Helmets

No one here has suggested a mandate for helmet wearing
while glider flying. There was a lot of talk of BRS
vs personal chutes and I threw in helmets half jokingly,
although it is true that a lot of fatalities in gliders
are the result of head injuries-head injuries that
may have been avoided with proper protection and a
new thread topic was born. Earlier in this helmet thread
someone URLed an article with data on A/C helmets,
all of which are lighter than your motorcycle helmet,
but not all will fit in a cockpit.
If anyone is flying so close to being out of gross
or C of G that a helmet (even a heavy one) would be
a deal breaker, then that is not the right glider for
them to be flying and they are already flirting with
disaster.
I personally think it would be an interesting study,
to see how effective at reducing the loss of life helmet
wearing would actually be, but that it certainly remain
an option to be chosen by the better informed pilots.
Perhaps more head clearance and proper headrests would
become a standard feature of the so called safety cockpits
that are employed in newer gliders. It could help evolve
the safety of the sport. A super sturdy keel for really
rough field protection would be a welcome addition
too for that matter, to protect the other head. A small
boulder in my lap going 40mph sounds rather discomforting...Maybe
we should make hard shell groin cups a mandate too
while we're at it. (joke)

Paul Hanson

At 23:42 13 September 2007, Raulb wrote:
Just a few thoughts before we start mandating the wearing
of helmets
in gliders.

1. How many glider pilots fly without parachutes?
If you don't wear
a parachute, a head injury is the least of your worries
in a mid-air.

2. What about canopies that are already fractions
of an inch above
the pilot's head when he just wears a normal hat?
Not everyone can
put their fist between their head and the canopy (I
can't and I'm not
tall).

3. In a moving aircraft, what are the chances of getting
a head
injury vs. (for example) a broken leg?

4. Other than the canopy (which should break but may
not), if you are
strapped in properly, what is your head going to hit?

5. In a glider with reclined seating, won't the weight
of a helmet
will cause more neck strain than it will provide safety?

6. If the glider ends up in an inverted wreck with
injury, the injury
is likely to be serious with ot without a helmet.

Haqving gone through a motorcycle accident where I
was wearing a
helmet, I have nothing against wearing a helmet if
it will do some
good, but I just can't see any advantage of wearing
a helmet in a
glider.

You mention the helmets used in kyaking, skiing, and
motorcycling, but
these are endevors where the head is out in the breeze
and can run
into things. Also, these helmets are not neceassarily
small. A DOT
legal motorcycle helmet is quite big and can be very
heavy. Mine,
made with kevlar, costs almost $500 and is one of the
lightest made
but it still weighs 3.7 lbs while some can weigh up
to 6 lbs. As it
is federally licensed, in an aircraft (unlike kayaking
or skiing), to
provide the sort of protection you are talking about,
if it is
mandated to wear a helmet, you would HAVE to have a
DOT certified
helmet similar (or identical) to a motorcycle helmet.

To extrapolate this a little, why don't you wear a
helmet in your
car? There is just as high (if not higher) risk of
serious head
injury in a car accident even if it has air bags.

As to the wire guards, remember in Europe their farm
fields are
typically A LOT smaller than they are in the US or
Canada. Therefore
it is more likely that a European will hit a wire than
an American
(although it is certainly not beyond the realm of possibility
here).

But having said that, if you want to wear a helmet
in your glider, by
all means wear one. If you want a cow catcher on your
glider, put one
on it. Just don't start making me do it too.

And I haven't even talked about any CG, weight (could
it put you
overgross?), or space problems of wearing a motorcycle-type
helmet in
an aircraft.

I have a wire guard in my ASW 24 (USA) and like it. The chances of my
rolling through a wire fence are very small but it was cheap insurance
when I ordered the glider (IIRC ~$300) and I've kept it in for 15
years despite the compromises (see below). I know of at least one
other pilot here in the US who bought one after seeing mine. It's also
a nice place to hang a rearview mirror, which is useful at times.

I also use a 6-point safety harness so that IF I crash in an otherwise
survivable manner, I won't submarine and end up with the lap belt
around my chest as I've seen happen. FWIW, I'm not sure whether a
helmet would have saved Robbie Robertson or my father, Joe Bearden.
Serious trauma to the back of the head was a factor in both of their
fatal glider crashes (a lead shot bag and gel-cel battery,
respectively) but there were other injuries, too (a crushed chest in
one case caused by the lap belt).

I've also had an ELT in the cockpit for 15 years not because I think
I'll crash but just in case. Same comment about cheap insurance.

I'd consider wearing a helmet if it were small and light enough and
didn't interfere with vision more than, say, the hat I already wear.
I'm actually more vulnerable than most of you to head injuries,
ironically because of the wire guard. In the 24 it comprises two bars
that pass on either side of my head before meeting a loop over the
instrument panel. When I wrote Scheicher years ago, they were very
forthcoming with information. Yes, it interferes with visibilty (but
no worse than in gliders with two-piece canopies). No, it probably
won't stop an electrical wire (but might deflect it up and over my
head enough to save me). Yes, I could hit my head in a crash (but it
would be a glancing blow). No, it doesn't reduce headroom (I'm
6.3"--190 cm)...but it might prevent me from wearing a helmet!

Nothing in life is certain. I do many things in gliding to improve my
survival odds just in case I make a mistake or something terrible
happens. I've seen one glider pilot wearing a helmet but it was many
years ago and way too big for most of us. I'd buy and wear one if it
represented a reasonable compromise of added safety, visibility,
comfort (including cooling in Uvalde), cost, etc. Without seeing data
on the incidence of head injuries in gliders and the impact on
survivability and medical costs and our insurance rates, I'd certain
oppose mandatory helmets at this point in time, but I don't think
that's what Tim was suggesting.

I think this is an interesting and useful discussion and the type of
the thing that makes plowing through RAS worthwhile. I would
welcome comments from ex-military and other pilots who've worn helmets
for extended periods of time.

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"
USA

Chip Bearden wrote:


I think this is an interesting and useful discussion and the type of
the thing that makes plowing through RAS worthwhile. I would
welcome comments from ex-military and other pilots who've worn helmets
for extended periods of time.


In the fighter aircraft environment it's an unquestioned necessity and
we learned to live with it and were glad to have the helmet.

A lot of things can happen in a bailout, from the reason for the bailout
through egress from the aircraft to the landing and including the
circumstances you find yourself in once on the ground. You can get hurt
in any or all of those phases, and a helmet is important protection for
your sensory and decision-making apparatus. The same goes for abnormal
landing situations, of course.

Though my DG-303 has enough room under the canopy that I might be able
to wear a small light helmet, it would undoubtedly restrict my ability
to move my head around in the cockpit and therefor limit my ability to
see to the sides, down, up, and aft--especially up and aft, a place I
want to be able to see in a thermal with other gliders. It would also
mar the inner surface of the canopy, and contribute reflections in the
plexiglas. A soft dark helmet covering to solve those problems may
contribute to heat build-up, but there would be plenty anyway. The
bucket hat does not pose similar restrictions, as it can be bent out of
the way or taken off with a sweep of the free hand. It can also be
dampened for cooling.

The seating position in my glider and the space in the cockpit are
vastly different from what I had to work with in USAF jets. I will
retain my ability to clear the airspace in preference to wearing a
helmet in my glider, and in preference to adding more weight to my
64-year old semi-reclined neck during those long hours of soaring.

I would seriously consider wearing a helmet in the tow plane, however.



Jack

On Sep 16, 1:29 am, J a c k wrote:
Chip Bearden wrote:
I think this is an interesting and useful discussion and the type of
the thing that makes plowing through RAS worthwhile. I would
welcome comments from ex-military and other pilots who've worn helmets
for extended periods of time.

In the fighter aircraft environment it's an unquestioned necessity and
we learned to live with it and were glad to have the helmet.

A lot of things can happen in a bailout, from the reason for the bailout
through egress from the aircraft to the landing and including the
circumstances you find yourself in once on the ground. You can get hurt
in any or all of those phases, and a helmet is important protection for
your sensory and decision-making apparatus. The same goes for abnormal
landing situations, of course.

Though my DG-303 has enough room under the canopy that I might be able
to wear a small light helmet, it would undoubtedly restrict my ability
to move my head around in the cockpit and therefor limit my ability to
see to the sides, down, up, and aft--especially up and aft, a place I
want to be able to see in a thermal with other gliders. It would also
mar the inner surface of the canopy, and contribute reflections in the
plexiglas. A soft dark helmet covering to solve those problems may
contribute to heat build-up, but there would be plenty anyway. The
bucket hat does not pose similar restrictions, as it can be bent out of
the way or taken off with a sweep of the free hand. It can also be
dampened for cooling.

The seating position in my glider and the space in the cockpit are
vastly different from what I had to work with in USAF jets. I will
retain my ability to clear the airspace in preference to wearing a
helmet in my glider, and in preference to adding more weight to my
64-year old semi-reclined neck during those long hours of soaring.

I would seriously consider wearing a helmet in the tow plane, however.

Jack

I 2nd that part about the tow plane - we had a tow pilot seriously
injured when he landed short due to an engine malfunction. To make
matters worse, the plane only had a lap belt (a shoulder belt was
installed afterward). The plane was a Citabria, which has lots of
exposed steel tubing and sharp pointy things. I read of a pilot killed
in an otherwise survivable accident when his head hit a long bolt in
the cockpit (it had been replaced for some reason and they didn't have
the proper length bolt on hand).

Visibility and fatigue are over-riding factors for use of helmets in
gliders, however. A Ruger hook on front hinged canopis is definitely
something to consider (this captures the rear of the canopy during
ejection, preventing incapacitation).

Of course, glider design has definitely improved thru the years. So
buying a newer one isn't a bad idea either (I am begining to sense an
indisputable argument for trading in the old gal - glider that is).

Tom

Yeah, great idea.
In particular I like the 'full german' from that website you linked: I
practically see the faces of the farmer and his daughter after I
landed out and emerged from the glider in that!
R.