See, if had all the money in the world....

Learning more about aeromedical factors in flight, I have thought of something I'd like to try.  

Not anything involving torture...I just want to know if what they're teaching me in my Aviation books are true.  

I was reading about different kinds of hypoxia, which is an illness that is caused by not getting enough oxygen.  At higher altitudes, if an airplane doesn't have pressurization equipment, or their pressurization system doesn't function properly, it can cause serious issues.  The body needs oxygen, unfortunately, and if it doesn't get it, it throws a hissy-fit and...ya know....dies.

So, I learned that at 45,000 feet MSL (which just means above sea level), a pilot has 9-15 seconds of useful consciousness (I say useful, because after that a lack of oxygen makes you loopier than heck) to make a life critical decision to get the required oxygen into your body.  

Is that really all the time I have???  I want 9-15 minutes, not seconds.

I'd like to test these numbers, and see if I can get a similar answer.  I want to put people in a room, and deprave them of oxygen and see how long they can make it before they are totally useless.

I realize that this is not exactly what we would call "ethical," but I want answers!!!

What if I tested something else in the book? Like, the vestibular system from my previous post?

I'd create a simulator that was able to move around like a cockpit would (turn, climb, descend, and create the sensation of movement forward) and put 100 people in it, all in pairs.  

First, I'd create situations where they'd feel like they were turning (like the leans) and ask that they all corrected based off of what they were feeling (I'd give them NO flight instruments, so they can't cheat) and study how they would react.  Then, I'd put them all back in, but with instruments, and see if that changes their reactions on the situations.

A large part of this experiment would be communication between the Pilot in Command and the Co-Pilot.  Since bodies are all different, they might react differently, and one may want to correct one way, and the other wants the opposite.  

AND if all goes well, and I can confirm that what the book is teaching is accurate, THEN I can believe that I have 9 seconds to say a prayer before I won't be able to remember my name.

(that MAY be a bit of a dramatized statement) 

I'd need a lot of money to create this simulator though...anyone want to donate???



Guided Flight Discovery: Instrument/Commercial. (2006). Englewood, CO: Jeppesen Sanderson, Inc.