"G" Suits
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: The Deep South (Sussex)
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There were stories that in the early days some single seat heroes used to cut the feed pipe off their G suits. Theses could be left sticking out of their flying suit pockets to convince others that they did indeed follow instructions and fly with a G suit but avoided the inconvenience and discomfort in actually wearing one under their suits.
Some people still thought that they didn't ned G-suits not that long ago!
As I wrote elsewhere:
As I wrote elsewhere:
The multi-national EX BOLD GAUNTLET ("Don't mention the word 'corridor' chaps!") was held at Gutersloh one year. Spams who took everything very seriously were there with their F-15s evolving clever tactics, we were there with our F-4s and a C-130 and the French were there with their Mirage IIIs and a C-160 - to have a good time.
The Spams invited the FAF colonel to go for a trip in an F-15 T-bird, which he gladly accepted. At pre-flight he was being fitted with American flight kit, but when he was sized for a g-suit, he pompously announced "I am a fighter pilot - I do not need a g-suit". Whereupon the US Det Cdr sought out the meanest, most raw meat-eating rip **** of his pilots and asked him to take Le Colonel for his trip, explaining with a wink that "He says he doesn't need a g-suit - maybe he might be mistaken?". A few minutes later, the F-15 was seen to take off in full A/B, accelerate to warp lots then snapping into a max rate climbing spiral to flight level nosebleed, before rolling over to spiral back down in a max rate descending spiral to initials....
"How did he like his trip", asked the Det Cdr - to be told that Le Colonel had been slumped in a heap in his seat from the start of the climb until back at initials. Later he said that it had been "Very interesting" and was then presented with his Eagle flight certificate - but not until he'd been given the traditional raw egg to eat, shell and all 
!!
The Spams invited the FAF colonel to go for a trip in an F-15 T-bird, which he gladly accepted. At pre-flight he was being fitted with American flight kit, but when he was sized for a g-suit, he pompously announced "I am a fighter pilot - I do not need a g-suit". Whereupon the US Det Cdr sought out the meanest, most raw meat-eating rip **** of his pilots and asked him to take Le Colonel for his trip, explaining with a wink that "He says he doesn't need a g-suit - maybe he might be mistaken?". A few minutes later, the F-15 was seen to take off in full A/B, accelerate to warp lots then snapping into a max rate climbing spiral to flight level nosebleed, before rolling over to spiral back down in a max rate descending spiral to initials....
"How did he like his trip", asked the Det Cdr - to be told that Le Colonel had been slumped in a heap in his seat from the start of the climb until back at initials. Later he said that it had been "Very interesting" and was then presented with his Eagle flight certificate - but not until he'd been given the traditional raw egg to eat, shell and all !!
No one told us the results, but surely G suits were in service before 1971, and if so why were we there being sick twice a day.
Just reading an autobiography of an FAA pilot from WW2, they trialled water filled g-suits, essentially as you pulled g the water was forced into the lower parts of the suit pressing against the legs. They didn't seem to have been in service long though, his suspicion being due to a fatality after a ditching with one on. The less dense fresh water in the suit caused the survivors legs to float to the surface eventually drowning him. There was also the disadvantage in hot climates that you soon found yourself wearing a few kilos of warm water.
Indeed the case. My dear departed father flew Seafires with such turning trousers against the fiendish oriental hordes. As you say, I don't think they lasted long. (Both trousers and hordes!)
mog
There were stories that in the early days some single seat heroes used to cut the feed pipe off their G suits. Theses could be left sticking out of their flying suit pockets to convince others that they did indeed follow instructions and fly with a G suit but avoided the inconvenience and discomfort in actually wearing one under their suits.
Not a problem wearing a flying suit with a cut-off hose but fatal if, like one Buc pilot, you tried it with an immersion suit and had to bang out into a fjord. Suit rapidly topped up with freezing water through the cut-off tube.
I must admit that I rarely wore an internal g-suit under an immersion suit but then the Jumping Bean only had small wings - actually, rumour had it that their main function was to allow the mounting of the training wheels, which stopped the aircraft falling over on the ground!
mog
Salute!
For those interested in g-suits, the newer ones inflate very quickly and have an upper bladder across your chest, but are still not as effective preventing gee-loc if you do not clinch your neck and chest muscles before yanking on the stick. So we lost a "bird" last year cause he floated at zero or even slight negative gee, then yanked downward and poof! Classic gee-loc when looking at the flight recorder data ( yep, we had a simple one on the ejection seat even back in the pre-historic days when I got there in 1979)
https://media.defense.gov/2018/Oct/1...IVE_REPORT.PDF
It ain't the total gee until you get up there at 7 or 8 gees for more than 30 - 40 seconds, then you better be in good shape and grunt a lot. As an old man (41) at Red Flag one day I crossed a ridge and a bandit came over behind me. Clinched and then got to 8.7 gees on the HUD tape for maybe 5 seoncds or so. Hell, at 20 degrees per second I showed the guy the "bat turn".
Gums sends...
For those interested in g-suits, the newer ones inflate very quickly and have an upper bladder across your chest, but are still not as effective preventing gee-loc if you do not clinch your neck and chest muscles before yanking on the stick. So we lost a "bird" last year cause he floated at zero or even slight negative gee, then yanked downward and poof! Classic gee-loc when looking at the flight recorder data ( yep, we had a simple one on the ejection seat even back in the pre-historic days when I got there in 1979)
https://media.defense.gov/2018/Oct/1...IVE_REPORT.PDF
It ain't the total gee until you get up there at 7 or 8 gees for more than 30 - 40 seconds, then you better be in good shape and grunt a lot. As an old man (41) at Red Flag one day I crossed a ridge and a bandit came over behind me. Clinched and then got to 8.7 gees on the HUD tape for maybe 5 seoncds or so. Hell, at 20 degrees per second I showed the guy the "bat turn".
Gums sends...
