I am getting ready for our long day mission. It is a little hard to see but there is a hose coming out of the side of my jacket. It is part of a cooling vest that plugs into the aircraft system and pumps cooled fluid through tubes in the vest. Each pilot has a connection and there are three spots in the back for the crew members. All our aircraft were fitted with the system before we came over in '05 but like many good ideas it is almost never used. The crew members don't like it because they have to unhook to move around the aircraft. Since they don't use it they don't have a lot of incentive to keep it working. They are the ones who service the system, repair the hoses and such like so as a result very little works. This is the only aircraft in the fleet that has it working and that is because the FE (Rigdon) knows a lot about the system. It's too bad because it makes a huge difference on long day flights and really helps reduce fatigue.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
I am getting ready for our long day mission. It is a little hard to see but there is a hose coming out of the side of my jacket. It is part of a cooling vest that plugs into the aircraft system and pumps cooled fluid through tubes in the vest. Each pilot has a connection and there are three spots in the back for the crew members. All our aircraft were fitted with the system before we came over in '05 but like many good ideas it is almost never used. The crew members don't like it because they have to unhook to move around the aircraft. Since they don't use it they don't have a lot of incentive to keep it working. They are the ones who service the system, repair the hoses and such like so as a result very little works. This is the only aircraft in the fleet that has it working and that is because the FE (Rigdon) knows a lot about the system. It's too bad because it makes a huge difference on long day flights and really helps reduce fatigue.
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2 comments:
Thanks for vocabulary. Looked up FE so that I could know who cared about cooling. (: Whose job is it to design these systems? Is there a "personel comfort division"? Is this under "personel"...under procurement? From MUCH personal experience I understand the relaxing properties of cool. Mostly from not having them. (: Did I tell you of Jenny's single trip to the Pendleton store? In our very fine white vehicle? And it was only early summer. A piece of paper temperature. She staggered in the house, put her head on the counter and said "Parents! You MUST replace that car!" I think that she afterwards tried to set up a collection to replace that car but most were unmoved "They knew what they were buying when they bought it". This is VERY true. We have traded comfort for bragging rights. But we are not fighting; only driving. I am all for cool for fighters. (: Presumably you are not moving about the aircraft so can be plugged in. What fluid circulates? If you spring a leak will you be poisoned? burned? wet only? Ignorance prompts strange questions. (:
I'm not sure who actually designed them but there is no shortage of people approaching the government with the latest great idea. This system is a great example. Once the Army decided to buy them they were installed in all the CH-47s and UH-60s in the fleet. On the Chinook side of the house I would estimate 5% are used. Not a bad deal if you have a product that you can sell even though only 5% of your customers use it. And in our case when we do decide to use them they have been sitting for two years so none of them work and we have to order all new ones at $15,000 each.
As far as plugging in - it is easier for the pilots but the guys in the back have a 15' umbilical tube that they can use. The problem is they say it catches on things when they move around. I think the bigger reason is that they don't want to mess with it and it gives them bragging rights :)
The fluid is almost all water with just a little coolant liquid and a very small amount of chlorine. The manufacturers say you can drink it with no ill effects. That was a big concern when they were first fielded :)
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