Great presentation and use of props.

I agree, a great presentation!
Jon, I always enjoy the added narration in your videos--
whether it's a subject-specific presentation like this,
or describing your technique or reasoning for a particular approach etc.
Much more enjoyable than some video's I've seen that sometimes just seem like exercises in "hey watch me".

Couldn't agree more. I wear my MSA from Tiger Performance whenever I fly my cub.

Great video that is right on point. After 4 point seat restraints a helmet makes great good sense in the cockpit. The story that piston engines are 'extremely reliable' is a myth.

Thanks for putting this topic out for discussion.

Would be an interesting correlation for an insurance company. Pilots that feel their flying warrants wearing a helmet, vs what rates to charge them for hull insurance.

No visor on your helmet, seems like an easy add on. I see bike helmets (bicycle) with visors that quickly remove or attach with Velcro. Maybe it's because a lot of my early morning flying is to the east, (your flight plan may vary) but that jumped out at me.

Karmutzen wrote:Would be an interesting correlation for an insurance company. Pilots that feel their flying warrants wearing a helmet, vs what rates to charge them for hull insurance.

Do you mean the insurance company should offer a discount for a helmeted pilot? I don’t follow.

Good presentation. My friend Burk flew up the wrong canyon gong to Big Creek. Could not out fly the terrain. On impact he banged his head on the doorpost. Never woke up. Two things would have been nice to have that day. Shoulder harnesses and a helmet

Great video and Thanks for sharing your point of view John. Flying with a helmet is pretty smart, but faces a weird challenge. Then convincing others to fly with you, leads to the perception that you're going to crash or very likely. Climbing into a friends Mooney or bonanza kinda becomes a "off road" event instead of a leisure trip out for breakfast. so much of the non helmet wearing pilot community is really because its awkward to have to admit we might crash or become involved in an incident. Even though we all should be prepared every flight, the perception is not appealing to most.

I fly from North Las Vegas and live at Nellis. As you know, a quick flight either direction puts you over miles and miles of rugged, harsh desert environment. although no tree's many many ragged outcrops of rocks and dirt. A simple "local" flight could easily turn into an "event" and I dare say most flying locally do not not have proper survival gear or clothing to suite such an event, let alone a helmet.

I once helped salvage a Lancair 320, after the local A&P bought the wreck from the insurance company. Local guy in Charleston, SC had crashed into the marsh after an engine out and trying to save the plane. He hit so hard the fuselage had cracks in it and was intact, but the seat belt webbing broke and his head hit square on the panel eyebrow. It was clear from the blood splatter, that he had a serious impact to the head. I often wondered if he were wearing a helmet would the outcome had been different? I guess nobody will know.

Stigma and perception of wearing a helmet is the largest barrier. Those who don't want to climb into their Cessna or Piper and "look" like a crash prone idiot. I mean a lot of aircraft experience the backcountry and I would say that its not just backcountry operators that need to consider wearing helmets!

What helmets out there let you use your own expensive already paid for headset

qmdv wrote:What helmets out there let you use your own expensive already paid for headset

Sky cowboy supply makes a mod for the Team Wendy EXFIL SAR helmets. Google search brings sky cowboy supply up. They have an adapter that fits DC 10.0 series headsets, BOSE and Light Speed. The thing I like it Team Wendy has done some serious innovation and engineering for noggin protection and the helmet is light weight. I would never spend $1000+ for a aviation helmet that didnt meet or exceed some kind of standard testing for protection. Team Wendy is involved in designing military tactical helmets and all sorts of technical helmets which meet and exceed to new standards for protection. $399

lownslow79 wrote:

qmdv wrote:What helmets out there let you use your own expensive already paid for headset

cowboy supply makes a mod for the Team Wendy EXFIL SAR helmets. Team Wendy is involved in designing military tactical helmets and all sorts of technical helmets which meet and exceed to new standards for protection. $399

What standards, for protection in an aircraft accident? A general aviation aircraft accident? Are there any standards for helmets for GA accidents?

MTV

mtv wrote:

lownslow79 wrote:

qmdv wrote:What helmets out there let you use your own expensive already paid for headset

cowboy supply makes a mod for the Team Wendy EXFIL SAR helmets. Team Wendy is involved in designing military tactical helmets and all sorts of technical helmets which meet and exceed to new standards for protection. $399

What standards, for protection in an aircraft accident? A general aviation aircraft accident? Are there any standards for helmets for GA accidents?

MTV

Probably some made up standards

I always ware a helmet when flying the Quicksilver. Mainly for the intercom and face shield. It is made for aviation headsets.

I never ware a helmet in the Maule when I have passengers. I'm sure as hell not buying 3 helmets for passengers. We will all die of head injuries together. And we will like it.

Shut up and die like an aviator!

Cheers...Rob

qmdv wrote:

mtv wrote:

lownslow79 wrote:

qmdv wrote:What helmets out there let you use your own expensive already paid for headset

cowboy supply makes a mod for the Team Wendy EXFIL SAR helmets. Team Wendy is involved in designing military tactical helmets and all sorts of technical helmets which meet and exceed to new standards for protection. $399

What standards, for protection in an aircraft accident? A general aviation aircraft accident? Are there any standards for helmets for GA accidents?

MTV

Probably some made up standards

Bro,
I think you're putting more thought and insinuation into this comment, that is really meant to be quick and helpful, not a full on exploratory expose on GA HELMETS and standards. In that reference the exceeding standards refers to the EXFIL military and SAR helmets. in which sky cowboy supply is then modifying for aviation use. These same helmets are worn by military tactical aircrew in helicopters. Now as for Aviation helmet standards and testing, YES, the Department of Interior, who oversee's the various forestry helicopter units has developed a standard for measuring a helmet as applied to Aviation crashworthniess.

Department of Interior, hmmm

I've never understood the anti helmet culture in airplanes. In helicopters we don't think twice putting one on and there is actually a lot less for your head to hit directly in front of you, it was mostly for NVGs and bird strike protection. I do NOT wear my helmet in our airplane, but will if I am in a Cub or somethings low and slow. I've also done some side float flying and it would be a bit awkward for the PAX to see the pilot in a helmet.

I wish more backcountry guys would wear them, I should do it myself. I have flown a few pilots out of their wrecks when I flew medevac, the ones that survived all had significant head injuries that would have probably been prevented by a helmet and visor.

On a side note, there is currently significant changes being made to helmet standards for OAS (Forest Service) and other government contract work. I don't know the specifics now that I operate in the Flight Levels, but there is a lot of talk about it on the heli and fire forums.

I looked hard at helmets at OSH a couple of years ago. After years of DOT motorcycle helmets, I came away with the impression that the ones marketed for airplanes didn’t have much crash protection. When I asked about certification, one of the well-known vendors told me there was no certification standard.

But if I had the Cub I wish I had, with my head sitting up there in that cage, I’d sure figure out something to do to protect my brain from injuries that might be caused by....well.....mistakes made by that same brain!

Fun video...thanks.

VTOSS wrote:... I've also done some side float flying and it would be a bit awkward for the PAX to see the pilot in a helmet....

I think this is a factor for a lot of pilots. Having com-equipped helmets for all pax is pretty expensive and bulky, and it's a bit strange to wear one while you give your pax nothing but a headset.

I'm all for people wearing helmets if they want to, regardless of what their pax think. I'd happily wear one if I had one, but I guess I just don't see enough risk to justify the cost. Like a lot of people, I'm really not willing to sacrifice my audio environment, so any helmet would have to equal the acoustic excellence of my lightspeed headsets, and not give me a headache during a three-hour flight. A pretty expensive helmet, in other words.

Then there's the issue of how much security you're actually getting for your money. Helmets worn for bicycling or rollerblading or kayaking are much more likely to be successful in their mission because these are endeavors where low impact head strikes are somewhat common, and a helmet can easily be the difference between getting up and walking away verses not. In a plane crash a helmet certainly could make a difference, but the energy levels (including fuel) are such that it very well might not matter in the end. You arguably get a lot more security for your dollar with a bike helmet.

The exposure to injury we face in our automobiles is vastly higher than in our airplanes, but you don't see anyone wearing helmets in their Toyotas. That's not to say you shouldn't wear a helmet in the airplane if you want to, but for most of us it's not the highest risk environment we operate in. Pilots pushing the envelope of off-field operations are obviously in a different category.