O Flights

[XxJake114xX]

I have an O Flight tommorow and what is it that I am supposed to wear to the O Flight, my BDU's or my Blues?

[Eclipse]

BDUs.

[XxJake114xX]

If anybody is in Sacramento or Auburn or anywhere near there, can you tell me where you fly to and around during the O Flights?

[vento]

In CAWG O'Rides last about 0.7 to 0.8 hours each. Since it is your first flight, the pilot won't be going too far. Typically there will be two cadets in the airplane, one cadet rides in the front right seat while the other cadet rides in the back seat. The first cadet will fly the outbound leg to a nearby airport where the aircraft will land and both cadets switch seats. The second cadet will then fly the inbound leg back to the airport of origin.

One of the syllabus includes a demonstration of a stall. In that case, only one cadet is allowed in the airplane with the pilot.

Have fun. Keep yourself hydrated but don't drink coffee. A little ginger helps a lot if it is your first time in a small airplane.

[SarDragon]

+1 on the ginger. I use the dark chocolate covered stuff from Trader Joe's. Eat 1 or 2 pieces before you fly, and have a couple more available for during the flight.

[XxJake114xX]

I just had the O Flight and I got so nauseated that I almost vomited because of the headphones that cover your whole ear was sending pressure to my head and I didnt have any gum or anything with me because I have been on some commercial airplanes and I didnt have that problem. But, what I'm still questioning is why the pressure is causing me nausia because once I took off the headset to put my head over a barf bag, I felt immediately better, literally, immediately. Does that happen to anyone else during their flights or is it just me?

[SJFedor]

I just had the O Flight and I got so nauseated that I almost vomited because of the headphones that cover your whole ear was sending pressure to my head and I didnt have any gum or anything with me because I have been on some commercial airplanes and I didnt have that problem. But, what I'm still questioning is why the pressure is causing me nausia because once I took off the headset to put my head over a barf bag, I felt immediately better, literally, immediately. Does that happen to anyone else during their flights or is it just me?

The headset shouldn't be sending pressure into your ears; they're typically not "sealed" around your ear to an airtight point. It's possible they were a little too snug and needed to be adjusted so they weren't like a vice grip on your head. Make sure you try 'em on before engine start, and if needed, have the pilot help you adjust them.

If you were having pressure in your ears, and when you got read to yak, it got better, I'm thinking it's because you weren't equalizing your ears from the pressure changes, which can give you a killer headache and make you nauseated. Next time, try pinching your nose n gently blowing to make your ears pop, or the less traumatic/more preferred method, try yawning, chewing gum, or just moving your jaw side to side, which opens up the eustachian tubes and helps your ears equalize.

[XxJake114xX]

if you look up "cessna 172 headphones", on Google images, it should be the young kid wearing the light green headphones. that is what I was wearing.It has like a soft cushion that makes the headphone cover my whole ear and I think waht caused my nausea is that the pressure in my ears wasnt the same as the pressure throughout the rest of my body and, because  nausea is caused from the ears, I got sick. I'll send the image to you if you have an e-mail in your profile.

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=cessna+172+headphones&hl=en&sa=X&tbo=d&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4HPIB_enUS309US294&biw=1440&bih=668&tbm=isch&tbnid=_Et-RjodHOul-M:&imgrefurl=http://www.visualphotos.com/image/1x9787762/girl_sitting_in_a_cessna_172_with_headphones&docid=k_Ln6ycemK3KqM&itg=1&imgurl=http://www.visualphotos.com/photo/1x9787762/girl_sitting_in_a_cessna_172_with_headphones_2017933.jpg&w=650&h=453&ei=LzD7UI7rMKKeiAK26oDYDg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=110&sig=111485626995798278997&page=1&tbnh=152&tbnw=225&start=0&ndsp=26&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:84&tx=121&ty=36

[SJFedor]

if you look up "cessna 172 headphones", on Google images, it should be the young kid wearing the light green headphones. that is what I was wearing.It has like a soft cushion that makes the headphone cover my whole ear and I think waht caused my nausea is that the pressure in my ears wasnt the same as the pressure throughout the rest of my body and, because  nausea is caused from the ears, I got sick. I'll send the image to you if you have an e-mail in your profile.

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=cessna+172+headphones&hl=en&sa=X&tbo=d&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4HPIB_enUS309US294&biw=1440&bih=668&tbm=isch&tbnid=_Et-RjodHOul-M:&imgrefurl=http://www.visualphotos.com/image/1x9787762/girl_sitting_in_a_cessna_172_with_headphones&docid=k_Ln6ycemK3KqM&itg=1&imgurl=http://www.visualphotos.com/photo/1x9787762/girl_sitting_in_a_cessna_172_with_headphones_2017933.jpg&w=650&h=453&ei=LzD7UI7rMKKeiAK26oDYDg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=110&sig=111485626995798278997&page=1&tbnh=152&tbnw=225&start=0&ndsp=26&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:84&tx=121&ty=36

Disclaimer: This is not medical advise.

I'm pretty familiar with pathophysiology and how the body works, as it's part of my everyday job. It's a little more complex than "the pressure in my ears wasn't the same as the rest of your body", but I'll spare you from the patho lecture today. If you're really curious, look up some websites on aerospace medicine.

You were wearing a David Clark headset, which is actually a very good set. They "seal" around your ears to decrease the amount of ambient nose (engine) that your ears are exposed to, which in turn prevents hearing damage, which is caused from prolonged exposure to loud noises. However, these headsets do not cause a vacuum, nor do they truly "seal" your ear off from the rest of the world, so unless they were just not properly adjusted and were "clamping" on your head (which I've worn some that do, and they end up making your head hurt after a while), then your problem was that you weren't equalizing your ears properly during ascent, cruise,  and descent, because as your change altitudes, there are pressure changes associated with that (roughly 1in/Hg per 1000ft, which is pretty significant). Again, read my previous post for techniques and tactics to prevent this.