I would think that eagle/sterns would get their web site back up. Just went to look and all of the eagle sites are still down.

Hard to order that way.

hmmm

slowmover wrote:This discussion seems focused around float operators who spend a lot of time on the water. I'm interested in flying to the Bahamas in a wheeled airplane. No water landings planned, but the possibility of ending up in it can't be discounted.

It's a given that all occupants would wear a life jacket and we would have a raft on board. Would a good-quality closed-cell foam Type III PFD like you might use in a boat be sufficient? Or should I get the inflatable type? Also, I'm concerned that egress might be harder for back seat passengers. Does anyone have any thoughts on tips for egressing from the back seat of a Cessna? Or is it not appreciably harder than getting out of the front seat?

I went through a 5-day water survival course 20 years ago that included a few trips through the helicopter dunk tank plus a few hours floating in a 1-man raft. That experience gave me a healthy respect for this topic, and that was in Pensacola Bay in May!

Thanks!

The problem with “regular” PFDs (ie: non inflatable types), is that to escape a sinking airplane, you may have to go DOWN to egress the exit. Wearing a conventional PFD may preclude your ability to do so.

Stick with inflatables, and be sure they’re not the self inflating type.

MTV

a quick google search has many aircraft life raft rental places if you don't want to buy one.

Stick with inflatables, and be sure they’re not the self inflating type.

MTV, I think you mean not automatically, but manually triggered inflation, correct? Both are self inflating?

Not trying to nit pick. Just want clarity for readers who are less familiar.

Mustang or other manually inflatable PFD is a must for flying over large bodies of water. You will have to be the judge of what "large" means to you.

Most of the thread is on floatplanes since their environment is water, but wheeled planes end up in the drink as well. Good news on a floatplane is the odds are decent the aircraft will stay on the surface for a decent amount of time due to the air in the floats even if it is upside down. Wheel planes only have air in the wings or empty fuel tanks and will head to the bottom much faster. Fixed gear planes are almost 100% certain to end upside down upon ditching.

Several decades ago I taught survival swimming to civilians and military and gained appreciation of how fragile live is in the water.

Some thoughts:
#1 wear a PFD that you can inflate once outside the AC. Make sure it is a type that will roll you onto your back and keep you face up if you pass out.

#2 get as much of your body out of the water for as long as possible, such as climbing onto a float or anything else that will get some of your body out of the water. Your body is designed to operate at 97F or 37C. If you are fully immersed in even 60F water you will get hypothermia in time and that time is much shorter as the water temp goes down.

#3 Don't think "swim" but think "travel" if you think you can make it to shore or something that you can climb on to. By "travel" I mean expend as little energy as possible to propel yourself forward. Remember your head weighs a lot and keeping it above water drives you down especially with no PFD. The harder you work swimming the more heat you will bleed into the water and shorten your survival time.

#4 If you are wearing clothes, keep them on except boots or heavy shoes. This keeps layer of water warmed by your body trapped so your body does not try to warm the entire ocean or lake. A tuque will keep the head warm or at least a hat as your head loses a lot of heat (a good PFD can keep your head out of the water).

#5 Access your drift in relation to the nearest point of land or structure. If you decide to travel to the shore, choose an angle that will get you there and reassess as you go to make sure the extra distance the angled approach is within your physical limits.

It is a decision process as to if just staying put maintaining your core temp as much as possible is a better choice than trying to make a distant shore.

More than I intended to say.

TD

I used to swim a mile every morning before breakfast, but there is no way I am swimming a mile today even in a dead flat warm pool.