What Emergency or Saftey Equipment do you keep in your plane

[cornfieldflyer]

If you your plane has no electric system what saftey or emergency equipment to you keep on board?

If you do have an electric system what do you carry with you?


Myself I have always wondered if folks who just fly local even carry anything.

I will not fly without a cell phone. My bird I fly has a lot of radio noise and I have been working on this, but to date no radio in my non-electric bird.

So my list would be:
1. Cell Phone.

What is your list.


Tony

[zaitcev]

I carry my own cellphone, but I'm thinking about getting a PLB. About a year ago an R-44 autorotated on the north slopes of Mt. Taylor, about 25 nm west of here. The crew walked for 14 hours to reach a place where they had cell signal. Good thing they were not seriously injured.

I also have a spare hand-held radio. I suspect it's probably useless in emergency (when was the last time you listened to 121.5?), but what the heck. It's fun to have around.

- 1 gal. of water in Arrowhead thick plastic jug (not "milk" jug). When land off-field around here in summer, you get parched before the day is over. In winter I switch to 2 bottles (to relieve space for extra clothing).
- energy bars
- Lighter, knife, ropes, flashlight (LED mini-maglight; I have a headlight, but this is backup)
- handkerchiefs, 1 roll of bandages
- cup
- space blanket; in the winter I add a fleece jacket. For flights crossing mountain ridges, I pick an extra real jacket too (1 for each occupant). It makes me carry an extra bag, but around here sometimes people take off in short-sleeve weather and crash into snow a few thousand up slope.
- hat

Airplane has fire extinguisher. Although after a crash there's usually nothing you can do, but I heard of a few stories of ramp fires that were successfuly put out by prompt action.

P.S. Make sure the emergency kit is packted into "yank bag". In case of fire you must exit airplane quickly. Sometimes there's no time to reach for baggage compartment. So, in Remos GX I have split off everything except main water, pack bulk into baggage, small items and 1 bottle into grab bag that is accessible in the "tub" (it's there so the bag does not jump forward and jam rudders). In other airplanes it's just 1 main bag and 1 clothes bag.

[jnmeade]

I carry almost nothing on purpose, but a variety of "junk" that might be useful for something. On some trips, I would consider putting together an emergency pack.

I've heard people who work in this area claim that you should put everything important in a vest and wear it. It's all you can count on getting out with. I suppose there are many different opinions on this.

[zaitcev]

In RuAF, the supplies are in the vest and called NAZ ("Nosimyiy Avariynyj Zapas" for "Carriable Emergency Store"). In part it's made so the pilot retains it if he has to eject, but it works just as well in case of other eggress.

Unfortunately, the LSAs that I have to fly are not made to compatible with NAZ vest, due to the way harness is arranged. In general the crew position is somewhat crampled despite the claims about "this many inches wider than Cessna".

The situation is ironically better in GA airplanes such as Arrow and C-182.

[Jim Stewart]

I have a bag packed for flight over hostile terrain. Here's what's in it:

20 degree sleeping bag
One time ground cloth and tent
Survival saw/knife
First aid kit
Two flashlights
Waterproof matches
Parachute cord
One bottle water, one bottle Gatoraide
Power bars
Sig Mosquito 22LR pistol and 2 boxes ammo
Portable 2 way radio
Portable GPS

I have no illusions of this stuff keeping me alive for a week. The point is to survive a night or two in relative comfort and to keep someone alive that might be seriously injured.

Don't underestimate the value of a 2 way radio. Any airliner that you can see is line-of-sight and monitoring 121.5

[CharlieTango]

I have a survival pack from Sportys and a PLB and remember most of us have and ELT that snaps out and has a portable antenna.

[bitten192]

I carry the same as Jim Stewart except instead of a gun, I carry bear spray. I live in SE Wa State which is a desert but I carry gear to accomodate me for an overnight in the worst terrain I fly over which is usually the cascade mountains.

Ernie

[cornfieldflyer]

I also have a routine that my wife and I have, or do. Like most EAB I file no fly plan. Anytime I fly my wife understands I will call her by dark. If she does not receive this call her instruction are to call the police and report me down. She also knows my area I fly in and can give the people who would need this info somethig more then I have not reported in. She can try my cell before she calls the police but the police are to be called if she has not heard from me by dark.

Tony

[Jim Stewart]

I carry the same as Jim Stewart except instead of a gun, I carry bear spray. I live in SE Wa State which is a desert but I carry gear to accomodate me for an overnight in the worst terrain I fly over which is usually the cascade mountains.

Ernie

Bear spray is a damn good idea. I'm probably more afraid of mountain lions where I live.

[drseti]

I addressed this in my Ask Dr. Wilbur column -- available online at http://avsport.org/askdr/index.html#survival.

[MrMorden]

Just remember, folks...any gear not physically attached to your body is unlikely to survive if you have to scramble out of a plane on fire or otherwise too hazardous to get back into once you get it down. For this reason, if you are flying in remote areas or on long cross country flight over unfamiliar areas, I'd recommend getting a lightweight vest and putting your most critical gear in it and wearing it.

Something like this would work well, and I know you can get them cheaper than this if you shop the deals:

http://www.galls.com/cgi/CGBCSTYL?PMSTYL=JA295

[cornfieldflyer]

Flying a EAB I believe a saftey item we should use is a Helmet. Using a helmet I do not fit well in my bird, I am looking to change this and when I do, I will always fly wearing a helmet.

Tony

[ct4me]

'Agree with the vest... you can get one on Ebay for $12-20 (search for fishing vest). Hardcores will argue it should be 100% cotton. In that vest, all the standard small things mentioned earlier...
Personally I'd put a SPOT right up there with a cell phone (THIS IS NOT GOING TO DEGRADE INTO A SPOT VS ELT THING, PLEASE!). Anytime I'm taking a significant flight, I send an email to several folks with an itinerary (friends, family & flying buddies). In that email is a link to my SPOT track. I turn on the tracking feature during pre-flight. This way, with 10-minute granularity, everyone knows where we're at, WITHOUT HAVING TO DO ANYTHING. We always have the option of hitting "the button" for an immediate rescue request.
Depending on the terrain, I might bring water, jackets, flotation, etc. When flying down the Baja, there's always a possibility of being hundreds of miles from nothing (or anybody), and few interested (or capable) in helping.

[jnmeade]

Flying a EAB I believe a saftey item we should use is a Helmet. Using a helmet I do not fit well in my bird, I am looking to change this and when I do, I will always fly wearing a helmet.

Tony

Experimental Amateur Built covers many airplanes, from Lancair to Breezy. EAB is not very precise. To be specific, I don't agree that one needs to wear a helmet with the BearHawk, Kitfox, Murphy Moose, and Velocity, to name a few.

[designrs]

Thoughts on a helmet as an emergency device in an enclosed LSA (SportStar, SportCruiser, CT, etc.)? It would be too uncomfortable to wear all the time but might not be a bad idea for an emergency landing assuming: a) done with radio, b) helmet is easy to put on, c) enough "extra time" to safely put on the helmet.

How high is the risk for head injury? It must be pretty high, especially if the aircraft flips. Bubble canopies are pretty close to the head as well.