Does anyone know of a private company that offers in depth, interactive, survival training to backcountry pilots? I know some of us have had SERE through the military, but I just don't know if something similar exists for backcountry pilots.

If not, do you think there'd be an interest in getting that started? I have been throwing the idea around for some time.

Thanks for your thoughts/comments

Take a wilderness first responder course and do a bit of year round camping in the area you operate in, ideally with locals who spend a good amount of time in the back country.

Backyard/local patch of woods camping with the clothes on your back and your usual survival kit should give you all the education you need. Free too, just involves suffering but suffering is educational. You can repeat the exercise until you are a pro, or think you have suffered enough, and if the exercise goes badly you can bail out by getting in your house/car and trying again later.

Montana Division of Aeronautics puts on a winter survival course each winter.

There are a couple of providers of survival training based in Anchorage.

Camping and survival are slightly different, but common skill sets. I strongly agree that a wilderness first responder course is a great addition to your skill sets.

MTV

I think one of the schools in Anchorage that MTV is referring to is “Learn To Return,” http://www.survivaltraining.com.

Brian Horner is the owner and a former Air Force survival training instructor. He and his other instructors are top notch and not to be missed.

They have a multitude of different courses, many geared toward aviation survival. Underwater egress is one of their courses, which every float pilot and their frequent passengers should take.

Ross

As far as underwater training, good watch, and a good class (which I have done for work before)





Course
http://www.southernseaplane.com/PDFs/Wa ... c_2007.pdf

The FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) offers a 1-day post-crash survival course for general aviation flight personnel. It is designed to be an introduction which provides basic knowledge and skills for coping with various, common survival scenarios. Furthermore, this course teaches students how to easily assemble and use a personal survival kit.

The course examines survival in desert, arctic, and water environments from two points; preflight preparation and the skills needed to endure those extremes. Included in this course is discussion on the psychology of survival, aircraft egress procedures, search and rescue operations, signaling devices and their use, fire starting/building, personal survival kits, rafts and accessories, and helicopter pickup devices.

Hands-on practice sessions are conducted, based on device/personnel availability, and may include: a fire starting lab, signaling lab, thermal (cold) chamber, ditching tank, underwater egress trainer, and an aircraft emergency evacuation (smoke) simulator. The principles and techniques taught in this course apply to the survival equipment that can be found or carried onboard most GA aircraft.

https://www.faa.gov/pilots/training/airman_education/survival_training/

You can’t even begin to cover all that information in one day.

MTV

I absolutely agree, and I'm in no way endorsing it as a thorough course, but it's an introductory course that's available and offered by the FAA. Maybe it's intended as a primer to give attendees a better idea of what they need to learn about to survive after being stranded in the backcountry.
I didn't see a course cost associated, so I'm assuming it's payed for with taxpayer dollars and you're only out of pocket for travel, food, and lodging?
I've never attended it, so I can't say what to expect from a first person point of view.

mtv wrote:Montana Division of Aeronautics puts on a winter survival course each winter.

There are a couple of providers of survival training based in Anchorage.

Camping and survival are slightly different, but common skill sets. I strongly agree that a wilderness first responder course is a great addition to your skill sets.

MTV

I'm glad you suggested this. Thanks to your post, I attended this clinic and learned a lot. I believe they may be offering a summer time clinic soon.

HuskyCountry wrote:

mtv wrote:Montana Division of Aeronautics puts on a winter survival course each winter.

There are a couple of providers of survival training based in Anchorage.

Camping and survival are slightly different, but common skill sets. I strongly agree that a wilderness first responder course is a great addition to your skill sets.

MTV

I'm glad you suggested this. Thanks to your post, I attended this clinic and learned a lot. I believe they may be offering a summer time clinic soon.

I hope so too. I’m “encouraging” them to do so.

MTV

I believe that “Durango Skywagon” was offering a Wilderness First Responder course that was geared towards pilots.

Here is the survival school you need

1. GPS Enabled 406 ELT (push the button the second you realize you are not having a normal landing)

2. InReach- quit being a cheapo and spend what it costs to get pings every two minutes. Use it EVERY time you fly. Give your inReach web address to friends and family. (push the button the second you realize you are not having a normal landing - transfer the InReach onto your body) (text the rescue center if/when you can and update your status) No, a SPOT isn't good enough.

PLB if you want (push the button the second you realize you are not having a normal landing)

Trip everything in the air, if you crash in a deep canyon (Idaho) your devices may not find a satellite in view and then you are climbing (dragging yourself) to the top of a mountain

3. Sat phone with all the rescue, family, friends (I add a helicopter company also) numbers already programmed into the phone - keep it on your body. (call the rescue center if/when you can and update your status)

Plan on it taking four days for you to be rescued

4. CAT Tourniquet set up for one handed operation and attached to the front of your body so you can reach it with either hand and deploy with one hand. (practice deploying it with either hand on all your limbs)
https://blackscoutsurvival.com/medical/
5. IFAK on your body (take a first aid course so you know what to do with the stuff in the IFAK)

tube of super glue in lieu of suture supplies

6. Couple of space blankets on your body

7. Your favorite fire starter(s) on your body (you do know how to start a fire in the wilderness in all four seasons and even in the rain yes)

8. Water purification or filtration carried on your body

9. Belt or pocket knife carried on your body

10. Standard first aid kit in the plane

11. Four days of high calorie food for each passenger

12. Water (amount depends on where you fly)

https://www.aasfonline.org/wp-content/uploads/assembling_a_survival_kit.pdf

Be sure you know how to use all the equipment on your person and in your plane

Call Floats and Skis in Alaska. Don had a great hour long class with taught by a great guy. He could have go on for longer I am sure. Even after 65 years of studying this stuff I was able to learn a few tricks.
DENN Yhttps://www.alaskafloats.com/

My company WildernessMedic.com offers numerous wilderness medical classes in the southwest. The gold standard for the non-medically certified student is a Wilderness First Responder. I have one scheduled for mid-May at Animas Airpark, in Durango.

I am the owner and lead instructor. I have a background that includes 18 years guiding wilderness trips in Northern Quebec, 15 years as a firefighter/paramedic, and 20 years experience as a ski patroller and SAR volunteer here in Colorado. I also have owned a 185 for 15 years, and I operate it in remote areas of Utah and on floats in Canada in the summer.

Our classes are fun, practical, and empowering. We can also help with storing your plane while your here. We also have classes in Moab and Telluride.

While not specifically for pilots this class is really the gold standard for anticipating and managing injuries and illness in remote areas, and even better preventing them.

Go to wildernessmedic.com for more info or give me a call 970-946-7630

Cheers,

Brad