Love the helmet - a bit predictable really...
I remember I worked for an EMS helo organisation that was considering introducing helmets for the aircrew and there was alot of the concern that some of you have raised here - that the pax may be frightened by them. When we researched it further we contacted a US organisation (CONCERN or HAI - not too sure) and asked the questions on safety, noise, and pax in regard to helmets. I remember that their response finally convinced the management to go with the helmets - as long as the aircrew purchased their own!! The part of the response that helped swing the decision stated that the patients/passengers flying with helmet equipped pilots were only very rarely scared by them, and in fact, they were much more likely to think it looked more professional, and wre thus more at ease !!!
An example of why I always wear a helmet: I met a Canadian bloke flying a Canadian B205 for Jayrow on the Australian fires a few years back - a great bloke, and an experienced pilot. A few days after I had met him. he left a local show where he and his helicopter had been a display, to fly back to the operating base. En-route he suffered a mechanical failure - transmission related - and crashed. He died several hours after the accident of head injuries- only a few hours before they found him. The tragedy was that he had his helmet strapped into the back seat rather than on his head. (From memory, he had also disarmed the ELT incase the kids at the show activated it - and forgot to re arm it.)
I dont know how to post a link to this but it is on the Australian Transport safety Board/ BASI website as a complete report - perhaps some one in the know could post a link?. If you dont believe in helmets - read it.
On the visors - I once saw a demo wear a bloke with a hammer tried to break an Alpha helmet visor by suspending it between two bricks and pounding the poo out of it with the hammer. Also, a mate of mine speared in doing parachute ops in a fixed wing, and ended up with some severe facial injuries when he bit the dash board during the accident. According to the investigation, the injuries would have been far less significant and far less widespread if he had had his visor down. Lesson two learnt for me: ALWAYS have your clear visor down, even if you then put your dark one down too.
Also, helmet visors (unlike most sunglasses - particularly coloured lense glasses) are specifically tested for colour clarity so the red and orange caution lights remain sensitive to the eye detection abilities.
Why wouldn't you wear one?
