Master Observer Rating

[JeffDG]

You are not one of those who do then. But most of the complaints that pop up are typically because of the MP > All others attitude. Go figure...

The aircrew each has a job...pilots are primarily bus drivers, the observer is responsible for the overall mission, while the scanner gets to get sick because he's riding in the back and doesn't have a good reference to the horizon while bouncing around in the turbulence, but decides on his own to be "brave" and not say anything...

[Flying Pig]

Then Im a raging coward!  I was a back seat lightweight!!

[JeffDG]

Then Im a raging coward!  I was a back seat lightweight!!

Drove me nuts...I was feeling it up front once, and got my head out the front window and established a horizon...kept asking the scanner "You OK back there?"  and kept answering "Yep, fine"...then got quiet...

Fortunately, I turned to the pilot and said "OK...time to RTB....and step on it..."

That scanner got a bit of a lecture about being brave in the future...it's a helluva lot better to land, get squared away and relaunch than it is to have to clean up!

[jeders]

Then Im a raging coward!  I was a back seat lightweight!!

Drove me nuts...I was feeling it up front once, and got my head out the front window and established a horizon...kept asking the scanner "You OK back there?"  and kept answering "Yep, fine"...then got quiet...

Fortunately, I turned to the pilot and said "OK...time to RTB....and step on it..."

That scanner got a bit of a lecture about being brave in the future...it's a helluva lot better to land, get squared away and relaunch than it is to have to clean up!

That's why I always carry multiple sick sacs in my flight suit pocket.

[davidsinn]

I guess I have a strong constitution. I've flown back seat of the airvan in MVFR on a photo recon run on targets that were at best a mile apart. Ground track looked like a bowl of spaghetti Didn't even feel queasy.

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

I've never got airsick, but on a training mission some years ago I was Scanner and my unit CC was Observer.

Our pilot had been (I think) an O-1 FAC in Vietnam and flew like it...there were times I was sure our wings were perpendicular to the ground.

When we got on the ground, my CC asked me "Is your stomach still with you?"

[PHall]

Two things to take with you when you're flying in the grid.
Saltine crackers, they help settle the stomach.
Kitchen trash can bags, in case the crackers don't work. Plus they hold a lot and have a nice big opening so you just about can't miss.

[AirDX]

Remember, too, that Mission Scanner is a qualification that didn't exist until what 10-15 years ago(?). Before that you had a MP and everybody else in the aircraft was an observer.

I was a scanner in 1987, so at least 25 years.  I suspect longer.

[SarDragon]

I, too, have been a back seat lightweight.

Sick sack - quart zip lock bag, with a paper towel in the bottom. The bag opening will fully cover your mouth, but keep your nose out, to keep from smelling it, and the towel helps soak up the liquid. I keep two in the leg pocket of my flight suit.

Anti-nausea - ginger tablets or gum. Take before you fly, so it's already in your system before you get into the high maneuver part of the flight.

[jeders]

Anti-nausea - ginger tablets or gum. Take before you fly, so it's already in your system before you get into the high maneuver part of the flight.

I usually try to drink a cup of ginger tea before I fly, though sometimes I'm not able.

[Flying Pig]

Ive found a breakfast burrito and a bowl of oatmeal is best.  The eggs in the burrito are light weight, and the oatmeal acts like glue and keeps it all together when you barf!!

I tell me passengers, observers, whoever, that at the slightest hint of feeling sick, tell me NOW and we are done.  Getting airsick has nothing to do with your manhood.   We had a Deputy lose it in the back of the helo once.  All over our FLIR computer, AeroComputer mapping computer.  The clean up bill was about $7000.  So please, you being tough can cause some serious heartache.   Not to mention your taking an aircraft out of service indefinitely.  Because Im not flying Barf-Force-One, I dont care who the mission is for!

[vento]

Bananas work well too, they taste about the same going down and coming up. 

[sardak]

Remember, too, that Mission Scanner is a qualification that didn't exist until what 10-15 years ago(?). Before that you had a MP and everybody else in the aircraft was an observer.

I was a scanner in 1987, so at least 25 years.  I suspect longer.

1975. The hstory was posted earlier in the thread  http://captalk.net/index.php?topic=14922.msg269322#msg269322  But it was mentioned that scanner didn't seem to be emphasized back then as much as it is now.

Mike