Wouldn't be without it, would you?
G'day all,
We (in the military) have to wear GENTEX HGU 56Ps. American designed and supposedly fitted once you get the inserts moulded to fit all the bumps on your noggin'.
We used to wear Alphas and they were always comfortable.
If I was given a choice to wear or not to wear, I'd remember a colleague of mine who was wearing his helmet but with visor UP (against SOPs). When he crashed, his head hit the coaming and the stand by compass ripped his face apart.
I was one of the first on the scene and I crawled into the wreckage and reached him trapped in the cockpit. Watching the flies crawling all over the blood on his mangled face as he was moaning in pain convinced me of the value of a helmet with visors worn down.
I'll always wear one if it's available. To hell with what other people think if they see me in one.
Safe flying.
Conway B