I just joined this forum. I am a student pilot flying from S10, and an A&P. I am just getting back into A&P work because I took a long break from it shortly after getting the license to own a Ducati Motorcycle dealership.
Anyways, I have been watching a lot of the videos here on the forum, plus Long Props and Big Rocks, and other stuff I find on You Tube. I noticed I have never seen anyone wear a flight helmet. I have been around motorcycle racing a lot, and the need for the very best helmets in obvious there. In any sort of car racing, especially classes that require a cage of any sort, a helmet protects the driver from head injuries from hitting the cage, or in some instances, cage failure. It would seem logical to me, that when landing on dirt roads, gravel bars, or even on floats, that a helmet would make sense. I wonder if there are any statistics as to what the actual cause of death in small aircraft crashes are? I know fire is always a danger, but with a helmet, you may be conscious enough after a crash that you can get out and run before the flames consume you.
Maybe it's just because there are some cool helmets out there, and I like cool helmets (you would gasp at my helmet shelf) that I have been looking at them. Anyone wear one? Would I be a total geek?
I am a way off to feeling confident to do what some of you guys do. I am going to look at a champ on Monday that need a little work, and might go look at a PA20 that may need a lot of work. Hoping on of these two aircraft will help me get the experience I need to fly to the spots I usually ride or Jeep to.

David

Helmets have been discussed here before. Perhaps a search up in the top right would get you to a thread buried deep in this forum. I wouldn't think any thing different of pilots wearing helmets. I believe about every law enforcement, helicopter, crop duster, and many other gov. agency pilots wear helmets. Probably for a good reason, too.

I saw only one pilot in the last two years with a helmet. He was passing through Aberdeen SD the same day I was there for fuel. He was flying a Decathlon and he was also wearing a parachute. It looked real uncomfortable and failed to build any confidence in the lookers-on in his piloting abilities. As a pilot, I can see the usefulness of the helmet much more than the chute but I don't know anyone who wears one.
I have worn both a helmet and a 7TU 28' in a plane but that particular day I had no use for the plane ride back.

I started a thread on helmets here a couple years back. It's probably in a corner somewhere, under a pile of dust. I'm a believer, though I still don't have what I'd consider to be a good one. Soon I think I'll upgrade my two old ANRs to ZULUs with their current promotion, and begin looking seriously for a quality helmet for those missions where you have cause to think about one.

The high-time wildlife survey pilots (like 29,000 Alaska hours) that I know wear helmets, and I guess that's good enough for this guy. Another friend of mine is alive today because he regained consciousness before the flames consumed the plane. There's another compelling reason.

Lots of manufacturers get tossed around. Gentec, Gallet to name a few. Gentec conjures up military surplus, and are used widely by hotshot crews, Park Service, and probably other agencies. Gallet is top-shelf, with good ANR, quality visor options, custom fit, etc... Probably others that different people can speak to better than I.

A friend of mine was first on scene of a fatal crash where the pilot's head was firmly lodged between the V-braces in front of the glare shield. That brings up the other component which you will see in many of the planes discussed on this site. Shoulder harnesses. Preferably BAS inertia reel. I'd do that before a helmet. In fact, I have.

Good topic. Always good to raise, IMO.

-Denalipilot

You can find helmet discussions on supercub.org, too. Use the search function to find them.

I prefer to fly with a helmet for several reasons. First, in the event of a crash it's not uncommon to smack the instrument panel, and the various protruding knobs are good for punching round holes in the skull, usually with fatal results. Second, the tinted shields are much more effective than sun glasses. No glasses frame to block some of your view, no bright light coming in over the top of the glasses. No noise slipping in between the frame and your ear cups. Finally, they do a great job of blocking out noise, even without noise cancellation.

It's important to get your helmet properly fitted to your head, or else you will wind up with hot spots that are miserable. I think I got lucky, because long flights (4+ hours) were not uncomfortable, but I have heard of others who could only wear their helmet for 30 minutes. The different manufacturers have their own approach to fitting a person's head, and Oregon Aero seems to do a thriving business in providing fixes for helmets that have become uncomfortable. I'd be surprised if a guy could buy a generic helmet and find it comfortable for any length of time: you should expect to spend time up front doing the wax mold or spend some time after you receive the helmet doing the padding swaps (all discussed in the supercub.org threads).

If you want a real education on the different design criteria between Gallet and Gentec give the folks at Merit Apparel a call. Bottom line: Gallet helmets are designed for the forces we'll see when we crash our Cubs, while Gentec helmets are designed for the forces you'll see when you punch out of your F-22. In short, the Gallet helmet is the right one for most of us. That being said, I prefer the Gentec single knob visor design.

Those of us who wear helmets while flying our Cubs are definitely in the minority, and it's hard not to feel self concious while doing it. But, boy are they a pleasure to wear when they fit right.

Berk was a friend that died in Idaho a few years back. He went up the wrong canyon and the last thing he said to his wife was we are going to crash. He hit his head on a the doore post and never woke up. If he had a good shoulder harness or a helmet, I am pretty sure he would still be posting on this forum. If he had both, I know he would.

That said, the first thing I did with my new plane was to have a good shoulder harness put in. I chose the BAS, that way I did not have to loosen it to reach the flap handle. Still no helmet

Tim

the first flight i ever had was in a powered parachute the pilot (CFI) said i don't need a helmet and would not be able to use the intercom, but i insisted, well he stalled it way too high on landing and we hit the ground hard and i hit my head on a bar. after we got out he looked at me and said maybe helmets are a good idea

dirtstrip wrote: It looked real uncomfortable and failed to build any confidence in the lookers-on in his piloting abilities. As a pilot, I can see the usefulness of the helmet much more than the chute but I don't know anyone who wears one.

Did you take a poll? Was this the weekend-warrior-airport-crowd holding court around the coffee pot discussing such intriguing topics as "the downwind turn" "getting on the step (in cruise)" and "taking off from a treadmill" while critiquing every landing that they see?

Parachutes are required for aerobatic flight with passengers, and frankly, it's just plain dumb to fly acro without one otherwise. You never know what's going to go wrong--hell, Sean Tucker has jumped 3 times, but he's kinda hard on his equipment. The last time the stick broke off in his hand...Anyway, the parachute is useless if you bang your head on the plane on the way out, thus the helmet. There's at least one confirmed case that I know of where there was paint transfer on the parachute container and helmet from a guy who had to bail out.

Anyway, I wouldn't (and don't) wear a helmet for normal day to day flying, but for acro and warbird flying, always. Keep in mind the fast jet helmets are designed to protect your head during ejections, cat shots, and to keep your noggin safe when it's bouncing off the canopy during high g maneuvers. Probably fine for most GA flying, but they are not designed to protect you from high impact. That is the job of the helicopter helmets. They're bigger and heavier but offer a higher degree of protection.

Gentex (not Gentec) is the primary supplier of aviator's helmets for the military. They produce several varieties of helmets, for a variety of applications. They are NOT ALL designed for use in fighter aircraft. In fact, the most widely used helicopter helmets are Gentex helmets.

That said, I really prefer the Gallet helmets, for several reasons:

1) the only vendor for civilian purchase of new Gentex helmets has a TERRIBLE fitting system, and has an even worse track record of getting helmets to fit their customers.
2) the Gallet helmets are lighter than almost any of the Gentex helmets.
3) the Gallet helmets, sold by Merit Apparel, DO have a GREAT fitting system (order the Oregon Aero Fit kit--it's worth it).
4) the Gallet ANR in my opinion, is a better system than the Gentex ANR system.

Fit is everything with helmets. Try wearing a helmet that doesn't fit for four hours sometime if you want to know what torture feels like. On the other hand a well fitted helmet is a pleasure to wear, and I can wear a well fitted helmet much longer than a good headset in a day.

Bring cash. None of these things are inexpensive. There is a relatively new helmet that's been adapted from auto racing. Cant' recall the name, but was cheaper and might work well IF you can get it fitted right.

Did I mention that it's essential to get a helmet fitted properly?

MTV

mtv wrote:
Fit is everything with helmets. Try wearing a helmet that doesn't fit for four hours sometime if you want to know what torture feels like. On the other hand a well fitted helmet is a pleasure to wear, and I can wear a well fitted helmet much longer than a good headset in a day.

Bring cash. None of these things are inexpensive. There is a relatively new helmet that's been adapted from auto racing. Cant' recall the name, but was cheaper and might work well IF you can get it fitted right.

Did I mention that it's essential to get a helmet fitted properly?

MTV

How important is the fit

Tim

denalipilot wrote:...A friend of mine was first on scene of a fatal crash where the pilot's head was firmly lodged between the V-braces in front of the glare shield. .....

Not to make light of a fatality, but I've seen several crashes (all non-fatal, thank god) where the pilot's head was firmly lodged up his .....well, let's just say it was pilot error and leave it at that.

Having worn helmets in aircraft for 30+ years they have saved my head more than once. The old APH-4 that hangs in my locker has seen many a hour on my head.If you have a military helmet (or headset) the impedance is different so you'll have to get a converter for civilian radios. They used to issue new helmets every year or when you changed units. earphones and mic's were prone to breaking a lot. Hot and sweaty and miserable to wear when it's hot. Good helmet fitting is primo -lots don't fit very well.

mtv wrote:(order the Oregon Aero Fit kit--it's worth it).

MTV

I'll second Mike's comment about the Oregon Aero accessories, especially the Zetaliner and hushkit. After installing these in my Gentex issue helmet, I was able to conduct 6-8 hours in the helmet with night vision goggles, a mounted heads up display, and a weight bag without any hotspots. The Zetaliner was a definite comfort saver.

http://www.oregonaero.com/p69-2001.html



Brett

Brett,
They must have gotten better. I flew attack in an AH-1F, with the bean bag, NVG's and a rail. I just remember loving to fly with sneakers and a set of David Clark's. Free at last, Free at last, Free at last!
Take care,
Tom

Wow, never thought I would come back to 14 really good posts on the subject. I intend to get a good helmet and will look up the brands mentioned above. I owned a very high performance, high end product motorcycle dealership for the last 10 years. I have gave the proper helmet fit speech until I was like a scratched record. With motorcycles on a race track going into a corner at 150, or a desert bike flying down 2 track at 100, a helmet needs to be right, or your dead.
As far as wearing one for extended periods of time, I have endurance raced (2 hours on bike 20 minutes off for 24 hours) Desert raced (6 to 8 hours with helmet on) and done several 1000 and 1500 mile street rides in less than 24 hours (usually not 100% by choice) So, I think I can handle flying with on. Not in a rented 172, but when I start flying my own aircraft, and learning how to land on unimproved surfaces, I will be wearing a helmet.

I am afraid to ask about Nomex, but I have been looking around on the net for some 2 piece (pants, shirt, not matching like a uniform).
Thank for all the reply's.

David

DavidB. wrote: a helmet needs to be right, or your dead.

David

Try telling that to some of the top Pro Motocrossers. I was amazed to hear some of them are wearing cheap helmets for high sponsor dollars. Nothing better than Arai and Shoei.

I've had one for about 12 years & wear it almost every time I fly. Everyone is right, fit is very important!! If it pinches or feels uncomfortable you won't like wearing it for long flights. I don't have any ANR in mine, but it's alot quieter than my David Clark's are. And the visor is much better than wearing sunglasses & it's always there when you want it.

I bought mine from Flight Suits Limited, now Gibson & Barnes in El Cajon CA. It's a Gentex HGU-33 & had it custom fit, the 1st time it was tight so we sent it back & refitted it, very comfy now. They are pricy, expect to have around $1000 into it, but if it saves your mellon thats cheap.

I'd rather have folks see my helmet on the ramp and think me silly than have folks looking at my box and know I'm dead.

I got one from this fellow: http://shop.beasafepilot.com/Low-Weight ... et-G78.htm

Service was great.

It fits OK for an off-the-shelf, I've worn it for 3 or 4 hours with no problems, so for me it was fine for the average flight. I think it would get uncomfortable if worn all day. I have a big melon, so your mileage may vary depending on size, shape, etc.

gb