Aviation Helmets

[CAPLAW]

Its a joke

[Flying Pig]

Wheeeew....I was worried!

[flyerthom]

I think we should make helmets mandatory and part of the uniform.

Should we start a uniform thread on this?

At work we're trying to find a Cheeto's tiger for mine. I suggest the Pluto dog wearing a propeller beanie on it for the gray corporate  helmet for those not meeting weight and grooming standards.  For those that do meet the standards they get to wear one with a ...     

[Rob Sherlin]

^^^^ I may be able to help you with that!

   I use to be an animator (a 9-5 animator that is), and have worked for USAnimation who did all the "Chester Cheetah" Cheeto commercials. I believe I still have character sheets with "Chester" in various poses.......I'll look for them for you. If not, I'm sure I can make one for you.

[Pumbaa]

I suggest the Pluto dog wearing a propeller beanie on it for the gray corporate  helmet for those not meeting weight and grooming standards.  For those that do meet the standards they get to wear one with a ...    

Oh great another helmet nazi! Picking on us fat and fuzzies again! Ooops Godwins law....

[Hawk200]

It has a set of ear plugs that come with it that fit in to a plug on the back of the helmet.  That way, you are listening to the radio though the ear plugs and not the head phones that surround your ear.  it allows you to keep the volume WAAAAY down and they act as ear plugs for outside noise. 

Communications Ear Plugs (CEP's). Actually standard for the Army side. Haven't played aircrew on the AF side yet. Don't know if they use them.

I do know you can get them for just about any helmet or headset available. I would consider them for CAP use. Not sure a helmet would be all that handy to me. It is a lot to lug around for such a small gain. I think a survival vest might be cheaper and more practical.

[O-Rex]

I wear a USAF FLIGHT HELEMET I purchased off ebay.When I fly as a CAP observer I have not had a problem with height inside the cockpit of the 182.

So your that guy??? :clap:

Oh please, don't let this get ugly, even in jest......

In my former life, I've worn an SPH-4, HGU-26 (which had a sweet red white and blue paint job on the visor cover that was our unofficial deal until the new unit commander nixed it) and HGU-55, the 55 being the most comfortable, of course.

Besides Military, most Police Fire/Rescue use them because of the type of flying they do: GA Helo pilots generally don't use them.

The only time I wore a flight helmet in a CAP aircraft was during the CAP ATG's operational test of NVG and slow-scan reticle-cam gear in 2002, and that was because the helmet (a USAF-style SPH-4B with the NVG mount) was part of the kit.  Personally, I would have preferred an NVG head-harness to a helmet because of weight.  Anyone who's worn a helmet with NVG's and counter-weights can attest to the fatigue factor after a couple of hours. 

[Stonewall]

I wear a USAF FLIGHT HELEMET I purchased off ebay.When I fly as a CAP observer I have not had a problem with height inside the cockpit of the 182.

So your that guy??? :clap:

Don't let him fool you by acting like a tough guy.  This is Flying Pig at work...

[JAFO78]

I wear a USAF FLIGHT HELEMET I purchased off ebay.When I fly as a CAP observer I have not had a problem with height inside the cockpit of the 182.

So your that guy??? :clap:

Don't let him fool you by acting like a tough guy.  This is Flying Pig at work...

   Oh brother

[flyerthom]

^^^^ I may be able to help you with that!

   I use to be an animator (a 9-5 animator that is), and have worked for USAnimation who did all the "Chester Cheetah" Cheeto commercials. I believe I still have character sheets with "Chester" in various poses.......I'll look for them for you. If not, I'm sure I can make one for you.

Believe it not my base manager found some on E Bay...

[PHall]

About the only time I've worn a helmet in a "CAP" aircraft was flying in a member owned T-6.
(Rescue 006 for you CAWG types.)

[ol'fido]

We used to have a member here in IL who wore a helmet that looked like a batter's helmet mated to a DC headset. It was one of the strangest things I'd ever seen at a mission. Of course, she also wore a full firefighter's bunker suit complete with helmet and face shield to collect firewood and at a class on survival knives,showed up with a knife that was about the same size and design as a Roman Gladius.

[Rob Sherlin]

^^ There's always one or two people taking it to an extreme (I can just picture a member getting into a Cessna looking like they're supposed to be in an F-16)

  A lot of people might be against it, but I don't see anything wrong with wanting to protect your melon and wearing a helmet in a small plane. Besides, there are a couple of other pluses too. Most helmets have built in tinted visors (or you can add them) for extra protection on those bright days, and if the helmets are just kept white with maybe the CAP logo and members name on them, with the blue flightsuit we're switching to, it should look VERY professional.
  The only problem with the helmets is they're NOT CHEAP. In fact, the only helmet I've seen that's more expensive than a lot of the aviation helmets I've seen, are authentic space helmets. You can get helmets off of ebay, but even then, you're still going to be looking at paying at least around $350 (low bottom...if your lucky) for HGU-55 or something (a LOT more if it's being sold with the MBU-12 mask), and you have to be real carefull of the quality.
  I bought a Chinese helmet with dual visors off e-bay for under $50. I mainly bought it for my nephew as a "dress up" toy, but when I saw it, the quality wasn't that bad (I'd actually wear it on a motorcycle), I ended up getting one for myself (I wear it while flying my flight sims........just kiddin') and put it on a shelf for display. The shell and the padding IS sufficient enough for protection allthough it's not Bell approved.
 

[RiverAux]

I am aware of a prominent CAP member that is well known for having regularly worn a flight helmet on CAP missions about 15 years ago. 

[PHall]

  I bought a Chinese helmet with dual visors off e-bay for under $50. I mainly bought it for my nephew as a "dress up" toy, but when I saw it, the quality wasn't that bad (I'd actually wear it on a motorcycle), I ended up getting one for myself (I wear it while flying my flight sims........just kiddin') and put it on a shelf for display. The shell and the padding IS sufficient enough for protection allthough it's not Bell approved.
 

I wasn't aware that Chinese knockoff helmets were DOT approved.

But hey, it's your melon and in safety gear, you do get what you pay for...

[Rob Sherlin]

  I know it's probably optional, it adds to safety a little more, and looks cool and professional. But, as much as I'd like to, I don't think I'd wear one as part of an air crew unless everyone else is doing the same. I tend to think it would look "odd" if I was wearing a helmet and everyone else was wearing ball caps. I think if they were issued (yeah, right!), as appose to having buy them, more would be inclined to wear them (maybe).
 There's the fact that it's optional because (as far as I know) there's no laws requiring a helmet while flying a prop plane (well, you might want one for an "open cockpit" type.....even on a motorcycle on the freeway, a piece of gravel, or even a bee hitting you can stun you pretty good). It's kind of funny isn't it?....That laws require a helmet (in most parts) for riding a bicycle, but not an aircraft that I've heard people refer to as a "Volvo with a garage door attached to the top"
  I'm just thinking, in the event where you're going down (knock on wood), and you happen to wreck, the last thing you want are severe head injuries.

[Rob Sherlin]

Sorry, I meant "DOT" approved (don't know why I was thinking "Bell"...must be from motorcycle helmets).
  But, "Dot" approved is an American QA thing isn't it? I've looked at these helmets first hand and,  well, I'd trust them to a certain point (definetly more than a ball cap). I mean, I don't think they'd be adequate for being in an aircraft that gets smashed like an aluminum can...But, I don't think any helmet would help you at that point. But, if you were to get knocked around the cockpit during a "failed" emergency landing, I think they'd do well.
  You also have to remember the fact that there's no laws at all requiring "any" kind of helmet for flying the aircraft that CAP uses (talking about the Cessnas and such)...it's just an optional "added" precaution.

[Eclipse]

  I bought a Chinese helmet with dual visors off e-bay for under $50. I mainly bought it for my nephew as a "dress up" toy, but when I saw it, the quality wasn't that bad (I'd actually wear it on a motorcycle), I ended up getting one for myself (I wear it while flying my flight sims........just kiddin') and put it on a shelf for display. The shell and the padding IS sufficient enough for protection allthough it's not Bell approved.
 

I wasn't aware that Chinese knockoff helmets were DOT approved.

But hey, it's your melon and in safety gear, you do get what you pay for...

Too true, however DOT approval is only required in states that have a helmet law, and frankly its not all that big a deal anyway.  The DOT doesn't actually do any practical testing, they simply review and approve the specs, and the manufacturers promise to make the helmets that way, and test them internally to the spec.

There are a lot of European helmet manufacturers that make products far superior in feature and function that do not submit their helmet designs to the DOT because their US market is too small to bother.

Practical testing by the Snell foundation is a better gauge of a helmet's safety abilities, but, due to their testing procedures  which drop a weight onto the chin bar, most of the DOT-approved flip-shield types cannot pass that test (a risk that the rider must accept when wearing one).

Assuming the AV helmet is a good idea to start with, I'd be willing to bet that for taller pilots and aircrews using them would be a practical impossibility because of the headroom in the cabin.

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/motorcycle_helmet_review/index.html

http://www.smf.org/testing.html

In comment to the knockoffs, a poorly designed, or damaged, helmet can actually be worse than no helmet at all, either from the standpoint of simply not providing the protection you assume it should, or because on impact it shreds, etc., and punctures your skull or other parts of your body (ew).

Also the Chinese helmets contain high concentrations of melamine to give then an artificially higher protein count, so if you eat them they can make you really sick.

[sardak]

(Rescue 006 for you CAWG types.)

And for those that aren't.
Mike

[Rob Sherlin]

Also the Chinese helmets contain high concentrations of melamine to give then an artificially higher protein count, so if you eat them they can make you really sick?


  You just have to prepare them right.....Oh wait!!!....That's Sushi!!!!....