Sport Pilot Talk

I purchased a supplemental BOOST oxygen bottle from Sporty's and even keep one in my car for late night drives... works great with Starbucks coffee!

http://www.sportys.com/pilotshop/product/16336

One time I was flying at 11,500 (in a Private Pilot's plane. I was not PIC) and felt the altitude just a bit. It could have been conditioning as it was my first time up so high.

So now when flying at 8,500 or over I feel fine, but will use the oxygen bottle a little just as a precaution. Maybe 3 deep breaths every 15 minutes or so.

Here's the weird thing... I feel a bit odd after using the oxygen!
Maybe it's just not necessary and not a good idea even as a precaution?
Comments?

designrs wrote:I purchased a supplemental BOOST oxygen bottle from Sporty's and even keep one in my car for late night drives... works great with Starbucks coffee!

http://www.sportys.com/pilotshop/product/16336

One time I was flying at 11,500 (in a Private Pilot's plane. I was not PIC) and felt the altitude just a bit. It could have been conditioning as it was my first time up so high.

So now when flying at 8,500 or over I feel fine, but will use the oxygen bottle a little just as a precaution. Maybe 3 deep breaths every 15 minutes or so.

Here's the weird thing... I feel a bit odd after using the oxygen!
Maybe it's just not necessary and not a good idea even as a precaution?
Comments?

High partial pressures of oxygen can become toxic, but I don't think that will happen at anything approaching a reasonable O2 flow from an aviation cannula or mask. The most common way I've heard of O2 toxicity is breathing O2 at high pressures, such as when scuba diving. In fact, the partial pressure of regular air reaches toxic levels at about 297ft underwater. Of course, the nitrogen narcotic effect would turn you into a useless slug long before you got there. But even exotic mixes like HeliOx require precise O2 metering at deep depths to avoid O2 toxicity.

As for the Boost canisters, I question their effectiveness. A quick shot of O2 might give you a quick wake up and bring you a little clarity momentarily, but the effect will quickly be lost at altitude. I think you need continuous O2 to stay sharp, not just a little shot now and then.

Doing a little reading on hyperbaric chamber training might be worthwhile. Hypoxia effects each individual differently so e.g. a NFO friend we were flying near at 11500 noticed arm tingling, which he has learned is his first hypoxia symptom because of his Navy chamber training. However, my son's first symptom is reduced cognitive function so he knows he can't rely on discerning judgment if he chose to ignore the Navy guidelines on O2 use. That's one of the fallacies of the Boost bottle ('I'll use it when I need it...'), the other being that O2 saturation need's to be consistently sufficient. Before relying on a Boost bottle, I'd suggest relying on a pulse oximeter. Inexpensive insurance and always available when choosing higher altitudes, which e.g. Out west are often necessary.

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SportPilot wrote:Of course smokers are going to have more problems than non-smokers on average.

Same goes for you sea level guys

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3000 feet isn't low. I would bet more that 1/2 of my 7000 plus hours is below 1000 feet, with a couple thousand between 100 and 200 feet.

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both VFR over the top and "low-altitude vs high-altitude" mean different things in the east vs far west.

if your normally aspirated best performance and economy are found at 7,500' DA.

designrs wrote: One time I was flying at 11,500 (in a Private Pilot's plane. I was not PIC) and felt the altitude just a bit. It could have been conditioning as it was my first time up so high.

So now when flying at 8,500 or over I feel fine, but will use the oxygen bottle a little just as a precaution. Maybe 3 deep breaths every 15 minutes or so.

First off, everyone is different in how hypoxia affects them*.

I'm OK at 7,500' and higher to top weather or take advantage of winds.

But I know that if I fly several legs in a row at altitudes like that, my performance starts to suffer.

In my case its not so much euphoria as laziness. I'll start to do a simple problem like "What's the reciprocal of 150º?" or "At 500 fpm, how long will it take me to get from 8,500' to 3,500'?" or "How can I contact FSS from here?" and struggle with an answer. And then not bother.

Another thing is that while I can tough it out at those altitudes for extended flights, the next day I'm pretty exhausted, and it takes me a day or two to recover.

So, if I were planning a long flight at 9,500', I'd definitely want to take my oxygen - a "E" bottle for medical 02 with regulator and cannula. Have not used it in about a decade though - I went ahead and installed built-in factory oxygen in my Cirrus and have never hassled with it in the Sky Arrow.

Second I don't think those three deep breaths are necessarily a good idea - to be continued...


*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN3W4d-5RPo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTNX6mr753w
Of course, not terribly relevant to flight below 10,000', but interesting nonetheless!

I found that with the cannula, I'd find myself taking tiny, short little breaths - barely moving any air at all. Kind of panting.

If I took a few long, deep breaths, I could watch the O2 level on my Oximeter increase by about 5%. But, like you, I felt a little "off" doing it.

I asked on COPA if there was any danger of hyperventilating by taking long, deep breaths. As I recall, an anesthesiologist responded that, by definition, when I was forcing respiration deeper than normal I was technically hyperventilating.

And the problem with that was it can wash the CO2 out of your blood (I think) and can, in some cases, lead to fainting. Which reminded me of a game we used to play as kids.

Anyway, I don't think 3 quick hits of O2 will do anything substantial. You really need a way to control the flow, monitor your O2 stats and try to breathe normally.

I may be off on some of the details, but that's what I recall. I will yield to anyone with more expertise in this area.

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