Survival Kits

Colin,

anywhere during the season we fly over alpine deserts, and when friends
start to search, it is typically after nightfall. Mountains at night don't
ressemble anything connected to the word "summer".

"COLIN LAMB" wrote in message
ink.net...
"I guess once you have been siiting for a night or two on a glacier in
10'000ft in the middle of August, you might re-think that phrase..."

While that is possible, the odds are that the weather will be clear and if
you have any friends searching for you, a signal mirror works for at least
20 miles and possibly more. Even a old cd works as a signal mirror. If
you are flying over glaciers, then some warm clothing would be useful.

The fact is that you can die of expsure or dehydration or starvation in
the middle of summer when you take an automobile trip, but it is less
likely than in the winter.

Colin

"anywhere during the season we fly over alpine deserts, and when friends
start to search, it is typically after nightfall. Mountains at night don't
ressemble anything connected to the word "summer".

I regularly am on the searching end - whether it be the mountains or desert.
We had two different groups die in Oregon this year. Both made the national
news. In both cases, poor decisions were made, which cost lives. In
Oregon hypothermia occurs most often with above freezing temperatures and
precipitation. At least, during most of the soaring season, we do not have
much precipitation where we have to land out. And, while the temperatures
may get to cold at night, the insulation from a parachute will keep the body
heat where it belongs.

The question that I responded to was whether a pilot had died after landing
out. I know of a number of pilots of powered aircraft that have - but no
soaring pilots. At least in Oregon, during the winter there may be days on
end when the mountains are clouded in bad weather and searches are
difficult. That is not the case during most of the soaring season.

As I get older, I take less gear with me (when on the ground) so I can cover
sufficient territory. I bring enough to survive, not be comfortable. I
always carry a metal match with me and a pocket knife - and with that I can
stay warm. I do carry sufficient water and a filtration system. And, if I
would happen to get stuck out in the woods during a critical time, they
would find me when they came to put out the forest fire.

Colin

One survival tool I take is my wooden glider.

Colin

COLIN LAMB wrote:
One survival tool I take is my wooden glider.

Good point. How easy is it to burn fiberglass?

Should make light, heat, and SMOKE -- no?


Jack

The resin in a composite glider burns very well, but you'll need a loooooong
match :-)

wrote in message
t...
COLIN LAMB wrote:
One survival tool I take is my wooden glider.

Good point. How easy is it to burn fiberglass?

Should make light, heat, and SMOKE -- no?


Jack

I know of one glass glider that burned because of a short in the electrical
system. Instead of using matches, just short the battery!
"Bert Willing" wrote in message
...
The resin in a composite glider burns very well, but you'll need a
loooooong match :-)

wrote in message
t...
COLIN LAMB wrote:
One survival tool I take is my wooden glider.

Good point. How easy is it to burn fiberglass?

Should make light, heat, and SMOKE -- no?


Jack

Just a reminder, _ALWAYS_ have a fuse mounted on the battery for just
such occurrences....



Larry Goddard

"01" USA





"Jim Vincent" wrote in message
news
I know of one glass glider that burned because of a short in the electrical
system. Instead of using matches, just short the battery!
"Bert Willing" wrote in message
...
The resin in a composite glider burns very well, but you'll need a
loooooong match :-)

wrote in message
t...
COLIN LAMB wrote:
One survival tool I take is my wooden glider.

Good point. How easy is it to burn fiberglass?

Should make light, heat, and SMOKE -- no?


Jack

I read about the landout along the Allengany Mountains and imagined
the overnight survival adventure the pilot had.
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.a...41edf599cacc/#.

It got me thinking about my own glider survival kit that I have built
up over the years. My son will be hiking in the desert region of Utah
and I shared with him what I had in my kit. I then decided to put
together a small web site of the contents. Maybe sharing this will
help someone in the future.

See http://geocities.com/jhderosa/aviation/survival/ for details.

Good luck out there.

- John "67R" DeRosa