Helmets

Have to say that in the fatal accident reports I've read, the pilot
was invariably killed by multiple injuries, not head injuries alone.
That said there have been two accidents in the UK this year where
pilots survived but were left with serious head injuries, and believe
me they're the worst kind of injuries you can have. However I can't
say a helmet would have prevented those injuries - it depends entirely
on how the head was impacted, what by, what energies were involved
etc. My gut feeling is that helmets would be of little use and their
costs (fatigue, possibly reduced vis) too high.

BTW a correctly fitted four-point harness is as safe as a five-point,
although I do recall that the six is the best. As long as you *fully*
tighten the lap strap *first* on a four-point, there should not be any
issues with submarining. I seem to remember that if you do submarine
with a five point, you're going to be left with serious groin injuries
(that's why a six is best), so correct fitting is more important than
variant.


Dan

Dan G wrote:
BTW a correctly fitted four-point harness is as safe as a five-point,
although I do recall that the six is the best. As long as you *fully*
tighten the lap strap *first* on a four-point, there should not be any
issues with submarining. I seem to remember that if you do submarine
with a five point, you're going to be left with serious groin injuries
(that's why a six is best), so correct fitting is more important than
variant.

My recollection is "correct fitting" may not be good enough with "older"
gliders that have a shallow seat pan, compared to "newer" gliders, where
the seat pan has a substantially angled pan below the thighs. Really
"old" gliders with upright seating might also be OK.

I have talked to ridge runners that tell me it doesn't matter how tight
you make the lap belt on a 4 point harness, it simply doesn't work as
well as a 5 or 6 point harness while you are pounding along low and fast
on the ridge. That might be a different issue than proper restraint in a
crash.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly
* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

Dan G wrote:

Have to say that in the fatal accident reports I've read, the pilot
was invariably killed by multiple injuries, not head injuries alone.
That said there have been two accidents in the UK this year where
pilots survived but were left with serious head injuries, and believe
me they're the worst kind of injuries you can have. However I can't
say a helmet would have prevented those injuries - it depends entirely
on how the head was impacted, what by, what energies were involved
etc. My gut feeling is that helmets would be of little use and their
costs (fatigue, possibly reduced vis) too high.

Multiple injuries including head injuries in fatal or non-fatal gliding
accidents should lead us to ask an important question: did the head
injury limit the ability of the pilot to avoid further injuries from
delayed, slow, or no egress; from late or no chute activation; from
inability to steer away from a poor landing place; from inability to
make a correct PLF (parachute landing fall); etc.?

Canopy jettison is a known threat to the pilot's head, esp where the
Roeger Hook http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/roegerhaken-e.html is not fitted.



Jack