Inside Combat Rescue

AggieMike88

AggieMike88

Touchdown! Greaser!
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The original "I don't know it all" of aviation.
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I've been watching some of the episodes of NatGeo's "Inside Combat Rescue". The program that tells stories about the PJ's serving in Afganistan.

I have a question about some of the gear the helicopter pilots are wearing. What is the purpose of the lower face mask they attach to their helmets? Wind a debris blockage so they can communicate over the microphones? something else?
 
It's really not an essential piece of equipment up front. As you can see from the series not all the guys wear them. While it's loud with the doors off (especially right seat) the wind really isn't hitting the mike. The mikes aren't automatic VOX like most civilian aircraft either. You have to click a floor mike or the cyclic switch to talk on ICS.

Never really cared for doors off; more drag (speed restricted), loud, no armor protection, dirt gets in the cockpit and it really only cools the temp by a couple degrees. When you're flying all day in 110 degrees, a couple of degrees really isn't noticeable. Also with doors off, losing sensitive information out the door is a constant worry. I always kept my kneeboard on my inboard leg just for that reason.

Face masks are important for crew chiefs though. They have to stick their heads out the window to clear for obstacles and the wind blast hits their mikes. Even then not all the crew chiefs wore them.
 
I'm a crew chief. I've never worn one. In fact, I think only two of our crew chiefs (out of about 30) actually use them. For us, it's because we have our visors up for goggle use, and 99% of our flights are at night. And the MFS doesn't help much with the visor up.
 
darrell said:
I'm a crew chief. I've never worn one. In fact, I think only two of our crew chiefs (out of about 30) actually use them. For us, it's because we have our visors up for goggle use, and 99% of our flights are at night. And the MFS doesn't help much with the visor up.
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Dude, you're not cool until you have a face mask with fangs painted on it! :D
I suppose only about half of the CEs I flew with used them. It's just sometimes you could hardly understand them with their heads out the window calling you down.
 
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35 AoA said:
Lol......I get the helmet I guess, as weird as that is, but gloves too????? WTF Guy must love punishment
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Yeah, in a crash he'll burn over 90 % of his body but his hands will be fine.:D
 
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35 AoA said:
Lol......I get the helmet I guess, as weird as that is, but gloves too????? WTF Guy must love punishment
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Depends, know a C product driver who wears gloves like that. Says he is just so used to them from his time flying S-2s that he doesn't feel right flying without them

No helmet though, but I suppose if I owned a plane I did acro in I'm might have the helmet hard wired in.
 
Skylane81E said:
Depends, know a C product driver who wears gloves like that. Says he is just so used to them from his time flying S-2s that he doesn't feel right flying without them
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Whatever floats your boat I suppose. I can't stand them, and the only time you will see them on my hands is walking across the flight deck (as it is required there)
 
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