Thread: Survival Kits
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Old September 2nd 20, 03:36 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Tim Taylor
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Default Survival Kits

On Wednesday, September 2, 2020 at 8:11:50 AM UTC-6, wrote:
Has anyone noticed how terribly impolite some can be on this site?

I attended all the USAF survival schools in preparation for my participation in the South East Asia War Games. At the longest school at Fairchild AFB (about 2 weeks) an individual who had the opportunity to find himself on the ground in a hostile environment stood in front of the class holding the USAF survival vest above his head. He asked what we thought the most important piece of survival equipment might be. Almost every piece of gear in the vest was shouted out, the gun, the radio, the medical kit, the knife... He dropped the vest and pointed to his head and said, "your brain, your knowledge, your training, your ability to remain calm and think." Bearing that in mind, some of you are dead already.

Walt


I have flown in all of those locations, visiting the Grand Teton just this last Saturday. While water is the obvious need, warmth is often neglected. In clear sky, low humidity environments the night radiative cooling can chill everything rapidly. I carry a first aid kit, signal mirror, space blanket, MRE, and a warm coat that has a red liner for visabilty in my storage area. I also start by wearing appropriate clothing in flight. Dress for the landout, not the flight! In the west it can be many hours, if not over night before a crew can reach you. In the west, I always fly in long pants and with a long sleeve solar protection shirt.