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Interesting Air Superiority article

nittany03 said:
Every W-237 flight. Even the ones in June. With PRs on hand to adjust/readjust G-suits. God, that thing is/was a pain in the ass.
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Norfolk and Pax helo bubbas pretty much live in their dry suits from November to April. In late April you'd always end up with a day with an air temp of 80 and a water temp below 50 and a 5+ hour flight.
 
Pags said:
Norfolk and Pax helo bubbas pretty much live in their dry suits from November to April. In late April you'd always end up with a day with an air temp of 80 and a water temp below 50 and a 5+ hour flight.
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In which you do nothing but sweat like crazy in your drysuit, seriously reducing it's ability to keep you warm in cold water...
 
Drysuits aren't made to keep you warm, they're made to keep you dry. That's why they're useless if you don't wear the proper undergarments.
 
wlawr005 said:
Drysuits aren't made to keep you warm, they're made to keep you dry. That's why they're useless if you don't wear the proper undergarments.
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Yeah, that's what I was getting at. Wet layers under a drysuit don't work, and if you sweat like I do (think of a fat kid jumping rope in the attic) those wicking and insulating layers become saturated pretty quickly and lose their effectiveness. Now I'm wet on the inside as well as the outside- heat starts to transfer. It's better than not wearing anything, but it's not going to give me the advertised protection.

Not that I worry about this stuff anymore. Instead I focus on making sure that my super insulated coffee mug indeed keeps my coffee hot for a minimum of 6 hours- because cold, crappy coffee is a no-go criteria where I'm at now.
 
Swanee said:
Yeah, that's what I was getting at. Wet layers under a drysuit don't work, and if you sweat like I do (think of a fat kid jumping rope in the attic) those wicking and insulating layers become saturated pretty quickly and lose their effectiveness. Now I'm wet on the inside as well as the outside- heat starts to transfer. It's better than not wearing anything, but it's not going to give me the advertised protection.

Not that I worry about this stuff anymore. Instead I focus on making sure that my super insulated coffee mug indeed keeps my coffee hot for a minimum of 6 hours- because cold, crappy coffee is a no-go criteria where I'm at now.
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Not to mention the suit is likely to be torn in an ejection anyway, which would make it worse than not wearing one at all.
 
Don't get me wrong, I fucking hate wearing drysuits, but the survival time numbers speak volumes. If you go into the water off Norfolk in February without a fartbag, unless you land right next to the plane guard, your odds of living long enough to get picked up are pretty much nil.
 
Treetop Flyer said:
Not to mention the suit is likely to be torn in an ejection anyway, which would make it worse than not wearing one at all.
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Try wearing it in an aircraft that uses a through-canopy ejection system, to boot.
 
Swanee said:
Yeah, that's what I was getting at. Wet layers under a drysuit don't work, and if you sweat like I do (think of a fat kid jumping rope in the attic) those wicking and insulating layers become saturated pretty quickly and lose their effectiveness. Now I'm wet on the inside as well as the outside- heat starts to transfer. It's better than not wearing anything, but it's not going to give me the advertised protection.
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If you're wearing undergarments made from the right material then it will still keep you warm even if wet. These materials include aramid, poly pro (fleece), and wool.
 
Brett327 said:
For the record, I've worn my dry suit exactly once in my career. Nobody could fit their G-suit over the dry suit, so we said "fuck it" and went without. Good times.
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We did a det to Misawa after we relieved you all in Japan, fun time but for the damn dry suits.....I felt and looked like the little brother from A Christmas Story every time I walked to and from the plane.
 
Recovering LSO said:
Drysuit + JHMCS = looking like something from Halo with the mobility of the aforementioned Ralphie...
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I had a JO bud who was a short, round guy. Guy would be dripping sweat before we even walked out of mx control in said poopie suit. Anyway, him and I were hot seating with one another one morning (during annual Oceana poopie suit ops), and as I climb down, I give him a quick "have fun" and then start to walk off. Then I realize he is still standing there, looking at me with his big sad eyes. He gives me a little "can you give me a boost" signal. I walk over, slightly amused, and offer my hand for his foot. He gets one up there, and then just kind of lingers, again, looking at me expectantly. So I boost his other foot as he is finally all aboard on the ladder. The next moment was as much entertainment as I had probably all that month. He kind of sways a little bit, gets his momentum, and then just leaps up, and slams down onto the LEX with his upper body. Then I watch him wriggle the rest of his body up over the side like a fish, and lays there for a minute sloth style. As he is laying like a retarded gimp, half on the LEX, half dangling off, he gives me a big thumbs up and an idiot smile and finally gets the rest of the way in. Awesome dude, but he hadn't even probably started the left motor before everyone in the squadron had heard the story. Guess the drysuit is a little more restrictive for some than for others :)
 
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Although I have never worn one, I have a dry suit story... Teamwork '88 up around Norway. Shortest pilot in the squadron is a turning spare for the morning launch. He doesn't launch so he's back in the ready room in his dry suit. Asks me to give him a hand getting it over his head. As I'm grabbing the damn thing and trying to yank it off he is bending over trying to assist... With our height difference he ends up at my crotch level half bent over with me yanking on the suit. My LPO comes around the corner into our office and sees us - "Whoa - I'm outta here!" I start laughing, suit is still stuck over said LT's face...
 
Except for a couple weeks, we wear them year 'round at Lakenheath. It's just awesome to go for a 2.0-2.5 of BFM/ACM, hit the hot pits, then do it again. All about the delicate balance of keeping just hydrated enough to not have to use the piddle with the dry suit.
 
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