Concorde Flight test Crew Oxygen / Pressure suit

Hi,
It may be of interest to you folks that during the Concorde Prototype
flight test programme in the early 1970's we flew wearing a pressure
suit , pressure breathing oxygen mask, man mounted Oyx regulator ,and
emerg' supply bottle in our parachute pack. We did not pre-breath, but
above 10.000 ft selected 100% oxy. We were provided with a M.L. full
pressure helmet, but found it almost impossible to operate the
aircraft with these, so compromised by wearing the the standard RAF
Mk3b helmet; modified with a boom mike for use below 10,000ft.
All this was; in theory, to allow us to leave the aeroplane via the
escape hatches in extemis. We were all 'graduates' of the I.A.M.
Farnborough; where we had been rapid decompressed from 5 - 60,000 ft
wearing this kit. We did pre- breath 100% for an hour or so there !
If the escape hatches were ever blown the suction; due forward speed I
think I remember, would have raised the cabin alt to over 80,00 ft !
They never were !
Alan Heywood.

On Thu, 4 Sep 2008 12:10:48 -0700 (PDT), alan
wrote:

It may be of interest to you folks that during the Concorde Prototype
flight test programme in the early 1970's we flew wearing a pressure
suit , pressure breathing oxygen mask, man mounted Oyx regulator ,and
emerg' supply bottle in our parachute pack.

....There's a joke there about French stewardesses' hygene there
somewhere. Cue Pat :-)

OM
--
]=====================================[
] OMBlog - http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [
] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [
] an obnoxious opinion in your day! [
]=====================================[

I'd often wondered about crew & px survivablity if it had ever sprung a
leak as QANTAS did recently....

--
A host is a host from coast to
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433

On Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:30:43 +0000 (UTC), David Lesher
wrote:

I'd often wondered about crew & px survivablity if it had ever sprung a
leak as QANTAS did recently....

....I hate Quantas.

OM
--
]=====================================[
] OMBlog - http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [
] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [
] an obnoxious opinion in your day! [
]=====================================[

OM wrote:
I'd often wondered about crew & px survivablity if it had ever sprung a
leak as QANTAS did recently....


...I hate Quantas.


Like someone pointed out in a recent post, the fact that the test crew
was wearing pressure suits should tell you something.
Although the pilot and copilot never wore them in operational service,
that would indicate that a loss of pressurization at full operational
altitude and speed would almost inevitably result in the loss of the
aircraft, crew, and passengers...as the flight crew went unconscious in
very short order after the pressure severely dropped to the point where
their blood might boil.
(at the very least they will probably get the bends as their eardrums
ruptured.)
Oddly enough, the completely automated pilotage of the HOTOL passenger
version might have been safer in this regard... I always thought it was
to save weight by removing the need for a conventional pressurized and
crewed cockpit, but it would also allow better survivability in a
depressurization situation.

Pat

Pat Flannery writes:

Oddly enough, the completely automated pilotage of the HOTOL passenger
version might have been safer in this regard... I always thought it was
to save weight by removing the need for a conventional pressurized and
crewed cockpit, but it would also allow better survivability in a
depressurization situation.


I've speculated over a system that if the cabin pressure failed,
AND the crew did not respond within X seconds; "George" would
squawk a fuss, and descend smartly to a breathable altitude.

Yes, you might run into K2 if you were over same, but if the crew
is unconscious already....

The only new threat I see is a mid-air collision; and assuming the
aircraft is in positive control space, and ATC can chase people below
them out of their way....


--
A host is a host from coast to
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433

OM wrote:
On Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:30:43 +0000 (UTC), David Lesher
wrote:

I'd often wondered about crew & px survivablity if it had ever sprung a
leak as QANTAS did recently....

...I hate Quantas.

That's "Qantas" to you both :-)

Neil Gerace wrote:

I'd often wondered about crew & px survivablity if it had ever sprung a
leak as QANTAS did recently....

...I hate Quantas.

That's "Qantas" to you both :-)

Koala + Pointed Stick = $2,800 fine:
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news...330832060.html

Pat

"Pat Flannery" wrote in message
dakotatelephone...
Koala + Pointed Stick = $2,800 fine:
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news...330832060.html


The article said "A former country Victorian teenager has been convicted and
fined $2800 after he repeatedly rammed his car into a tree to try and
dislodge a koala". Holy crap, that's a mean thing to do.

Jeff
--
A clever person solves a problem.
A wise person avoids it. -- Einstein

On Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:19:31 -0400, "Jeff Findley"
wrote:

The article said "A former country Victorian teenager has been convicted and
fined $2800 after he repeatedly rammed his car into a tree to try and
dislodge a koala". Holy crap, that's a mean thing to do.

....A Quantas hit man out for revenge.

OM
--
]=====================================[
] OMBlog - http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [
] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [
] an obnoxious opinion in your day! [
]=====================================[