I recall that the quick donning oxygen masks which sit in those little boxes adjacent to crew positions came on the scene in the 1989s.
Before that the oxygen masks would be hanging from a hook and you would physically put them on and adjust the straps for good fit and actually breathe oxygen at 100% and NORMAL to check all was serviceable.
Also from time to time one would breathe oxygen usually to wake oneself up on arduous duties about ten minutes or so prior to too of descent. I also recall on the B707 that if a pilot left the flight deck for a comfort break it was mandatory for the other pilot to be breathing oxygen with mask fully fitted when above a certain Flight Level which I think was FL370.
With the modern systems crew don oxygen masks only when there is an emergency either in the simulator or the aircraft.
The practice of fitting the mask prior to every flight was a useful way to remind pilots about the importance of this vital life support system should the pressurisation fail and also gave extra confidence that the crew oxygen system was fully serviceable.
Last edited by fireflybob; 25th Mar 2015 at 06:59.