Lack of survival suits worn by GA pilots!!! Why?

[SuperTed]

Can someone answer me this. Why do GA pilots who regularly fly over the sea albeit only a few miles off the coast never wear survival suits. Is it not the done thing to enter the club house looking like the Tango man?? Surely with sea temperatures as they are any ditching will be fatal. Even the largest pilot's catalog doesn't seem to sell them!

ST

[QNH 1013]

There's nothing stopping you wearing one if you want to.
Most pilots flying a mile or two off the shore will have chosen to fly at sufficient altitude (depending on wind direction) to be within gliding range of land if they suffer an engine failure in a s/e aircraft. Ditching is not to be undertaken lightly and will result in the loss of the a/c and possibly the crew. A glide approach to a field should however result in survival of the crew, and probably the aircraft too.
All s/e crew I have ever seen have either worn lifejackets or immersion suits for sea crossings beyond gliding range of land. I certainly do even when crossing at FL100.

[mad_jock]

I have also wondered this for the la Touque trips.

Having dived in the channel its about 1 deg warmer than the North Sea. Which will kill you within 5-10 mins.

But a decent dry suit will put you back 400 quid which may be the real reason.

MJ

[higher]

is a life raft not a better idea ?!! just a thought <img src="tongue.gif" border="0">

[SuperTed]

I'm not just talking about operating extensively over water such as channel crossings etc. What about airfields that during the initial climb out require the pilot to go over the sea, such as Bournemouth, Liverpool etc. If an engine is likely to fail, it will be shortly after the take off roll and due to the lack of height gained would inevitably put you in the drink!

A life raft would be ok but would probably not save you if your clothes got wet during the transit from aircraft to raft.

Even most of the helicopter pilots who operate to/from oil/gas rigs don't appear to wear them, even though the oil/gas rig passengers seem to, strange.

[The Nr Fairy]

Superted :

I think you'll find that the North Sea helicopter pilots DO wear immersion suits, just not the same ones as the pax. They value their wellbeing as much, if not more, than the people they're transporting.

I seem to remember seeing crews dressed in immersion suits with integral hoods, which resemble a normal flying suit - which is why perhaps you've not seen them dressed in orange.

[blended winglet]

Quite a few years back I used to fly x channel
with just a standard pax l/jkt;
young & foolish !

S.E.M.S do a good deal on survival kit,
it's worth every penny !!
sadly, not many light A/C folk appreciate the true dangers,
comments such as "the aircraft doesn't know it' over water " abound in club houses,
(I have heard it so many times)
The aircraft deosn't know it's over water, but you sure will if the engine quits !

A captain is responsible for the safety of his pax, give S.E.M.S a call.

[Gooneybird]

It's worth adding that many pilots in Canada (where I trained) who ditch in water, drown never having managed to leave the cockpit. Apparently landing a land aeroplane on water is about as soft as a car crash. Keep the harnesses tight!

[QNH 1013]

I went to a lecture given by a chap who had ditched twice. His advice was "forget the liferaft - you will be extremely lucky if you can get into it after ditching". He recommended wearing immersion suits in our climate. SEMS do them secondhand at the PFA Rally in Cranfield (when its not cancelled). If they don't cancel the rally this year there may be bargains to be had.

[aztruck]

I've got 3 spare ones (unused) from an Atlantic crossing in a twin. If anyone's interested in taking them off my hands please get in touch. They are as used by the rig Heli guys in Aberdeen, in fact thats where they came from.

[Mariner9]

Bought a Helly Hansen dry suit in the sales for £50 last week. Ok so it hasn't got wings sewn on the sleeve, but it'll make a great aviation survival suit