Guys/Gals,
Some good advise here, now for my 2 cents worth: -.
Always fly, or go boating for that matter, with your PLB attached to your body. There are people who owe their lives to the fact this is one of their personal rules. A “Leatherman” or similar tool should also be part of your personal kit. I also carry a portable strobe light in my flight bag.
Your survival kit should reflect where you are, and what you are doing. They take up valuable room and weight. The further away from civilisation you plan to be, the longer it may take rescuers to get to you. Poor weather conditions, which may have contributed to your situation, can slow down and sometimes stop rescue efforts.
You should review your survival kit regularly, this review should not just look at contents, and it should include the suitability, serviceability, and use by dates of its contents. Unserviceable equipment is as useful as tickets to the 5th day of the current ashes series. Mobile phones – you just never know, remote area coverage is getting better. I know a glider pilot who walked 11km to make a phone call, after “outlanding” next to a mobile phone tower.
Water is vital to survival, however it is heavy, and cumbersome. How much do you carry and how to you package it? Old wine cask bladders can be a solution; they are relatively small and robust. Also never carry all you water in the one container. How many pilots carry drinking water in the cockpit, and maintain their hydration in flight? First Aid Kits are compulsory in commercial operations, however how many working pilots are qualified in First Aid? What is the value of the kit without the training?
Clothing – how many pilots and passengers dress and only carry clothing suitable for their departure and arrival points knowing they will be in a heated cabin, e.g. a flight from Merimbula to Wagga via Cooma will transit the high range are of NSW, this is also designated a “remote area”.
To summarise, what is remote? We all know the far-flung areas of North Western Australia, and this is definitely remote. However there are remote areas in the mountain regions of N.S.W., Vic, and the west coastal areas of Tasmania. These are completely different in nature, and one survival kit will not meet the needs of all locations.
Fly Safe, and hopefully we will never need to use our survival kit in anger.
