Flightsuits and Survival Suits
 

I recently picked up a brand new nomex flight suit from an army surplus shop. It is actually for tank crews but has reasonable fire resistant qualities. I wonder if anyone eles has one / wears one for flying light aircraft / has considered wearing one.

I suspect this topic will follow the lines of the bone dome argument. Ie. yes, once in a lifetime it may be handy but the rest of the time you will look like an excentric in the flying clubs. I suppose to be totally effective you also need nomex gloves and eye protection.

Whether or not I will wear it remains to be seen, but reading about the slingsby crash in January Pilot magazine where the occupants were trapped and there was a fire does make you wonder.

What do you think?

Virtually all the time, I can fill the pockets with all my flying gubbins, it protects my clothes (pre-flighting on a farmstrip and all that) and perhaps I have the eye of an ex-military man, but I think they look good too.

Oh yes, and if you crash, they're flame retardant.

G

If you were trapped in a burning aircraft, then you will toast. A nomex suit will give you a bit of protection, but it is just flame retardent, and that is it.

A mate of mine ejected from a burning Jag after a mid-air. The soles of his boots were melted, and his badges got burnt off. But the suit, and the bits of his body covered by the suit were fine. He wasn't in the aircraft for more than a few seconds after impact though.

A word of caution though. Nomex is flame retardant but it is not a good insulator against heat. In other words, although it doesn't burn, heat will pass through it. For that reason we were ordered to wear another layer of non-melting clothing underneath, preferably cotton, as per our military long underwear. Racing drivers' nomex suits are multi-layered for this reason. Not a problem in winter, but the temptation is to go naked underneath in hot weather.

Whatever you do, don't wear nylon as it melts into your skin.

[This message has been edited by ShyTorque (edited 09 January 2001).]

Don't just put it through the washing machine either, if you want to keep the fire retardation effective. I believe they do need a certain amount of specialist treatment periodically. Not sure exactly what they do to them, 'cause I just went and got a new one. :)
Maybe there are some ex SEqF's reading?

Cheers

Borax and Boracilic Acid. You can get it from some chemists. Can't remember the proportions, but I can probably find out for you if you want.

It will flameproof your clothes (or re-flameproof your flying suit after washing). It really works! The only after affects of 1 minute's exposure to flame of some thin cotton that had been treated was that it was brittle. No burning though.

If you want to make cotton flame retardent then, yes you need to dip in all sorts of potions but Nomex IS flame retardent. I washed my Dan-Dare playsuits iaw the washing instructions every few days (gas mark 4 or whatever the label inside says).

How much does a Nomex flying suit (or tank drivers suit) cost then?

You can sometimes get bargains from
http://www.flightsuits.com/
I bought a Nomex suit from them for 58 bucks (nearer 100 dollars by the time I'd paid freight). It was listed at $218 but was a cancelled order. Very good service and it arrived within a week of order.

The tank drivers suit I got cost 20 quid so I couldn't resist! It was from an ex army shop on the south coast and the suit was vacum packed and brand new. Trouble is most are old and knackered or have been used for decorating at some point. Luck of the draw really. There were one or two proper flight suits with lots more pockets for about the same price but too big for me.

Brand new flak jackets too for 30 smakers if you are interested.

skips.

(By the way i changed name because excite crashed and I lost all my emails I ever had so I started over.)

Survival suits
 

hi, my company is looking for a good cold water survival suit for the helicopter crews.any advice?
thanks in advance.

I don't know all that's out there, but I've been impressed with Mustangs suits. http://www.mustangsurvival.com/

What you should consider:
- How long do you expect to be in the water?
- How cold is the water?
- Is the suit comfortable/durable enough for constant use?
- Do you need additional flotation or do you want that from the suit?

I say this because we carry a dry suit with a thermal liner, gore-tex socks and rubber neck/wrist seals that is extremely good at keeping people alive. However, it's hot, uncomfortable, knees wear out for the GIBs, and it provides more protection than is needed in the summer. The result of all that is that most of the time our suits are sitting in a bag in the back, ready for us if we're planning on extended overwater/offshore flight or if engaging in a risky over water operation. Because of this we're looking at a more comfortable and durable suit from Mustang that will be worn more frequently. A suit that provides less protection is better than the suit you aren't wearing.

You should also consider signalling devices. Being able to stay alive in freezing oceans for six hours is great, but if the rescuers can't see you... I'd recommend a sea dye marker because it's visible from relatively high altitudes and it can "deploy" on it's own. Problem is it dissipates, especially in moderate or greater sea states. There's also a floating streamer from Rescue Technologies that looks promising http://www.seerescue.com/ . It's visible at lower search altitudes, so if your position is approximately known it works well.

Of course, a radio/beacon is the best signalling device to get the rescuers close and then a strobe light to get them on the spot. I think it's nice to have signals that don't rely on batteries.

Matthew.

Try Multifabs. (Aberdeen,UK)

www.multifabs-survival.co.uk/

We currently use the Multifabs suit for our daily trips in the North Sea. It's not the most comportable, but it will allow you to be active for the time needed for the pax. to be gathered. I've tried the suit in the "dunker" course, and you will get wet in a short time. I've also tried a new suit from Multifabs that will keep you "zipped" in at all times. It's better than the former suit but never as great as the ones the pax. are wearing. But you need to be able to function in it, and it can be pretty hot during the summer. I haven't seen any pilot suit making up for both. In addition we use an inflatable vest w/ a beacon and a knife. If you know that you are going to be over water for a long time, use a suit. Better to be safe than sorry...

22 years ago I had the opportunity to put on an Imperial (Life saving suit?). It was a "quick donning" suit. It had one-way valves in the feet to vent air. Other wise you could easily wind up head down with the feet inflated and not able to right yourself. I did exactly that in a pool wearing a poopie suit after stepping off the high dive. Rescue swimmers, good idea! I swam around in a fjord for 40 minutes with no sensation of cold. Had the survival vest on underneath and determined it was possible to pull an arm into the chest area, get the flare gun loaded and pushed out the top of the zipper, in calm water. But, this was a 400% stretch, double faced, "Quick Donning" neoprene suit. If wore this as a constant wear suit you would have no problem passing your next weight check if you survived the dehydration.

Flightsuits and Helicopters
 

Hi,anyone can help me to find a place for buying a flight suit in the European Union?Thanks in advance.

Yes, try RSH Air Ware, based at Gloucester Airport UK

www.rshairware.co.uk

[email protected]

and no I dont work for them.

Plastic flight suits.
 

A pilot walks into a psychiatrist's office wearing only a flight suit made of Saran Wrap.
The psychiatrist says, "Well...I can clearly see you're nuts."

this place isn't in Europe, but they make great suits and will ship them over (located in California)... I know a few people that have ordered with them

www.flightsuits.com

they make suits for the military, police, and rescue units....

and no, I don't work for them! ;)

flight suits
 

Try Merit apparrel.(google search)
Much better than flight suits.com and cheaper.
I too don't work for them.
humbly yours