Warbird Information Exchange

I'm not a pilot, but you wouldn't catch me dead in a go kart at 60+MPH without a helmet. I'm even thinking these days that driving in my car without one is sheer stupidity...and I might even go get one and start wearing it someday and install a full racing seat belts system. I just picked up the recent Warbirds Intl....and on two consecutive pages, two well known individuals ( son on the first page, dad on the second page....(jeez I wonder where the son learned his "safety" from?) are flying WWII fighters without helmets. Throughout the rest of the magazine, (including others in the same formation with the helmetless) you can see everybody else wearing helmets in the air to air pictures. I just do not understand why you would climb into a Mustang without a helmet, I know I was handed one (and wore it) when I flew with Elmer Ward on March 2, 1996. So I would like to open up a civil debate about this topic....please can we keep it civil and not resort to a flame war. This is not a flame, but something that I just saw that just drove me nuts.

John H

While I can agree that helmets are indeed a safety necessity, when you are tooling around in an airplane...any kind of airplane, a helmet will insure your head survives somewhat intact, can't say much about the rest of you. Guys flew combat without Bone Domes well into the mid forties and it wasn't until the advent of the jet that they became popular and necessary. I think the coolest helmets on the market right now are the leather lookalike kevlar units that look WWIIish.

My .o2

JimH

I usually only wear a cloth helmet in the SNJ, but I alway put on Nomax, suit and gloves, parachute, and boots even if I am only going around the pattern. It bugs me to see pilots wearing shorts and T shirt in a warbird, its plain DUMB.

Well, ther might be a heat resistant lotion you could wear with your swimming trunks while you fly.

COOKING TIME IS VERY SHORT,SAFETY IS NO ACCIDENT!! I KNOW ALLOT OF PILOTS THAT ONLY WEAR BALL CAPS BUT ITS A PERSONAL CHOICE UNTIL IT BECOMES A RULE.AN IN FLIGHT FIRE WITH OUT A CHUTE AND PROTECTIVE FLIGHT GEAR MAKES FOR A REAL BAD DAY ITS ALWAYS NICE WHEN YOU HAVE THE OPTION YOU MAY NEVER NEED IT BUT IF YOU DO ITS PRICELESS!! THANKS MIKE

_________________
IF YOU CAN FIND IT WE CAN FIX IT

This is not a simple “black or white” issue. On the one hand you can say that safety is paramount, and that no warbird pilot should launch without wearing a nomex flight suit and gloves, boots and a proper helmet, as well as having a recently packed parachute.

But wait, what about the guys flying around in C-172s, and Learjets, and B-25s? You don’t typically see them wearing any safety gear. Is flying these types of airplanes really any less dangerous than flying a warbird fighter?

A flight helmet is not like a motorcycle helmet or NASCAR helmet. It offers a very minimal level of protection, primarily because they are built to be light weight, thus reducing fatigue. One of the major reasons I wear a flight helmet is that it stays in place when I’m pulling Gs, whereas a headset tends to slide around and tries to come off. Also it’s nice to have a visor right there, and of course it’s necessary when using oxygen (needed for anything above FL180 in the L-39). And speaking of oxygen, consider this…Why do you suppose you’re required to wear an oxygen mask when racing at Reno? It’s because if you get smoke in the cockpit you will have more time before you become incapacitated.

So, what is a proper level of protection? Well, I choose based on the mission. Most of the time I wear all the safety gear, including oxygen mask (especially for formation or acro), but I’ve flown in shorts, t-shirt and headset around the pattern plenty of times.

Flying a warbird is all about risk management, and there are no hard rules.

Steve

No war stories hear (1968), but I wouldn't be here today with out it all. Any of you who know Doug Jeans with (cavanaugh Flight Museum), ask him what he thinks on the subject! Many good friends, Steve Hinton, Kevin Eldridge, Danny Martin, Bill Yoke, Howard Pardue, Mickey Rupp, the list goes on!! Even when you have it all it ain't enough!

_________________
John Lane, Jr.

Forgot to mention that I now have two flight helmets - the standard "bone dome" that I wear in the jet, and a new leather/kevlar helmet from Campbell Aero Classics in New Zealand that I plan on wearing in the Sea Fury and T-6.

I started wearing an helmet when I took up helicopter flying. There's absolutly nothing between you and the outside world that will help in case of an accident with a chopper. In most trainers, you have a good roll bar that might protect your head.

My helmet is a HGU-55, and I just love the visors I have on it. No more dry eyes!! I have the hook ups for the O2, but since my airplane will very painfully climb above 7 500', I don't bother with buying a mask. Maybe one day if I get to fly a really performing aircraft like a T-28.

I use my helmet for three reasons :

1- crashes in helicopters (not that I plan on having any)
2- visors
3- noise reduction/comms. Like Steve said, it stays in place whatever you are doing, and this includes being halfway outside a Bell 206 looking down at your sling load.

I also always wear either my flight suit (and my newly received pair of boots) or natural fiber pants and socks. No more flying in mermudas or shorts. I have a chute, but I didn't bother in having it packed this year since I only flew once with it! And with the kind of flights that I make, I don't really need one. If the fire catches up, I'll probably be quicker to be on the ground by making the airplane reach it than jumping out of it.

And you have to think about it a bit. Would I wear the chute and the whole chebang in the Focke-Wulf when I'm taking my Mom and my sister to a breakfast? I think not...

For me it's a matter of not having the need for all the stuff, but I have it for when I'll need it.

_________________
Olivier Lacombe -- Harvard Mk.4 C-GBQB

Safety is no accident. It is a proven fact that the use of a helmet in a confined area like a single seat fighter [or my Avenger] can save your life. Any incident can result in you hitting your head on something and whammo..you dazed or hurt in the head dept. In the 80's a study was done on the survivability of Mustang crashes that had occurred todate and it was recognised that about 50% more folks could have survived if they had a 'bone dome' on ie. they were incapacitated by the accident only not to be able to exit the aircraft in a timely fashion etc. The other big one is wearing nomex gloves. They will save your life,,,,,have a fire, cut your hand, touch a hot something, break out of a canopy with bare hands - I don't think so. Without hands you can't do anything to save yourself.

Stoney's the man in my opinion.

I remember when I ordered my helmet from Ivan and Sandy (Campbell Aero Classics) at Oshkosh last year, they both told me that one of the big reasons they developed it was because of the head injuries Sir Tim Wallace sustained during his Spitfire accident.

It's truly a wonderful helmet, very light and comfortable, very rugged with the kevlar shell, and very good looking. Much like the old leather Type C Flying Helmet

Well, as a brand-new private pilot it's very interesting to see the opinions offered above. I don't wear one in the Tomahawks and 172s I'm flying right now, partly because of $ and partly because it's just not that high on the list of "accesories" I'd like to get.
The reason I'm interested in the subject is that I had the distinct horror, displeasure, etc..., of seeing a 172 crash a year and a half ago and being the third person at the crash site. One of the 2 guys that died might not have if he'd had a helmet on. They were wearing seatbelts, but no shoulder harnesses from what I could tell and the copilots' head had an impact with the yoke... 'Twas an awful sight. It almost made me quit my flight training. The kind of thing that you really don't wish on your worst enemy. The incident has made me a firm believer in shoulder harnesses and seatbelts whether it be in the car or the aircraft, and a helmet surely wouldn't hurt.
I've almost talked myself into going out and buying one...

Ryan

_________________
Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

if somebody doesn't have the brains to PROTECT their brain then don't blame anybody but yourself when your road kill. i'm not a doctor nor a pilot, just an aviation author / historian.... remember that at birth you get 1 pair of eyes, 1 set of teeth, 1 brain & a pair of arms & legs. you lose em, that's it. i'm no wussy, but i'm rather fond of my original equipment & will protect it at all costs.

_________________
tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!

I've hit my head lots of times...can't you tell !

My opinion is that it is unfair to look at a picture of someone flying a Mustang without a helmet and think they made a "wrong" choice. Everyone has the opportunity to analyze any risk they take and make a decision as to what protection is needed. I won't get on a motorcycle without a helmet, but I sure am not going to put one on when I'm flying a 172. I do understand anything can happen at anytime and sometimes the unforseen will bite you, but there are way too many variables to say a pilot/passenger in a low flying, non-ejection seat equipped "fighter" should always wear a helmet. While the speeds and fire hazards may be less, there are lots of photos of aerobatic pilots not wearing helmets, and that activity (one I love) certainly raises the odds of a necessary bail-out.......so again, way too many factors.

I switched to a surplus HGU-26 once I started flying heavier aircraft where my head can't bounce if it stops suddenly.

One classic save would be Clive Denney [spelling?] in the T-6 at Duxford. He hit his head so hard that the helmet broke the canopy frame [and the helmet], rendering him temporarily incapacitated [the rear-seat photographer evacuated rapidly, then went back to get him when he realised he wasn't moving.] We had a tragic loss in Oz in another T-6 where a helmet may have saved.

Arguably the best "vintage" helmet has to be the Campbell, NZ, helmet if you don't need oxygen!!

G'day