To All:

About a month ago I posted a message having to do with aircraft crash
survival in which I touched on the ability to make a fire, and the
features found in a good survival knife. The post produced the usual
comments some of which were rather surprising and may be of interest to
some of you.

MATCHES

The ability to make fire is fundamental to survival and, all else being
equal (never a safe bet :-) the handiest way to do so is to simply
strike a match. But based on the comments I received not everyone is
aware that matches come in two basic flavors and a variety of sizes.

The two basic types of match are those which may be scratched anywhere
versus the 'safety' type which can on be struck on an abrasive pad
treated with red phosphorus. The 'strike-anywhere' type are
preferred since there's no need to provide for the special
striking-surface.

The surprise came from hearing some folks insist that the
'strike-anywhere' type of match was not available, at least to
them. I assume they are the victim of some do-gooder regulation which
allows only the sale of 'safety-type' matches in their locale.

The splint or wooden portion of a standard kitchen match is 2-3/8" long
(ie, about 60mm). This length is a NECESSITY when lighting certain
lanterns and some gas-fired appliances. By comparison, a standard
'box-match' has a splint only 1-3/4" long (45mm). I was surprised
to learn that some people thought any WOODEN match was a 'kitchen'
match and referred to them as such. A couple of these folks mentioned
carrying 'kitchen' matches in a 35mm film canister; clearly
impossible since such canisters are only about 1-3/4" deep.

Another surprise had to do with water-proofing a wooden match.
Everyone who mentioned water-proofing said that simply dipping the head
of the match into melted paraffin would do the trick. And they're
right. But no one mentioned the need to REMOVE the wax before trying
to strike the thing, causing me to suspect they were simply repeating
something they'd heard. The paraffin makes an excellent water
barrier but it's also a very good lubricant. Since ignition of the
match depends upon FRICTION, if you don't remove the wax (or at
least, most of it) you'll simply scrub the head off the match without
ever causing it to light.

MATCH SAFES

Several people mentioned their preferred method of storing matches.
I've already mentioned the 35mm film canister, which is perfectly
suitable for the small, box-type matches. Others mentioned
commercially available match-safes, cigar tubes and even a specially
made jobbie a fellow turned from a bar of aluminum.

Personally, I've found a regular pill bottle from the local pharmacy
makes an excellent container for kitchen matches, water-proofed or
not. A couple of cotton balls keeps the matches from rattling around
and a few turns of duct-tape will keep the pill bottle from cracking
should it get banged around. In fact, since we're forced to ride the
plane down, you might consider taping a pill-bottle of matches to some
protected portion of the airframe.

IN DEFENSE OF THE BFK

As with ability to make fire, when it comes to survival the need for a
knife -- for the ability to cut things, beginning with your own safety
harness -- is fundamental. Experience has shown that a pocket-knife
that is HABITUALLY carried is more practical than a special-purpose
'survival knife' that is not. The key issue here is not the type of
knife nor its size but the fact you always have it with you.

Two people insisted their Rambo-esque knives were a necessity since
they might be needed to chop their way out of the downed aircraft. In
that case I think the wiser course is to permanently install such a
device in your cockpit and thereafter consider it as part of the
airplane rather than part of your survival kit.

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General Aviation attracts a lot of wingless vultures eager to make a
buck by preying upon the unwary. One method of doing so is to sell
junk disguised as kits of 'survival' gear. But when the problem of
post-crash survival is examined realistically it doesn't take a rocket
scientist to see that the average home-builder is liable to be better
prepared at lower cost (and less weight) by simply applying a bit of
common sense to the problem.

-R.S.Hoover