Monday, May 28, 2012

Blackout!

A symptom that is fatal, under certain conditions, is a blackout. If you are not acrobatically trained or in just average physical condition a sudden recovery from a stall may induce a blackout.

Briefly, the blood rushes down to your body and extremities leaving your brain without sufficient blood. Net effect, you lose consciousness.

If the blackout endures for more than a few seconds you may lose control. Air Force research developed, many years ago, a pressurization suit that inflated gradually as the G-forces on your body increased as a fighter performed a tight turn or pull out from a dive. 

This suit prevented the blood from rushing out of brain that produces the blackout. This is not a suit that is inexpensive and is certainly not required in private airplanes in normal use.

Obviously, you try and avoid such a sudden situation, but weather may force your hand. Beware of predictions of extreme turbulence or embedded thunderstorm activity.

Those weather extremes can produce a blackout. A blackout in turbulent weather may cause a plane to break up if, upon awakening,  you respond too quickly.