Waterproof gloves for pilots flying over the sea ??!!
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Waterproof gloves for pilots flying over the sea ??!!
It may just be me but i cannot understand why the RAF would wear waterproof gloves when flying over the sea! If I was flying over the sea and ended up ditching in it the last thing I would be thinking is 'Oh well at least my hands are dry' !!?? Is this guy for real or is this a load of BULLS**T?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GENUINE-RAF-FL...QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GENUINE-RAF-FL...QQcmdZViewItem
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What's even scarier, is that two people have thought there is sufficient need for waterproof gloves for flying and they have bid!!
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A couple of skin friendly kamakaze pilots with a very bad aim maybe?! wouldnt burn your hands either, or maybe they think amphibian aircraft go under water?
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Due to real world experience!!!!
Well, try to jump into freezing water and try to operate your emergency equipment or climb into your dinghy. It is very likely you will find that after 2-5 minutes your fingers will be so cold that even the simplest task will be impossible to perform.
without previous experience I have to agree with WhatLimit.
If you read the e-bay page, no one is claiming they are Waterproof, just Water Resistant, two seperate types of glove.
If you read the e-bay page, no one is claiming they are Waterproof, just Water Resistant, two seperate types of glove.
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the ground crew on tornado sqns used to get ' worn ' gloves from the squippers which were exactly as stated on this description..they were used in conjunction with the immersion suits, they were green, they had the internal wrist cuff and were made of a slightly thicker material to the ' original ' white ones so may infact be WATER RESISTANT... can't see a cessna pilot needing a pair though ! if he ends up in the 'ogin' can't see a pair of levi's, adidas trainers AND a pair of 'gucci' water resistent gloves helping much...
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It sounds like the immersion flying gloves that they used to do mainly in green. They had a rubber wrist seal and you could get those white silk inner gloves for additional comfort/insulation.
So, if they did make them in white (never seen them other than green), then the guy is prob for real.
The water resistance was for to prevent you hands from being cold AND wet when you're sat in your dinghy.
So, if they did make them in white (never seen them other than green), then the guy is prob for real.
The water resistance was for to prevent you hands from being cold AND wet when you're sat in your dinghy.
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They're for real, all right. They're called 'immersion gloves' and finished off the effect of being enclosed in a waterproof [oh, all right, water-resistant] suit encasing the body from the neck down. The immersion suit had rubber neck and wrist seals and was manufactured in a woven fabric that breathed when dry. When wet, the threads swelled and closed up the weave - very effective it was, too. The feet were encased in waterproof 'socks', glue-welded onto the bottom of the suit legs. It was worn over a one-piece, thick acrylan-pile undersuit [which provided the insulation - the immersion suit was to keep you dry, not warm].
I, too, have only been issued with the green version; however, that's not to say there wasn't a white version - it's quite possible that a white version was manufactured and issued.
WhatLimit is correct in saying that they were essential to keep the fingers and hands working. Cold was the biggest enemy after an over-sea bailout. Hypothermia has killed a significant number of aviators who had successfully abandoned aircraft, and the first period in the water was critical for the individual to get rid of parachute and inflate and get into the dinghy.
Johno617tonka paints a hilarious picture! Now that must be the way to identify the arch-poseur! Immersion gloves on a warm sunny day over the centre of England! I wonder how he [or she] would explain away that one if challenged?
I, too, have only been issued with the green version; however, that's not to say there wasn't a white version - it's quite possible that a white version was manufactured and issued.
WhatLimit is correct in saying that they were essential to keep the fingers and hands working. Cold was the biggest enemy after an over-sea bailout. Hypothermia has killed a significant number of aviators who had successfully abandoned aircraft, and the first period in the water was critical for the individual to get rid of parachute and inflate and get into the dinghy.
Johno617tonka paints a hilarious picture! Now that must be the way to identify the arch-poseur! Immersion gloves on a warm sunny day over the centre of England! I wonder how he [or she] would explain away that one if challenged?
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Having spent (for trg purposes) 20 hours in a liferaft in Feb 79 when I got so cold I couldn't p!ss, I can assure the OP that such gloves are a vital safety item. Luckily (!) a storm blew up, so the DS came out to fetch us. One of the boats was swamped as it approached the slip-way, so we had to swim for it.
Only then did we get to lick the road clean, but since it was a survival course, there was no breakfast
Only then did we get to lick the road clean, but since it was a survival course, there was no breakfast
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James BG, this web site is for Professional Pilots, and this Forum is for Military Aircrew. Professional Pilots care a lot about their survival aspects, Military Aircrew KNOW what equipment they have. Seems you apprear to be neither, please do not waste bandwidth.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
My gloves are white. They were issued about 1980 and are 'unused'.
The pair I used kept my hands warm and dry and fully functional for 2-3 minutes. The copilot, without gloves, had lost the use of his hands before we got him in the dinghy.
This was at Mountbatten with a sea temperature of abut 5-6 (luxury) in the days before the V-force got immersion suits. The next day we badgered the staff to let us try immersion suits on a 'try-before-buy' basis. They gave in.
Unfortunately the sun shone, the sea was calm, the temperature lifted, and we lazed the morning away relaxing on the single seat lilos with the occasional shower as the boat sped past.
The pair I used kept my hands warm and dry and fully functional for 2-3 minutes. The copilot, without gloves, had lost the use of his hands before we got him in the dinghy.
This was at Mountbatten with a sea temperature of abut 5-6 (luxury) in the days before the V-force got immersion suits. The next day we badgered the staff to let us try immersion suits on a 'try-before-buy' basis. They gave in.
Unfortunately the sun shone, the sea was calm, the temperature lifted, and we lazed the morning away relaxing on the single seat lilos with the occasional shower as the boat sped past.
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Pontious,
IIRC when I returned to the force in '76, I was issued with and used a goonsuit throughout my time until the force disbanded. I remember we even had a rubber tube through which to poke the AVS pipe!
However, the Mountbatten team didn't give us goonsuits for the drills until we pointed out to them that we wore them all the time!
FJJP
IIRC when I returned to the force in '76, I was issued with and used a goonsuit throughout my time until the force disbanded. I remember we even had a rubber tube through which to poke the AVS pipe!
However, the Mountbatten team didn't give us goonsuits for the drills until we pointed out to them that we wore them all the time!
FJJP
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Originally Posted by L J R
James BG, this web site is for Professional Pilots, and this Forum is for Military Aircrew. Professional Pilots care a lot about their survival aspects, Military Aircrew KNOW what equipment they have. Seems you apprear to be neither, please do not waste bandwidth.
Thanks for your input guys, sound like they are the real thing then.
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When I was in the Royal Air Force we were issued with silk inners as well as the green leather gloves...I loved them; it was the closest I ever got to Janet Reager underwear...still got them! If one stuck ones hand out of a Wessex window, in the cruise, and wearing those gloves it felt like holding a beautiful firm breast...ahh, the things one remembers.
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Had a pair of these in white circa early 70s. Wore them only a couple of times as they were a bit thick at the ends and it was too easy to move more than one switch thingy if you weren't careful
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
oldfella, I used to keep mine in my pocket. As we were flying the Shacklebomber we would have had stcaks of time to get ready or none at all