Tag: Combat Pilots

Tired eh! Physical Cost of AGSM

Fatigue is the cost of correctly performed Anti-G straining manoeuvre (AGSM) to fight against the +Gz forces during air combat. Being an isometric exercise, akin to a 50 or 100 m race or weight lifting, the muscles maintain sustained contraction during AGSM to generate energy anaerobically. Thus time “to fatigue” and of “fatigue recovery” determine …

Continue reading

G-LOC Demystified

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 …

Continue reading

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 …

Continue reading