Got me helmet, woo-hoo!!

sgt hawk · **Posted:** Wed Aug 19, 2009 2:55 pm

James-It makes one wonder with a post from five years ago and they just pick right back up again. The HGU-55 is now a HGU-68. I wonder if the old one ever did fit? I must have missed that part.

John Dupre · **Posted:** Sat Aug 22, 2009 12:18 pm

Scott WRG Editor wrote:

Ollie wrote:

The darn thing finally arrived this morning, so I flew two hours with it today.

Fit is a bit snug, but I think it'll loosen up a bit with time, no?

Well first you take a belt sander and sand off a little from each side of your head. Not too much though, it's easier to take off than put on. I learned that in wood shop :wink:

As my Dad used to say...."I can't understand it. I cut it twice and it's still too short!"

Ollie · **Posted:** Tue Jun 22, 2010 8:27 am

Helmet fits fine now.

Ztex · **Posted:** Tue Jun 22, 2010 3:51 pm

tinbender2 · **Joined:** Fri Jun 01, 2007 12:04 am **Posts:** 212

Still have all my USAF flight gear except the chute. Flight suits seem to have shrunk a bit :shock:

, and the G-suit needs to be let out a bit. :oops:

Do any aircraft still have a socket for a CRU-60P oxygen hose connector? or am I obsolete?

Pogo · **Posted:** Wed Jun 23, 2010 10:09 am

So why do some warbird pilots wear helmets, and others just ballcaps? Always wondered about that. Helmets look awfully hot for summertime ops.....

CAPFlyer · **Posted:** Thu Jun 24, 2010 9:33 pm

Simple - Safety. Warbirds have a bad habit of having a lot of things that "poke out" and canopies that are kinda close to the head, so in the unlikely (but not impossible) event that there is an accident or a very abrupt maneuver (or big bump of turbulence) that helmet gives a better chance of not getting an owie. In addition, most helmets have much better noise attenuation than headsets, so pilots like them for that as well.

Ollie · **Posted:** Fri Jun 25, 2010 10:11 am

Furthermore, helmets are much more comfy over the course of a day of flying than a pair of headsets.

Hvd2Pilot · **Posted:** Fri Jun 25, 2010 1:10 pm

In a T-6, if you draw a line from the top of the cage and the front cowl, it slices through the pilot's head. I've seen a helmet with the forehead shaved down & rocks stuck in the visor cover. Although this happened twenty years ago, more than one Harvard owner purchased helmets.

I also agree with the comments above, especially the comfort factor for long days.

Pogo · **Posted:** Tue Jun 29, 2010 8:09 pm

Okay ......... so no counterpoints? (Cue old SNL clip: "why Jane, you ignorant slut....") I personally know one guy with an illustrious resume of warbird fighters he's stacked up hours in, has appeared as PIC in countless "Air Classics" ATA photos, and he wears a ballcap yet. Yes, I know - I should ask him. Well, I've done it, and to make a long story short, I'm asking here now.

Ollie · **Posted:** Tue Dec 07, 2010 10:50 am

Well, I just received a brand new Campbell Aero Classics helmet. What a piece of art!

Can't wait to fly with it next summer!

RyanShort1 · **Posted:** Tue Dec 07, 2010 11:24 am

Pogo wrote:

So why do some warbird pilots wear helmets, and others just ballcaps? Always wondered about that. Helmets look awfully hot for summertime ops.....

Well, I am the current caretaker of Bill Greenwood's old helmet. In fact, it's sitting 4 feet away from me right now as I type as I anticipate the next flight with a student. I wore it all summer here in South Texas in Skyhawks, Cherokees, and the Cub. I have gotten laughed at a few times, but have learned that most people think it's fine. I have had no significant issues with the heat. As Ollie mentioned above, if you are flying for a long time, it is actually significantly more comfortable as well.

Ryan

Bill Greenwood · **Posted:** Tue Dec 07, 2010 12:01 pm

If you are doing high speed stuff, with a chance of dangerous impact a helmet might save your noggin, assuming there is anything of value inside.

I always wore a helmet when I ski raced, both for downhill and for GS, even if not required for GS. I never fell super hard, but top speed in DH was 70 mph, ( the winner, an ex Canadian national team member, was clocked at 80 that day at the same spot on the course) I did fall once, at perhaps 50mph and hit my head and could feel the impact sort of spread out around the helmet, leaving me a bit shook up , but not really injured. I don't wear one for normal skiing now, but many people do. I don't ski 70 mph anymore either. My oldest Son was a pretty good racer, made the regional junior olympics twice, and he took some real falls. Unlike me, he wasn't cautious and content to just enjoy the race experience, he really wanted to win. After ski racing he took up racing motorcycles, a 600cc Yamaha which tops about 150 mph. He won a number of races, but had a number of crashes and the helmet undoubtedly saved his life. This was all out road racing, not on dirt.

My younger Son. also ski raced and now he is an extreme skiing and skis down stuff that I couldn't climb up. He didn't crash that much while racing, but he has knocked himself out at least once since in a big fall.

I would never ride a motorcycle on the road these days without a helmet.

I wear one in the Spitfire, though a few times I have flown a fighter without the helmet. I carry a Nomex flight suit, and of course a parachute for the passenger, but I don't have room for a 2nd helmet. I don't find the helmet as comfortable as just a headset, but it is ok.

Dave Hadfield · **Joined:** Sun Sep 17, 2006 10:31 pm **Posts:** 1672

A Campbell! Good for you, Olivier! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do mine.

Dave

Ollie · **Posted:** Tue Dec 07, 2010 7:36 pm

Thanks Dave, I sure hope so. We'll have to compare next summer.

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Got me helmet, woo-hoo!!

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