Helmets

I have worn a military helmet for wave flights, also.

For a self portrait at 21,000 feet, see
http://www.soarelsinore.org/graphics/126Jock.jpg

The helmet protects the noggin, also from the cold! During one flight
at 23,000 feet, the temp was -40, and that's where C = F, burrr! A
drafty (even with good canopy seals) 1-26 offers none of the (scant?)
insulation offered by glass birds. I later went to 28,300 feet, and
only my feet were cold.

That said, a helmet like this could be a liability, not a safety
feature, during hot summer thermaling.

Perhaps the way to added protection is for us to innovate before they
regulate: some bright and creative person could come up with an
active cooling lightweight head protection -- connect the helmet to
your Camelback? Integral visor with better eye protection than Sun
Tiger sunglasses? (And added protection during those annoying
birdstrikes...in my 1-26, I'm always hit from behind...). Integral
communication suite (mic and phone, connection input for your iPod,
cell phone, sat phone and the voice recognition features of WinPilot
12.6 on your turbo iPaq 9995). If you've got TCAS, the helmet can
project targeting (er, I mean advisory) information on your helmet
mounted visor cueing system. The built-in video recording device
would provide even more excitement on OLC...coming to SeeYou version
8.2: out the window video submenus...

Of course, they'll need to be stylish: Bad Boy, No Fear, racing
stripes...customized to your liking...

Just when you thought soaring couldn't get more expensive, the $975.00
helmet requirement will most certainly doom the sport.

While I feel so "cool" wearing my helmet, I think everybody would be
safer if they spent the money taking a couple more pattern tows to
practice landings (and off-field landings, too), or spent a little
more time getting some dual with a Constant Flight Interruptor (CFI),
even if you're a triple-diamond, thousand-k, two-time open class
champion.

So when are the champion race pilots going to start advocating this?
(Instruction, not helmets). I have to give a nod here to longtime
safety proponents like Knauff & Striedek (okay, I've left a few more
out, but I'm a 1-26er, so there).

-Pete
#309

Have to say that in the fatal accident reports I've read, the pilot
was invariably killed by multiple injuries, not head injuries alone.
That said there have been two accidents in the UK this year where
pilots survived but were left with serious head injuries, and believe
me they're the worst kind of injuries you can have. However I can't
say a helmet would have prevented those injuries - it depends entirely
on how the head was impacted, what by, what energies were involved
etc. My gut feeling is that helmets would be of little use and their
costs (fatigue, possibly reduced vis) too high.

BTW a correctly fitted four-point harness is as safe as a five-point,
although I do recall that the six is the best. As long as you *fully*
tighten the lap strap *first* on a four-point, there should not be any
issues with submarining. I seem to remember that if you do submarine
with a five point, you're going to be left with serious groin injuries
(that's why a six is best), so correct fitting is more important than
variant.


Dan

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

Dan G wrote:
BTW a correctly fitted four-point harness is as safe as a five-point,
although I do recall that the six is the best. As long as you *fully*
tighten the lap strap *first* on a four-point, there should not be any
issues with submarining. I seem to remember that if you do submarine
with a five point, you're going to be left with serious groin injuries
(that's why a six is best), so correct fitting is more important than
variant.

My recollection is "correct fitting" may not be good enough with "older"
gliders that have a shallow seat pan, compared to "newer" gliders, where
the seat pan has a substantially angled pan below the thighs. Really
"old" gliders with upright seating might also be OK.

I have talked to ridge runners that tell me it doesn't matter how tight
you make the lap belt on a 4 point harness, it simply doesn't work as
well as a 5 or 6 point harness while you are pounding along low and fast
on the ridge. That might be a different issue than proper restraint in a
crash.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly
* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

Dan G wrote:

Have to say that in the fatal accident reports I've read, the pilot
was invariably killed by multiple injuries, not head injuries alone.
That said there have been two accidents in the UK this year where
pilots survived but were left with serious head injuries, and believe
me they're the worst kind of injuries you can have. However I can't
say a helmet would have prevented those injuries - it depends entirely
on how the head was impacted, what by, what energies were involved
etc. My gut feeling is that helmets would be of little use and their
costs (fatigue, possibly reduced vis) too high.

Multiple injuries including head injuries in fatal or non-fatal gliding
accidents should lead us to ask an important question: did the head
injury limit the ability of the pilot to avoid further injuries from
delayed, slow, or no egress; from late or no chute activation; from
inability to steer away from a poor landing place; from inability to
make a correct PLF (parachute landing fall); etc.?

Canopy jettison is a known threat to the pilot's head, esp where the
Roeger Hook http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/roegerhaken-e.html is not fitted.



Jack