Tim
FRIEND
Petersburgh, NY
Don't stop Bill, you're on a roll
Survival Gear Again
- Thread starter little wing
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Don't stop Bill, you're on a roll
skywagon8a
MEMBER
SE Mass MA6
Stewart, The way things are going now, we on the east coast need to carry most anywhere..... You east coasters have a different set of requirements. A Starbucks card and the Uber app on your phones should serve you well.
Especially in the big cities.
little wing
Registered User
Don't kid yourself Bill, you're more likely to die from hypothermia at 70 degrees than in the teens. No, Oklahoma is not as challenging to survive as some states, but in 5 mins I can be where there is no cell coverage and throw a broken leg in, now what? I can handle all the fun you want to poke at me, but don't even take the, "I'm just flying down to the corner store for a loaf of bread," flt for granted. Survival can become an issue anywhere, any grown up should know this. Have you ever been in a survival situation or lost? Do you understand that fire is a reliable, readily available, water sterilization method? Water is kind of key, along with the ability to stay warm, cook food, signal for help, dry wet clothes etc....... While I may not have the luxury of taking off and flying all over the country for years at a time, I do get around. Therefore, some of the areas I find myself in are not very hospitable on the ground. I've helped find grown ass men that have become lost while hunting, no matter how cocky they are when they start off, being lost causes one to swallow a lot of humble pie, hope it NEVER happens to you.
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little wing
Registered User
Naw, nearly positive they've now switched to Medi-flt choppers,,,,,,,,sneaky bast@%#$, must be attracted by my headgear.
btracy
MEMBER
Ohio
Lighten up Billy and have a laugh. Survival is always a good topic and does need to be revisited from time to time.
Billy and Kirby both have some good points. Most accidents probably happen a lot closer to home than we would like to think. One point that I was trying to make though is that everyone's survival gear should be somewhat tailored to where they do most of their flying. Hypothermia is a good example. Being in Ohio where its always cold and damp it can sit in fast. Even when you are not in an emergency situation. Just a short fuel stop can chill you to the bone if you are not prepared. I often think of what could happen going down in a cornfield. If you are incapacitated it could be some time before some one sees you or finds you.
On the Flip side of that how much water does anyone carry? As Billy said there is a lot of area out there with no cell phone service. Have an engine out do a perfect landing and on a 100 degree day that little 20oz water bottle that you picked up at 7-11 on the way to the airport wont last long. If I have to choose weight ways what to carry I will take more water and leave the riffle home. Oklahoma or Western Nebraska night not be as remote as Alaska but there is still miles of area with no roads and it could be some time before any emergency equipment finds a way to get to you.
I was wanting to get comments and Ideas on survival in the lower 48. Emergencies can happen any where. And as I am usually flying with 2 people and full camping gear I am always looking for the lightest most efficient things to carry as I don't have the deluxe of of carrying the whole shop with me.
Schnell49 made a good point that I would love to see more about. All the gear and do dads are worthless if you don't know how to use them. I am in that category. I have trouble making a fire even when I have a gallon of av gas available
Billy and Kirby both have some good points. Most accidents probably happen a lot closer to home than we would like to think. One point that I was trying to make though is that everyone's survival gear should be somewhat tailored to where they do most of their flying. Hypothermia is a good example. Being in Ohio where its always cold and damp it can sit in fast. Even when you are not in an emergency situation. Just a short fuel stop can chill you to the bone if you are not prepared. I often think of what could happen going down in a cornfield. If you are incapacitated it could be some time before some one sees you or finds you.
On the Flip side of that how much water does anyone carry? As Billy said there is a lot of area out there with no cell phone service. Have an engine out do a perfect landing and on a 100 degree day that little 20oz water bottle that you picked up at 7-11 on the way to the airport wont last long. If I have to choose weight ways what to carry I will take more water and leave the riffle home. Oklahoma or Western Nebraska night not be as remote as Alaska but there is still miles of area with no roads and it could be some time before any emergency equipment finds a way to get to you.
I was wanting to get comments and Ideas on survival in the lower 48. Emergencies can happen any where. And as I am usually flying with 2 people and full camping gear I am always looking for the lightest most efficient things to carry as I don't have the deluxe of of carrying the whole shop with me.
Schnell49 made a good point that I would love to see more about. All the gear and do dads are worthless if you don't know how to use them. I am in that category. I have trouble making a fire even when I have a gallon of av gas available
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little wing
Registered User
Ok, so I'm a little touchy about my dorky first post with the video on this thread. I just saw it had been revived and was surprised, re-read and watched :roll:. Sad part is, I don't remember being embarrassed by it at the time. I learned a long time ago if I'm gonna be this dumb, I better have thick skin. You made some great points, maybe someday someone will look at this and get some piece of mind from being a little more prepared.
As an update, I have used the ax, saw and shovel more times than I thought I would on short or tight bars, pretty handy just for day to day stuff or making room for your buddies to park. Your rivers are larger and seem less overgrown, we have beach sand in most of ours. I know the guys I fly with feel a lot better about me having tire patching gear and pump with tools. 3ea 25' x 1/2" rappelling rope very high tensile, 2 sets of tie downs and the rope that comes with them, along with 100' 550 cord. Cordage makes life much easier.
I normally have a gallon of water for each person, hotter and dryer means more.
As an update, I have used the ax, saw and shovel more times than I thought I would on short or tight bars, pretty handy just for day to day stuff or making room for your buddies to park. Your rivers are larger and seem less overgrown, we have beach sand in most of ours. I know the guys I fly with feel a lot better about me having tire patching gear and pump with tools. 3ea 25' x 1/2" rappelling rope very high tensile, 2 sets of tie downs and the rope that comes with them, along with 100' 550 cord. Cordage makes life much easier.
I normally have a gallon of water for each person, hotter and dryer means more.
btracy
MEMBER
Ohio
And while we don't always get the luxury of flying with some one or a group of friends it good to sometimes take note of what each person has. One tire pump in the group might be sufficient. While Someone else gets to carry the tool bag. No reason to have 2 or 3 of every item in a group when you can possible lighten everyone load a bit. Its a good time to mention, when flying in a group to take inventory of everyone's equipment and see if space and weight can better be utilized by adding deleting or changing who get to carry some Items.
little wing
Registered User
Ideally that's perfect. As you know, my closest river capable flying buddy is one of those high flyers, so his day job keeps him away a lot, therefore my personal approach has been with self repair or reliance in mind. Pierce could make it up pretty quickly in a pinch but if I break an axle or something, good chance I'm there overnight until he can see to land. My daily flying is at dusk, so it's easy to get complacent and run out to the river for a quick trip and not be thinking jacket during daylight hours, especially since I know I have back ups, not good. Greg should be flying soon so that'll be a little more piece of mind too.
24 years of airplane ownership and I've participated in a group flight one time and that was one of the stupidest flights I ever made. While two guys will push further into bad conditions than a solo pilot will, had I crashed anything that was in my buddy's plane wouldn't have been useful to me. Survival gear is what I have.
After some voluntary AOG camping my survival gear adapted to include comfort gear. The more tolerable a grounding for a day or two the more willing I am to wait out the weather. And say what you want about get-home-itis, it applies to anyone who's sitting hungry, tired, cold, and wet wondering if those clouds aren't really a little higher than they look.
After some voluntary AOG camping my survival gear adapted to include comfort gear. The more tolerable a grounding for a day or two the more willing I am to wait out the weather. And say what you want about get-home-itis, it applies to anyone who's sitting hungry, tired, cold, and wet wondering if those clouds aren't really a little higher than they look.
Billy I took time with today's blustery winds to watch your video again and yea we can be a bit dorky with a camera in hand... But hey you put it out there...
Noted a few things. Mainly stocking hats, gloves (easy force multiplier against hypothermia) and spare glasses, plus bug and sun screen wipes... And
I do the airplane bag(s) seperate (they go under the back seat) from the basic oops bag which I supplement for trips based on where and when and the first aid bag is in full sight all the time. Over time, I've trimmed down the 'essentials' quite a bit to my vest and a small bag plus the first aid bag.
I say saw over axe but sometimes take one. If you carry an axe then carry quick-clot sponges.
Speaking of first aid I supplement a good multi-person kit with a small eye wash kit, a tube of Orajell and a bottle of that nasty paint on bandage (for when you walk into those dreaded hinges) plus a rescue/CPR mask. For what you'll use the most replace the junk band aids with good fabric breathable ones from the Zee industrial safety store. I also add a bunch af Bennidrill for allergic reactions plus I carry a general antibiotic, and Imodium in case New Holstein Baked chicken's on the menu.
I do less fire things but still multiple methods, ya and I agree yuck on the water sterizalization pills (but I carry a few, and also a couple of flavor packets) and a filter straw, like the water bag but I double mine as a organization bag in the kit.
Nice try on the Swiss army shovel-thingie but get a Gerber so when you have to take a big one somewhere you can do the next guy there a favor.
Bill's comment on the where and with is good and after helping drag a plane out of a Texas briar patch I would add a pair of chaps and leather gloves if I was there very often and the thought of going into the middle of one of Deano's corn fields mid-summer does not sound fun at all.
Kirby
ps. For trips of any length I carry a fleece sleeping bag and blow-up pillow for those nights on a fbo couch...
Noted a few things. Mainly stocking hats, gloves (easy force multiplier against hypothermia) and spare glasses, plus bug and sun screen wipes... And
I do the airplane bag(s) seperate (they go under the back seat) from the basic oops bag which I supplement for trips based on where and when and the first aid bag is in full sight all the time. Over time, I've trimmed down the 'essentials' quite a bit to my vest and a small bag plus the first aid bag.
I say saw over axe but sometimes take one. If you carry an axe then carry quick-clot sponges.
Speaking of first aid I supplement a good multi-person kit with a small eye wash kit, a tube of Orajell and a bottle of that nasty paint on bandage (for when you walk into those dreaded hinges) plus a rescue/CPR mask. For what you'll use the most replace the junk band aids with good fabric breathable ones from the Zee industrial safety store. I also add a bunch af Bennidrill for allergic reactions plus I carry a general antibiotic, and Imodium in case New Holstein Baked chicken's on the menu.
I do less fire things but still multiple methods, ya and I agree yuck on the water sterizalization pills (but I carry a few, and also a couple of flavor packets) and a filter straw, like the water bag but I double mine as a organization bag in the kit.
Nice try on the Swiss army shovel-thingie but get a Gerber so when you have to take a big one somewhere you can do the next guy there a favor.
Bill's comment on the where and with is good and after helping drag a plane out of a Texas briar patch I would add a pair of chaps and leather gloves if I was there very often and the thought of going into the middle of one of Deano's corn fields mid-summer does not sound fun at all.
Kirby
ps. For trips of any length I carry a fleece sleeping bag and blow-up pillow for those nights on a fbo couch...
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