wearing a helmet flying

[steveinindy]

Well said Wes....I see your points but I am one for wearing a helmet if for nothing else than the fact that I can't stand the feel of a plain headset rubbing on the top of my head and I got so used to wearing a helmet while flying ultralights that it feels weird to have my hands on the controls without a helmet on. It's like getting in a car without a seatbelt on....it just feels like something is wrong.

Steve, I never heard of anyone who wore a helmet while doing coke, that must be some strong stuff to require that much protection.

*snort* Huh?

[1600vw]

Here in central IL I believe it was two years ago there was a plane they used for jumping. After everyone jumped it looked as the plane stalled and one wing dropped. They believe there was such a force when the plane stalled the pilot hit his head and was knocked out. Not sure if that is what happened.

But I like to fly with a helmet. I would not fit in my airplane with a helmet so I modified my airplane by lowering my seat. From now on a helmet will be on my head.

[steveinindy]

Here in central IL I believe it was two years ago there was a plane they used for jumping. After everyone jumped it looked as the plane stalled and one wing dropped. They believe there was such a force when the plane stalled the pilot hit his head and was knocked out. Not sure if that is what happened.

Are you referring to the crash near Taylorville (I think it was Taylorville....)? Given that there were witnesses who said the aircraft was maneuvering to avoid the buildings, I don't think that is probably the case. However, the chances of knocking one's head hard enough to knock oneself out is a real one in a lot of the "faux fighter" type homebuilts because of tight fit necessary to maintain the desire aestetics. Even in non-fatal crashes, it's not uncommon to find blood, hair or even pieces of skin stuck in the frames on the sides of the canopy or on the instrument panel. Somewhere I have a picture of a "faceprint" from the face of a RV pilot being bounced off the side of his canopy during a crash. He survived (thankfully there was not a post-crash fire) but had to have his face bolted back together by a maxillofacial surgeon.

I would not fit in my airplane with a helmet so I modified my airplane by lowering my seat.

I did the same thing but I am working on my design around a 6'3" 230 lb occupant. If someone that size can fit in there, my 5'9" 170-something pound frame should be able to easily accommodate a helmet with some room to spare.

[JimRice85]

I wore a helmet flying a Mooney Mite one time on a lark. That was a really tight fit!

[1600vw]

Are you referring to the crash near Taylorville (I think it was Taylorville....)? Given that there were witnesses who said the aircraft was maneuvering to avoid the buildings, I don't think that is probably the case. However, the chances of knocking one's head hard enough to knock oneself out is a real one in a lot of the "faux fighter" type homebuilts because of tight fit necessary to maintain the desire aestetics. Even in non-fatal crashes, it's not uncommon to find blood, hair or even pieces of skin stuck in the frames on the sides of the canopy or on the instrument panel. Somewhere I have a picture of a "faceprint" from the face of a RV pilot being bounced off the side of his canopy during a crash. He survived (thankfully there was not a post-crash fire) but had to have his face bolted back together by a maxillofacial surgeon.



I did the same thing but I am working on my design around a 6'3" 230 lb occupant. If someone that size can fit in there, my 5'9" 170-something pound frame should be able to easily accommodate a helmet with some room to spare.

Yes the one near taylorville. I just heard that what was being said about this was wrong and it looked to this person to have been a stall for some reason.
I am not quilified to speak about this and maybe should just keep my mouth shut but this is what I heard or was told. I just listened.

The other dayI looked at the wife and said....Honey I think I want to buy a little handgun and put it in my airplane, for if it ever flips over and catches fire I would want to shoot myself in the head instead of burn alive.....She just looked at me.....I told her..These are the things I think about.....

[pacerpilot]

Yes the one near taylorville. I just heard that what was being said about this was wrong and it looked to this person to have been a stall for some reason.
I am not quilified to speak about this and maybe should just keep my mouth shut but this is what I heard or was told. I just listened.

The other dayI looked at the wife and said....Honey I think I want to buy a little handgun and put it in my airplane, for if it ever flips over and catches fire I would want to shoot myself in the head instead of burn alive.....She just looked at me.....I told her..These are the things I think about.....

Wow.

[WLIU]

I have a lot of hours flying ratty old Cessnas hauling skydivers, and have also done a bunch of stalls in them, but have only occasionally have those two experiences intersected. There is no way that in the course of stalling a Cessna you can hit your head on the instrument panel. Even flipping one end for end on landing its hard to hit your head on the instrument panel. I have friends who have demonstrated that.

The aerobatic community has recorded a few incidents where pilots have knocked themselves silly by having seat belts release while doing a snap roll, I think outside (negative) snaps. But in that case the pilot came off the seat and smashed into the canopy. No helmet of course. In the cases that I know of, after the surprise and shock wore off, the pilot got back down into the seat, collected themselves, and landed the airplane.

If the accident pilot in question was avoiding buildings, there is more to the story. Like the airplane was sick, well over gross, and the day was very hot. Which is a narrative at a few of the skydiving operations I have seen.

Fly safe,

Wes
N6234A

[1600vw]

I have a lot of hours flying ratty old Cessnas hauling skydivers, and have also done a bunch of stalls in them, but have only occasionally have those two experiences intersected. There is no way that in the course of stalling a Cessna you can hit your head on the instrument panel. Even flipping one end for end on landing its hard to hit your head on the instrument panel. I have friends who have demonstrated that.

The aerobatic community has recorded a few incidents where pilots have knocked themselves silly by having seat belts release while doing a snap roll, I think outside (negative) snaps. But in that case the pilot came off the seat and smashed into the canopy. No helmet of course. In the cases that I know of, after the surprise and shock wore off, the pilot got back down into the seat, collected themselves, and landed the airplane.

If the accident pilot in question was avoiding buildings, there is more to the story. Like the airplane was sick, well over gross, and the day was very hot. Which is a narrative at a few of the skydiving operations I have seen.

Fly safe,

Wes
N6234A

Like I said I was just standing there minding my own when this Pilot-Parachutest" My spelling sucks" spoke of this. He said the same thing happened to him. He did not hit his head on the instrument panel but hit his head on the side of the window framing or something along those lines.
He said the break on the stall was so voilent that this caused his head to slam the side of the cabin and almost knocked him out. Like I said, I am just relaying what was said not to me but to others around me, I just listened.

[WLIU]

I hope that you know that all aviation stories begin with "There I was, thought I was gonna die..." Sounds like the individual was embellishing his story, perhaps to impress the listener.

Don't pay attention to stories like that. Go fly.

Wes
N78PS

[SBaircraft]

After browsing the thread, there seems to be a consensus that helmets are ok for "risky" types of flying, such as crop dusting, aerobatics and off-field landings. The way that I see it, all flying is risky. "Normal" flying has approximately the same fatality rate as motorcycles, and 60% of motorcyclists wear helmets.

I'm not sure how much helmets improve flight safety, but the CDC found that helmets reduce the fatality rate of motorcycle crashes by 37%. It seems reasonable for pilots to wear helmets, even if only for a 10% safety improvement. Our cars have air bags, collapsible steering columns, safety glass, and other features to protect our heads. By comparison, cockpits are pretty dangerous. I wouldn't make fun of anyone for wearing a helmet, even in a regular airplane.