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- Thread starter dk009
- Start date
Is the torso harness still separate or did they integrate into the vest? Just wondering if you have to still put on two different pieces of gear or just one that is the two together. It sounds like you're saying it's still two, since you're feeding the Koch fittings in.
You can get an integrated torso harness, but right now, I still have to put on a torso harness and vest. The integrated harnesses are heeeeaaaavvy, though much quicker to get dressed since it's 1 vs 2.
NavyLonghorn
Registered User
I actually used the combat edge mask at Vance. Go airforce and its over spending. It was a nice mask, it seals right around your mouth instead of around your whole face, which is interesting, and it has a neat clearing valve.. which I never ever used. It had some other "high speed" feature that we disconnected, not sure what it was.
At least in my command you can choose to have it integrated or not. Some guys do. I think it's insane, but to each his own. If you do that, when the Koch fittings pop out as you take off your harness, it's even harder to get them back in. Plus I'd rather put on two smaller pieces of gear than one huge heavy pile.
Once the new vest is on, though, I do prefer it. I'm one of those short-torsoed types who kept having my SV-2 straps slide off my shoulders while flying, which was a pain. PRs couldn't help; It's just a consequence of being .85 times the size of the average pilot.
The new one doesn't do that, and I've learned that if you slide the "slop" of your torso harness (below the Kochs and D-ring) through the slots, it tends to help hold the whole assembly in place. Of course it does take twice as long to put on, and I am horribly slow suiting up/strapping in to begin with. Yeah, IPs love that . . .
Edit:
Where is this "clearing valve" you speak of on the Combat Edge? I can't Valsalva in that to save my soul . . .
Once the new vest is on, though, I do prefer it. I'm one of those short-torsoed types who kept having my SV-2 straps slide off my shoulders while flying, which was a pain. PRs couldn't help; It's just a consequence of being .85 times the size of the average pilot.
The new one doesn't do that, and I've learned that if you slide the "slop" of your torso harness (below the Kochs and D-ring) through the slots, it tends to help hold the whole assembly in place. Of course it does take twice as long to put on, and I am horribly slow suiting up/strapping in to begin with. Yeah, IPs love that . . .
Edit:
Where is this "clearing valve" you speak of on the Combat Edge? I can't Valsalva in that to save my soul . . .
Combat Edge is actually not just a mask, it's an integrated system. For the head, it consists of the mask and an airbladder in the helmet. At high G, the airbladder inflates, actually pushing your face into the mask. If you noticed, Combat Edge mask is much smaller than the older Gentex and doesn't connect the same way.
Combat Edge also consists of a torso bladder ... i.e. G-suit for the upper body. Supposedly, it works very very well and G-tolerance is increased greatly.
The airsafe vest is aweful. What I hate is how the PR's think putting survival gear right underneath your armpit is a good idea. Plus, considering we go through the entire training command in SV-2's, it just makes sense to keep them in the fleet. I can get to anything in an SV-2 without thinking twice. Just my two cents...That, and threading the koch fittings through the holes...that's just plain annoying when it's early and there's no fresh coffee in the ready room yet...
You guys wear torso harnesses? What for?
"You" no longer wear SV-2s in training anymore. Everyone gets the AirSave. After you fly w/ it for a while, you'll know where everything is and it will be weird to put on an SV-2 again when your vest is down. There's a lot about the CMU I don't like, but when I had to switch to the SV-2 right before I transferred (since my vest was stripped down), it felt really weird and not right.
When I got to Whiting in Oct 05, I was in the first class to get the Airsave vest. Everyone thought it was cool and everything because its what the fleet had, but it was way uncomfortable. I wore it up until my checkride and then opted for the still in use SV-2s since they were .2 the weight and we so money when doing PAs. The pockets on the airsave were retarded and didnt allow for an nice relaxed position while holding the controls. Not to mention in the summer time it felt like you were wrapped up in a body bag. Not sure how much fun everything will be when i get to the T-45 in a month here, but right now i am very much enjoying my time in the T-44 with no bulky survival gear at all to wear......although getting into the cockpit itself is like trying to get into a bodybag.
G-suit, torso harness, Airsave/SV-2. You're going to hate life compared to the comfy no-gear T-44.
Wearing the G-suit is like putting a plastic bag around your legs. You will soon learn how much you can sweat.
Just wait until you have to wear a dry suit.
Well hopefullyTexas gets a little cooler in the fall/winter time....although somehow I dont think it will.
As warfighter liaison for NAVAIR AIR-4.6 who is intimately involved in developing or fixing everything that touches your body including seats, I will pass on all your comments. Please keep them coming, the folks in white lab coats really do care and like feedback. I'll also extend an open invitation to anyone that wants to visit the labs and talk directly to the folks there.