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Messages - Lost Soul

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31
Emergency & Backup Equipment / Re: Grab Bag Contents
« on: July 27, 2014, 02:15:16 PM »
Paul a grab bag is a nice idea in theory but in practice it is going to be waste of time.  Where are you going to keep it for easy access as your plane starts sinking?  Your time to grab it and evacuate is extremely limited; seconds rather than minutes.  Strapped to the seat next to you is the only useful place.  Your priority is for you and your occupants to evacuate ASAP.

Sandy sorry but your survival times are over optimistic and sea temperatures not entirely correct.  Based on a major review of post accident sea survival I was heavily involved in many years ago following major loss of life in a helicopter accident in the North Sea.  http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP641.PDF 

I can advise the following.   (I also used to lecture on the subject.)

Summer sea temperature is constant day and night at 6 – 8 deg C for the North Sea and English Channel in spring.  It warms up during summer to reach its peak around mid autumn 12 to 14 deg C.  It cools down rapidly in spring due to arctic ice melt.

Survival time in 6 deg C water is 20 minutes.  Hypothermia takes over, you go unconscious and drown.  In 12 deg C water you are looking at maybe an hour.  In 6 deg C water a well insulated and properly sealed survival suit will in theory give you 4 hours in reality 2.5 to 3 hours.
This is because you degrade the insulation with your own body fluids.  Sweat and urine, add to that any leaks around the seals and zips letting in sea water.

Your only useful strategy is to wear a well-insulated survival suit, with constant wear life jacket that has self-righting buoyancy characteristics.  Without self-righting if you go unconscious the waves will roll you over a leave you face down in the water – you drown.  With self-righting buoyancy characteristics you are always kept face up.
 
Also needs a crotch strap to anchor the thing to your shoulders.  If not when in the water you slide down the thing until suspended from your arm pits by the waist strap.  Your head is now under water, you drown.

Another also need is a water splash, face mask hood.  Waves splash water on to your face.  When conscious you physically react to keep the water out of your mouth and airways.   As you start to go unconscious you can no longer do that so you drown.

As for useful gadgets wear them on your suit and or life jacket.  That is the ONLY way you know you will get them out of the aircraft.   A knife to cut you free.  A PLB.  A whistle, and a long endurance locater light / strobe and reflective tape on the above water sections of your life jacket and spray hood.  Flares if you think you need them.  Insulated gloves are also a must.  In 6 deg C water your hands rapidly go stiff and numb and you cannot operate any of the fiddley controls on your gadgets.

Carrying a life raft is always useful.  And being inside it significantly increase survival time.  Body heat loss in air is about 20 times slower than in cold water.  But consider the following.  Where are you going to keep it on the aircraft so that it is readily available?  Even when packed its buoyant, so if its in a partially flooded aircraft how you going to get it out if its floating above  a door or hatch opening?  OK so you get it out and inflate it.  Its evens that it will be floating upsde down so you have to right it.  Have you been practically trained to do that?  Its not easy in fact can be downright dangerous - entrapment underneath it, flailing gas cylinders and all that. 

Also before you inflate it you need to tie it off to something like your sinking aircraft.  Else it will get blown way by the wind – the canopy makes a nice sail.  20 kt wind,  you swimming after at 2 kts, separation speed 18 kts in favour of the raft.

In terms of ditching in the channel the middle bit is the best.  Right in the middle of the sea lanes.  Plenty of chances of being picked up by passing ship.  Worst places are close to the coast, away from shipping lanes.  That is where most post ditching “survivors” die.  Takes too long to get SAR assets to find and rescue you in good time.   A very high percentage of occupants survive the on water arrival yet only half live to tell the tale.  The rest die from hypothermia induced drowning.  Aggravated by not wearing proper protective kit and not having any location aids.

Finally invest in an underwater escape and survival training course.  Can totally recommend it.  Worth their weight in gold.  Half day courses are available.

32
General Discussion / Re: The Water Myth
« on: July 23, 2014, 07:03:00 PM »
Back in the days of the Yuppie, bottled water was colloquially known as "designer water" the must have drink, that is where the rip off began.  And it is still with us.  Way back then Which? did some comparative tests designer variety vs tap. 

Of interest to me was the results for my area at that time - served by Thames Water.  Not literally stuff out of the river I might add.  Test results showed that tap water supplied by Thames Water was far purer and cleaner than anything found in a grossly overpriced bottle.

Also at the time I was travelling to France on business quite a bit and developed quite a liking for the Badoit brand of water.  That was until the same Which? report revealed that its content of Radon was way above acceptable levels in respect of radiation exposure.   :-[ Haven't touched that brand since.  Merlot is a nice substitute   :-\

33
General Discussion / Re: The Water Myth
« on: July 23, 2014, 01:26:54 PM »
Interesting and relevant thread for this time of year.  I sweat a lot so need lots of water, I try and drink on the when thirsty principle.  And I know only too well the problem of carrying the stuff around with me.  Particularly in summer.  I have a 3 litre Platypus.  In summer for a day out that gets filled up (6.5 lbs weight) and often as not on a hot day gets all used up .

In winter I half fill it and often return with 1/2 a litre or more.

As for a quick and simple test for checking correct hydration levels.  Signs seen in a Gentleman's Lavatory in a factory in Hertfordshire - you are wondering what is coming next aren't you.

Monitor the colour of your urine.  If you are properly hydrated it will be a pale straw colour.  The darker it gets the more dehydrated you are.  If it's clear then you are over hydrated then as Lyle says it can cause problems with electrolyte levels and blood sugar levels.

There have been some classic high profile cases of this happening.  Sian Williams the BBC presenter collapsed doing or at the end of the London Marathon a few years back from over-hydration.  She just drank every bottle of water that was handed to her with catastrophic results.  She ran again this year but with a carefully planned hydration strategy.  Not everybody survives the collapse as she did. 


34
Training tips / Walkers Rules
« on: July 22, 2014, 10:56:07 AM »
Something culled from the OS Website http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/blog/2014/07/the-walkers-rules

A mixture of the practical, tongue-in-cheek and the amusing.  Nevertheless, stuff on navigation appears to be spot on irrespective of how it is presented.
 

35
New Member Introductions / Re: Hello
« on: July 16, 2014, 12:50:19 PM »
Hi Sandy, welcome to a great forum.

36
New Member Introductions / Re: Greetings from Iceland
« on: July 15, 2014, 05:26:02 PM »
Einar,

Welcome to a great and friendly forum. 

I was due to have visited Iceland in mid August to do a trek across the SE corner Volcano fields - a long held ambition.  Unfortunately I have had to cancel due to serious problems I have given my self doing martial arts.  Put my back out and now cannot walk, literarily, more than a few yards with out pain and discomfort.  Maybe next year.

 
 

37
General Discussion / Re: Dogs and some of their irresponsible owners
« on: July 14, 2014, 09:50:28 AM »
Lyle.

OK thanks all is understood now. 

LS

38
General Discussion / Re: Dogs and some of their irresponsible owners
« on: July 13, 2014, 02:53:35 PM »
Lyle,

For the record, we are replacing our Staffie next year,  Whilst I don't like the things I certainly would not wish them or any creature for that matter unintentional harm.  On that basis I am not sure I am reading your comment correctly.

I sincerely hope you are not terminating the poor mutt or trading it in at some second hand dog mart are you?

LS  :(

39
General Discussion / Re: Dogs and some of their irresponsible owners
« on: July 12, 2014, 03:03:21 PM »
Like Hugh I have an aversion to the things  At one time a total fear but that was all to do with being set upon twice by dogs.  Once when I was a very small child and then again when I was about 10.  Can't really see the point of them actually or why anyone would want to keep one.  Nasty, dirty, smelly things.

And I admit that when out and about in the fields one comes across quit a lot of dogs of varying temperament.  The worst of course are the aggressive ones compounded by owners who don't give a toss. I have solutions for said owners and the dogs.

I terms of irresponsible owners.  So you are out walking along a path.  How do you know you are approaching civilisation / a car park?   Simple; the amount of dog poo on the ground or hanging in plastic bags from low tree branches increases in inverse proportion to the distance from said car park or what ever.

Totally disgusting.  As I said I have solutions for those types of owners.

40
Regional SAR teams / Mountain Rescue in USA
« on: July 06, 2014, 10:21:54 AM »
Interesting, note the victim's attire. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-28179914

41
Satnav (GPS GLONASS COMPASS Galileo) / Re: A great smartphone App
« on: May 01, 2014, 02:01:22 PM »
What great app.  Have installed it on my Samsung Note 8 Tablet.  At least it has answered to question does it use Glonass as well as GPS?  Yes it does.

42
New Member Introductions / Re: Hello from deep in the Highland Glen
« on: April 22, 2014, 08:49:09 AM »
And a welcome from me way down in the wet and grey South East

43
Satnav (GPS GLONASS COMPASS Galileo) / Re: Your GPS is lying to you...
« on: April 16, 2014, 07:16:01 PM »
Thanks Angle of Repose.  You learn something every day.  The perceived accuracy is worse than I had been making my self believe.  I had always very cynically assumed that GPS manufactures were quoting accuracy to 1 standard deviation which equates to 68% probability.  Knock it down to 50% to tighten up the accuracy number - make it smaller and hey presto deceive the users into believing the gadget is more accurate than it is.

So going forward from the article and noting CPS comments about errors due reflections etc.  Assuming direct line of sight to all visible satellites then accuracy is only valid for 50% of the time for the displayed figure, 95% of the time for 2 times the displayed figure and 99% of the time for 3 times the displayed figure.  Worth bearing in mind.

44
Satnav (GPS GLONASS COMPASS Galileo) / More GNSS Woes
« on: April 11, 2014, 12:01:51 PM »
This news article demonstrates once again why we should NOT place total reliance on GNSS and why we need to keep our map and compass skills well honed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-26957569

45
General Discussion / Re: Outdoors in 1926
« on: April 10, 2014, 11:47:35 AM »
Wonderful!!

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