Survival Kits

ContestID67 wrote:

Thanks for all your thoughts. Some are new thoughts that hadn't
occurred to me and others items I already had but hadn't mentioned. I
have incorporated them on http://www.geocities.com/jhderosa/aviation/survival/.


Good list, John.

We forgot to mention that the chute fabric can provide some warmth,
shade, etc., and makes a pretty good signal to search aircraft when
spread out.

Just Googling various terms associated with this discussion can be
interesting, e.g., Wikipedia has an entry under "survival kit" that
may be helpful:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survival_kit


Who knew about shoe polish?

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Also, do not miss:

"Equipped to Survive" online -- a great commercial resource for
information and equipment, where you will find such things as:

Multiservice Procedures For Survival, Evasion, And Recovery
1999, Air Land Sea Application Center, 104 pages,
7 3/8 x 4 1/2 x 3/8 inches, 5.7 oz., waterproof

http://www.equipped.org/multiservice...anual_1999.pdf

"The latest version of the survival manual included in the
survival kits of the U.S. military. A distillation of the
information contained in the survival "bible," the USAF's
enormous tome on Survival Training, AFR 64-4, and updated
from the previous version.... Now a multi-service publication
used by all branches of the U.S. military.... There's little
to find fault with. Waterproof paper and top wire bound with
tan cover and pages with black ink (much easier to read than
the previous version). It's also much thinner and nearly half
the weight of the previous version. About as dry reading as
any other military manual, but all the information is there
in concise and easy to understand text with generally good
illustrations...."


An updated and revised U.S. Military Survival Manual renumbered
under the latest U.S. Military Field Manual numbering system to
FM 3-05.70, is available in html format he

http://www.equipped.org/fm3-0570.htm

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So, between ContestID67, the U.S. Air Force, and Equipped to Survive
http://www.equipped.org/ we have plenty to work with.

And remember, more than your equipment -- even more than your
training -- it's what's in your head and your heart that makes the
difference between survivor and victim. Stay alert, stay positive,
and live to fly another day.


Jack

Survival kits are obviously strongly recommended. I have one in my ship,
stashed in a storage compartment behind the wing. All well and good if I
land off field, but absolutely worthless to me if I have to bail out of the
ship.

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to pack a survival kit so that
it is attached to the parachute harness? Where would one put a survival
kit? TIA.

Jim Vincent wrote:
Survival kits are obviously strongly recommended. I have one in my ship,
stashed in a storage compartment behind the wing. All well and good if I
land off field, but absolutely worthless to me if I have to bail out of the
ship.

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to pack a survival kit so that
it is attached to the parachute harness? Where would one put a survival
kit? TIA.


There are small _kits_ which attach to the harness.

You can wear a _vest_ that holds a lot of gear.

The idea is not to spend the night out if you can avoid it, which
minimizes what you need to carry. Orientation and communication are
big factors in getting found. I like a hand-held GPS and small VHF
radio for the purpose, and the right _ELT_ can do the job when you
can't. Today cell phones can help too, in many areas.

You can wear cargo pants and shirt with fastened flapped or zippered
pockets and carry even more stuff, but you eventually risk having
problems getting out of the cockpit of you load yourself down with
too much stuff. Remember, it's not always a simple matter of rolling
over the side after releasing the canopy. An out of control ship can
impose g-loads that make it difficult to extricate yourself. The
bulk and extra cloth can hang up in ways you might not anticipate.

Being separated too far from the wreckage may not be that much of a
problem in a sailplane. You probably aren't going to jump out if the
ship is in one piece and controllable, so it may not go far without
you. Even so, the problem could be getting to the wreckage in rugged
terrain (or trees) where the relatively few meters that separate you
are mostly vertical, the visibility is restricted, and/or if you are
injured in the landing and mobility is reduced. I would put in the
sailplane those items which are impractical to carry on your person
but would be nice to have, and carry the essentials securely on the
harness or in my clothing.

Check out http://www.equipped.com for kits and information. It's
probably best to use something prepared by very knowledgeable people
than to cobble up something on your own and then find that you've
lost it in the process, or that the contents or quality are inadequate.

Do not discount the possibility you could end up in the water,
wherever you fly. It brings a whole new set of challenges. Even a
pond or small river could do you in, if you are not prepared for it.
Think immediately about where you are likely to come down, and
know the rudiments of steering your chute (not easy unless the chute
is specifically designed to be maneuverable, but it is possible).

I've been out of the tactical life for many years now, so my info
may be dated and incomplete, but a lot of information is available
on the 'Net. Be aggressive about finding and using it.


Jack

Jack wrote:
Jim Vincent wrote:
Survival kits are obviously strongly recommended. I have one in my
ship, stashed in a storage compartment behind the wing. All well and
good if I land off field, but absolutely worthless to me if I have to
bail out of the ship.

I carry about 4 pounds of emergency gear in the glider, not counting the
extra water and ELT. I do not have any of it on my parachute, because I
think the likelihood of bailing out is very small, and because I can't
recall any glider pilot that bailed out that needed survival gear. Does
anyone know of any instance a glider pilot that parachuted from his
glider, and then needed survival gear of any type that he couldn't
recover from the glider?

I realize the possibility is there, but it just seems remote. I'm not
suggesting a pilot shouldn't prepare for the possibility, since it seems
unlikely to cause any problems, as least as long as Jack's warnings are
heeded.

--
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

"Eric Greenwell" wrote in message
news:E6AXh.4487$Rd.722@trndny08...

I carry about 4 pounds of emergency gear in the glider, not counting the
extra water and ELT. I do not have any of it on my parachute, because I
think the likelihood of bailing out is very small, and because I can't
recall any glider pilot that bailed out that needed survival gear. Does
anyone know of any instance a glider pilot that parachuted from his
glider, and then needed survival gear of any type that he couldn't recover
from the glider?

I realize the possibility is there, but it just seems remote. I'm not
suggesting a pilot shouldn't prepare for the possibility, since it seems
unlikely to cause any problems, as least as long as Jack's warnings are
heeded.


Eric,

http://www.soaridaho.com/Schreder/Stories/Bailout.htm
This could have happened in the mountainous terrain where we fly.

Maybe it is time for me to assemble a survival vest.

Wayne
HP-14 "6F"
http://www.soaridaho.com/

IMHO, a leg pocket is an ideal place to stash a bailout kit. I
frequently wear six pocket shorts with one in the leg pocket.

What to carry has been well documented, obviously it has to fit in a
smaller space.

A couple of side notes:

It may have been mentioned before, but a CD-rom makes a perfect signal
mirror, and comes with its own aiming device.

I saw a show the other night where a guy started a fire using 2 "D"
cell batteries and some fine steel wool (about 8" worth). You should
be able to do the same with any battery system.

As always, YMMV.

This just happened: http://www.amtonline.com/article/art...tion=1&id=3913
Sad news.I wonder if they were not using Flarm.

Ramy


On Apr 24, 9:07 pm, "Wayne Paul" wrote:
"Eric Greenwell" wrote in message

news:E6AXh.4487$Rd.722@trndny08...



I carry about 4 pounds of emergency gear in the glider, not counting the
extra water and ELT. I do not have any of it on my parachute, because I
think the likelihood of bailing out is very small, and because I can't
recall any glider pilot that bailed out that needed survival gear. Does
anyone know of any instance a glider pilot that parachuted from his
glider, and then needed survival gear of any type that he couldn't recover
from the glider?

I realize the possibility is there, but it just seems remote. I'm not
suggesting a pilot shouldn't prepare for the possibility, since it seems
unlikely to cause any problems, as least as long as Jack's warnings are
heeded.

Eric,

http://www.soaridaho.com/Schreder/Stories/Bailout.htm
This could have happened in the mountainous terrain where we fly.

Maybe it is time for me to assemble a survival vest.

Wayne
HP-14 "6F"http://www.soaridaho.com/

"nate_fl" wrote in message
ups.com...

I saw a show the other night where a guy started a fire using 2 "D"
cell batteries and some fine steel wool (about 8" worth). You should
be able to do the same with any battery system.

As always, YMMV.


A 9-volt battery works well for this and obviously can ignite a smaller
clump of steel wool. As Nate mentioned, the steel wool should be fine. Steel
wool burns quite hot, so be careful if you play, er, test this.

bumper

Fire? Remember, we are talking about surviving, not camping out. If
you fly in cold climates/wx, you are probably dressed warm enough for
the ground environment (and you have your chute to wrap up in).

My worse case scenario is bailing out and glider impacts on other side
of a ridge, etc. I have a signal mirror (military type - sorry, but a
CD is NOT a good substiture for a signal mirror for several reasons I
can think of - size, strength, visibility, etc) and a mini first aid
kit in small pouches on my chute harness (rigger added them). I also
have a pouch for my cell phone (which I really should tie to the chute
- don't think the velcro pouch will stay on during a violent bailout).

Obviously, if you stay with the glider, you have more comm and nav
gear to work with, and can sleep in the cockpit if necessary. Water
and a book would be nice. Food I consider a luxury, don't want it
sitting in my plane for months.

I think the best thing to have would be a 406 PLB attached to your
chute harness. Eliminates the need for a handheld radio and GPS, and
a lot smaller/lighter. I see a birthday present coming up...

Keep it simple, plan for worse case, make sure it works.

Kirk
66

After reading this thread, I decided to add a signal mirror to my survival
kit. I went to my local Military Surplus shop. They had 3 sizes - small,
medium, large. I jchoose a medium for $9.

John Scott