Interesting
can't comment on the heavy NVG gear, but thoughts of velcro or detonating attach bolts comes to mind. Heh Heh.
A bit like the brief we give to shooters, "If'n there's silence just throw that damn thing out the window first, got it?"
Re Neck breaks, I cannot recall one. I would place a preference on mobility and vision perepheral far above a neck brace.
The upper back seems to be the most common in the R22, I assume because of the lower intera blades not always availing themselves of the opportunity of zero forward airspeed. Particularly that trait combined with lap sach harness is bad news. The spine will curve under forward deceleration.
The 47's seemed to have the lower back injuries much more often. i have noticed that the 47 guys get up and walk more often and sooner than the R22 guys. Having bumped a '47 once I was very thankful of the full harness, felt just like a bad fall from a horse.
The Hillers I recall, had a couple of nasty full on, engine xmon the lot straight onto the luckless driver in the centre seat whenever a heavy forward airspeed bump arrived.
The bump I had in a R22, left me to crawl away from it, (three cracked vertabrae upper back) and unable to carry a full jerry can in one hand for 18 months, but i clould carry two inside twelve months.
I agree that light weight people seem to suffer more. a recent case was extraordinary.
The crew member "Left hand seat in an R22" suffered quite badly in the upper back, not quite breaking the spinal chord. It appears, - we think - that on the second contact which was the left hand skid at still about ten knots, which broke the forward port cluster, that at the same time the M/R blade contacted the ground heavily port side, thus throwing the xmon and associated framework forwards and pushing the firewall forward right behind where his back was being firmly pushed by his feet.
(a breaking cluster always means that there is severe stress to be shared around, mostly by the person closest to it to help absorb.)
Sort of a rabbit chop if you like. He didn't even have seat belt bruising. he was a light weight extremely fit, very good ex pro bull rider, young man. The driver stepped out with light bruising. The cabin virtually unmarked ecept for the fire wall bump.
We have long lamented the abscence of full harness in R22's but I maintain that the discipline of teaching zero forward airspeed touchdowns is by far the most important at ab initio stage for any person down in the grey shaded area.
tet