Okay, back to my ORIGINAL topic... Here's my report on the altitude chamber excursion:
quote:
Wednesday, March 07
1745: Arrived at Auburn/Opelika Airport, proceeded to preflight N984RA.
1812: Obtained IFR clearance to UBS, as filed.
1813: Departed AUO for UBS (Lowndes County Regional)
1941: Arrived UBS, dropped gear at Jeff Shackleford's trailer, who lives on the airport grounds (hey, this is Mississippi).
1953: Dinner at the Catfish House.
2210: Arrive at some bar, where the locals proceed to buy us shots of Jagermeister. After a warm-up session (okay, 3), I proceed to whip them in a couple friendly games of pool.
0015: Depart bar for Jeff's.
0115: Sleepy time.
Thursday, March 08
0530: Alarm clock went off too early.
0535: Wake-up.
0536: Shower.
0547: Breakfast, consisting of two prepackaged slices of banana nut bread. Yech.
0631: Depart Jeff's trailer.
0701: Arrive at Columbus AFB.
0730: Commence classroom session. Briefing by SSgt Steve Bachant. Presentation on Aviation Physiology and the Atmosphere by Capt. Lance Annicelli, who is most definately not from Mississippi.
0842: Break
0855: Presentation on Respiration, Hypoxia/Hyperventilation, & Trapped Gas (Capt. Annicelli)
0945: Break
0955: Presentation on Altitude Induced Decompression Sickness, Pressurization & Decompression, & Oxygen Equipment (A1C Cedric Flowers)
1055: Break
1105: Presentation on Stress & Noise (A1C Flowers)
1135: Fitted for oxygen equipment.
1203: Lunch at the O-Club. Quite possibly the best Grilled Chicken Sandwich I've had in my life. Another participant had burritos, and I am quite thankful his comms didn't work in the chamber (he was sitting next to me) and as a result, he got moved to the other end to a station that did work.
1315: Presentation & Lab on Spatial Disorientation (Lt. Lonnie Britton)
1355: Altitude chamber briefing (TSgt William Shirley).
1405: Altitude chamber flight! The FAA profile was as follows:
Sea Level to 5000 feet MSL: "Ear Check" to make sure our ears wouldn't explode (this would flush out all those with congestion).
Descent back to sea level, sat "on the ground" for 20 minutes and watched a Discovery Channel video on USAF student pilots and the centrifuge. I took a nap.
Sea Level to 8000' (masks on, simulates cabin pressure of a commercial airliner).
8000' to FL180 (masks off, to simulate a slow decompression).
FL180 to FL250 (masks on)
FL250, where we experienced mild hypoxia. Unfortunately, there was no "Patty Cake" exercise. We were not supposed to get to the point of incapacitation (we were allowed to go that far, but it was not encouraged). We completed a worksheet, identified our symptoms, and "gangloaded the regulators."
Short debrief on our way down from FL250 to sea level.
1534: Debrief (TSgt Shirley)
1615: Arrived back at UBS, where I rotated out of my position as First Officer on "Ralph Alpha" and let someone else get some safety pilot hours.
1725: Departed via ground convoy to Auburn.
1845: Dinner at the Olive Garden in Tuscaloosa, AL.
2145: Arrived back in Auburn.
All in all, I had a blast. The base personnel were very hospitable and seemed excited to see us. Not to mention that I got to see some cool aircraft (T-37, T-38, T-1). I even got a souvenier t-shirt.
Pictures:
T-37 "Tweet"
T-37 Turning Final
T-37 Flight Line
T-38 "Talon" Flight Line
Capt. Annicelli
Lt. Col. Auten & "Dr. Evil"
Fitting Masks & Helmets (Yes! The best part!)
"Tripper" (That'd be me).
The Altitude Chamber
The Comm Panel
Edited by - Tripp on 03/13/2001 17:45:58