Do You Wear a Helmet?

[s10sakota]

Even though my RV is years away from actually leaving the ground I planned on buying a helmet 100% for bird strike protection.

For of those of you who only use eye protection instead of a helmet, what kind of eye protection are you wearing? Seems like wearing WWI flying goggles would be silly in an RV, but if there's another option besides a heavy, hot, expensive helmet I'd love to know about it!

[Snowflake]

This thread from a couple of weeks ago suggested looking into Paragliding helmets. There are some really nice looking helmets, with visors, that are quite economical. If the goal is a visor for additional bird protection, and a lightweight close-fitting helmet for protection from hitting poke points in your cockpit, they're a pretty attractive option.

http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...=111955&page=3

[jjhoneck]

Originally Posted by s10sakota

Even though my RV is years away from actually leaving the ground I planned on buying a helmet 100% for bird strike protection.

For of those of you who only use eye protection instead of a helmet, what kind of eye protection are you wearing? Seems like wearing WWI flying goggles would be silly in an RV, but if there's another option besides a heavy, hot, expensive helmet I'd love to know about it!

Mary and I both wear these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Less than ten bucks apiece, they block the sun from the SIDE and TOP, can be worn over our glasses, and are safety rated.

I modified a pair by cutting the bows off, drilling a couple of holes, and attaching them to my head with a lanyard that cinches up. This gets rid of the "bows breaking the ear seal" problem.

The price is sure right. We order them five at a time, and throw them away as they get old/scratched.

[L.Adamson]

The thought of a wearing a helmet in the RV never crossed my mind, although a full face helmet definitely saved my life, when I hit that leaping mule deer on the motorcycle at 65 mph. I'm sure there was a bit of deceleration, but I continued rolling and grinding skin for 50 yards, as did the 1520cc cycle with it's front wheel smashed into the engine.

I hit on the left side of my head. The shield flipped down, and took a lot of abrasion, which protected the face. It was so roughed up, that you could hardly see through it. There was deer hair underneath. My watch was ground down to the strap. Due to the fact, that the helmet was a full face, the downward pressure took out my left collar bone, shoulder blade, and all left ribs.

I still wouldn't wear one in an airplane. I've seen quite a few airplane wrecks, and am not convinced a helmet is a better line of defense, as it is on a motorcycle. BTW--- before that wreak, I was 50/50 on wearing one while riding. I'm now 100% convinced.

[N804RV]

I wore an SPH-3 for years. It even saved my noggin from at least a bruise or cut on more than one occasion.

I even witnessed a large fruit bat auger through the pilot's windscreen right at eye level. The pilot instinctively flinched just enough that the bat's head and entrails bounced off the top of his visor and wound up inserting itself into the lightening holes, above the insulation blanket. The major part of him (the bat) didn't make it through the golf ball sized hole in the windscreen. I'm convinced that the only reason we didn't have a very serious emergency was because he (the pilot) had a helmet on and visor down.

I've heard more than one RV-8 pilot say that the glare shield is a real danger in a hard landing. And that might be the most compelling argument for me to wear a helmet. I even have my old govt. issue flight helmet, somewhere around here.

That being said, will I wear one in my RV-8 when its finished? Probably not.

[Dbro172]

If nothing else; simply for the cool factor

[SHIPCHIEF]

What do you helmet wearing RV-4 and RV-8 tossers do to prevent the helmet from scratching the inside of your canopy?
The Walter Mitty in me is fine with wearing a helmet while 'protecting the skies for democracy', but the space under the canopy is limited, so I expect my helmeted noggin would bang around inside doing whifferdils.

[rv7boy]

When I took a Motorcycle Safety Foundation class in 1999, they taught us that when purchasing a helmet, we should check the date of manufacture which is required to be permanently labelled on or inside the helmet. We were told that a motorcycle helmet has a useful life of five years and must be replaced after that time. I'm not sure if that's still true or if a similar concern exists for a pilot's helmet, but caveat emptor!

[P.S. the five year lifespan is not regulatory AFAIK and I don't want to derail this thread onto a discussion of motorcycle helmets. My point is if you're going to wear a helmet, make sure it's a good one. ].

I don't plan to wear a helmet in my RV but respect anyone who chooses to.

I sold my motorcycle, and my wife and I have found a new use for our matching Arai full face helmets: even though they are well over five years old our helmets are never far away when there are TORNADO warnings for our city.

[rockwoodrv9]

For the cool factor, that helmet Rob put the link to is great. I want one to just wear around the house!

Well, maybe replace my ski helmet with it.

[gorbak]

I had a good friend in CAP that was a helicopter pilot in the military. One night after a CAP meeting he handed me a "bag" with a note and told me to wait to open it the following week. I discovered his personal military helmet he wore during a long career. The note said, "This helmet has kept me safe my entire flying career. Paint it like your plane and wear it."
Gary died shortly after that from incurable cancer.
I painted it like the plane, wore it for first flight and offer passengers the choice to wear it if they wish. Few know of the history of the helmet I have.
I wear it most of the time.
[IMG][/IMG]

The grandkids prefer to wear my helmet.




Pat Garboden
Katy, TX
RV9A N942PT