paid minutes. If you plan a flight
over wilderness areas, that might be worth it if you wanted assured
communication.

bildan