G-LOC has been implicated in various combat aircraft mishaps. Incidence of in-flight G-LOC in India is 11%, while it is 12 and 19% in USAF and RAF, respectively. Interestingly, G-LOC is more likely to occur in a trainee pilot, co-pilot or weapon system operator, who is caught unaware by the sudden onset of G or an aircrew whose G tolerance has been lowered due to prolonged break from combat flying, physiological factors or inadequate protection from conventional anti-G systems. However, no one is immune to G-LOC, irrespective of his flying experience. Continue reading
G-LOC Demystified
G-LOC – The Enemy within!
G-LOC is G-induced loss of consciousness, defined as a “state of altered perception wherein one’s awareness of reality is absent as a result of sudden, critical reduction of cerebral circulation caused by increased G force”. Continue reading
Air Combat Manoeuvres and +Gz Forces
During air combat manoeuvres* or while practicing basic fighter manoeuvres**, the pilots are exposed to the commonest type of acceleration encountered in aviation – +Gz. Interestingly, the aircraft are capable of pulling higher Gs and sustain it longer than an unprotected human being can tolerate. The effects of +Gz on the circulatory system, and in turn the blood flow, are the most important in turn determining the human tolerance to +Gz exposure. Continue reading
G Force – What is?
‘G’ is the ratio between a given acceleration and the acceleration due to gravity. The term ‘G force’ is used sometimes to describe a force, which produced acceleration, which is a multiple of the acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/sq sec). Thus, an acceleration of 98.1 m/sq sec would be 10 G. High sustained G, that the modern day combat aircraft are capable of, is G forces of 7G or more sustained for 15 seconds or more. Continue reading
Exhilarating when Accelerating in Air!
A fast jet can move rapidly on ground, taking off into the medium of air where it can be manoeuvered in flight by the aerodynamic forces generated by the thrust of its engine and manoeuvrability by swift-responding control surfaces. Such movements of the aircraft affect its occupants, the aircrew (pilots and weapons system operators) due to the magnitude and rapidity of changes in the position and attitude of the aircraft, in turn, compromising the human performance capability in the unnatural environment of military or aerobatic flying. Continue reading