Leather Flying Helmets

Just a side-note on the UK SeaFury tip-over accident.It was mentioned in the accident report that due to the soft nature of the ground on which the aircraft came to rest,it was unlikely that a headrest would’ve saved the pilot.I would agree though that a headrest and/or bonedome can’t be a bad thing.

First, some clarification…

I believe in safety when flying warbirds. Modern helmets don’t offer much protection in a crash (they’re pretty light weight when compared to a motorcycle or auto racing helmet), but they do keep you (usually) from passing out if your head bangs into the side of the canopy. Thanks to MexBob for showing how important they can be.

Oxygen masks. Most warbird pilots are now wearing them all the time, even at low altitudes. Fire or fumes in the cockpit can put a man down very quickly. And with an engine fire opening the cockpit can lead to sucking fire and smoke right in with you. So, a mask is a very good thing.

I have read all the roll over accident reports with the Sea Fury. I don’t believe a helmet, or lack thereof would have saved any of the pilots. Removing the rollover plate behind the pilot probably did contribute, and several Sea Fury owners are considering going back to the single place configuration. As much as I would hate to loose the jump seat, this is something I’m looking at.

Flying has certain risks, such as flying around with the rollover plate removed. I would like to get a vintage helmet setup for some air to air photos, not everyday use. But, I appreciate the comments about safety and “gearing” up. I remember being rather embarassed when I first started flying the T-28 and wearing all this stuff. Seemed silly, as nobody bothers when flying a Pitts or Decathalon. I don’t think it silly anymore.

Thanks for your comments,

Steve

I think the reason for pilots adopting bonedomes in the first place was due to a Sea Fury accident on an aircraft carrier, but don’t quote me on that!

I was told that the pilot of that Fury was only wearing a David Clarke headset.
I have an ALPHA Mk10 & used it in a Yak 52, Harvard & in a Stearman without much trouble. You do need an adapter with amp for it, and the amp needs to be turned up, but that might be because i’m a trifle deaf.
I do like the Campbells, especially Ray Hanna’s yellow one, they had a stall at a Flying Legends a couple of years ago, I think they were asking £800, but don’t hold me to that.

JDK is right about that UK Fury – it didn’t have a rollover pylon.

A slight digression from a groundbound watcher here.

If I were flying a big piston (as if) isn’t there a risk of Carbon Monoxide poisoning? The Typhoon and Barracuda were both famous for anethitising their pilots who then died in their sleep in the resultant crash with no evidence as to why until a post mortem. (Something not usually possible in a burnt out crash, tragically.)

I would have thought that I was being paranoid, except I know that the Shuttleworth’s Spitfire has a carbon monoxide detector on the instrament panel – and Old Warden are safety concious, but not silly in my opinion.

While many warbirds don’t have a used / useable oxygen rig (am I right?) I’d feel happier if the pilots were able to or did use one – or is that silly?

In short – Steve, use all the protection you can, I’d rather someone look inauthentic than died!

And regarding bone-domes and Sea Furies, there is a well documented case of a 1.5 seater Sea Fury here turning over and the pilot being killed. I don’t have the details to hand, not do I wish to speculate or cause offence, but if I recall correctly, a hard helmet wouldn’t have or didn’t save the pilot’s life – but it might save yours. There was a Sea Fury (IIRC) with also turned over in the US a few years back – don’t recall the details, but adding a jump seat removes the roll over pylon as I understand it.

Live the phrase ‘Safety is no accident’ and do EVERYTHING you can to prevent accidents, and minimise damage. I’ve seen too many accidents.
Cheers

Spent a fortune on old leather helmets trying to make my ‘swede’ look the part for the photographers. Radios are the bane of vintage pilot’s lives and it would be interesting to see just what level of reception the chaps enjoyed 60 years ago. In a nutshell I was finding I could only hear what was being said if I throttled back! In truth some aircraft were better than others and I recollect I modified a David Clark canvas job (i.e. I removed the unsightly external band) which worked well in the Avenger, Corsair, Fury and P51.

I never had any real success with them in Spitfires (even tried an expensive ANR mod) until I pushed the boat out and bought one of Ivan Campbells helmets. Not cheap but very well made and good customer care. I use the mask as it helps to reduce the amount of ambient cockpit noise getting to the ‘mike’. It also prevents my ugly mug spoiling your shots!

Rgds

T

I plan on buying one of these Campbell helmets, even if it is just for flying my 60% scale Spitfire!

You can never be too careful!

I’ll second that fuji. Campbell would be your best bet if your looking for an authentic looking saftey helmet, but i would say stick to the bone dome for the Sea Fury, just in case.

When the late Spencer Flack had his accident in his Sea Fury he maintained his hard hat saved his life. Shortly after, all the BBMF pilots started to wear hard hats.

As told from his hospital bed. “Hot day, rolled my flying suit sleeves up and took off. In transit oil pressure begun to drop, went for precautionary landing at Waddington. Dropped the gear and at that moment the engine failed. Selected the gear up as I was going to land short. Gear had not fully retracted when I hit the potato field. Aircraft on fire, flames in the cockpit, canopy would not open. Unstrapped and using my head tried to break the canopy. (This is with a bad fracture to the leg) Just about to give up when my head broke through into fresh air. Rolled clear of the aircraft as it continued to burn. My hard hat saved my life.”

Just to add to the excitement he was nearly run over by the fire engine coming to the incident. The drive didn’t see him laying amongst the potato plants. In addition to the fractured leg he had burns to face and arms.

The message is clear, wear the gear!

Good story Bob, the reinforced leather helmets are a good compromse between an authentic look and flight safety in my opinion. I know some people who wear them all the time (they are in their warbird that is!).

At least I don’t fly in cut off shorts and a t-shirt (I know some guys who do this)

I definately think it’s worth the risk for photos and such. Chris Avery flies the CAF Corsair and he has been known to wear the entire uniform of a WWII Marine pilot. It looks sharp!

Oh yes, the t-shirt crowd. It scares me to death to see some of these people. Although I guess I have been guilty of it myself a few times.

I have a Canadian friend that spent the day flying his Harvard at an airshow up in British Colombia several years ago. At the end of the day, he was going to ferry a small aerobatic plane (extra 400 or something like that) home for a friend of his. He took off his flight suit and gloves and threw them back in the Harvard because it was “too hot”. He had a parachute in the plane to use as a cushion but didn’t fasten the straps. Like alot of aerobatic planes, this one had the smoke tank that could be used as a gas tank for ferry flights. This one was full of gas and at about 2500′ the cockpit filled with flames. They never did figure out what sparked the fire, but he got the plane back on the ground without killing himself. Because he had on a t-shirt and blue jeans, he had 3rd degree burns over 80% of his body. He lived, but doesn’t look so good now. The bad part is that as recent as last August, I saw him fly his Harvard with a t-shirt and blue jeans.

Around 1996, I was doing a airdrop mission with a C-130. Anytime the plane is at low level and you are out of your seat, you are supposed to be wearing a helmet. I didn’t always do it, but I had a student with me so I put on my helmet before I got out of my seat to inspect the humvee and howitzer that we were going to drop. As I climbed over the top of the humvee to check the parachute release, we hit turbulance. I flew up about five or six feet and hit my head on a piece of the roof that we call the hog trough. I came down, hit the top of the humvee and fell off onto the floor. I sat down and put on my seat belt. When I pulled the sides of my helmet to take it off my head, it split in two. The only thing that held it together was the binding on the neck roll, the straps for the face shield and the com cord for the earphones. We had to abort the mission and fly back to base so I could get seven stiches in my head.

Two or three days later, I got bit on the right leg by a rattle snake. And I have the medical report to prove it. But that’s a different story!!

Someday, I’ll have to tell you how I got the name mexican bob!

Thanks my Mexican friend:)

At least I don’t fly in cut off shorts and a t-shirt (I know some guys who do this)

I understand that a helmet is the best way to go for safety, along with nomex suit, gloves and boots. But for an occasional photo shot or airshow, maybe it’s an acceptable risk.

But, I appreciate your comments and the spirit in which they were given.

Steve Patterson
The REAL one

Steve,

I think a helmet is just as important as gas when it comes to flying. But, I do love the original look. The best thing going so far is the Campbell Original Hard Shell Leather Flying Helmet. All the safety of a modern helmet, with the look of the old style. They are pretty expensive, but I think they are worth it. I had one for a while and really liked it. Their websight is :
http://www.campbellaeroclassics.com/

As for getting an original helmet, besides ebay there is also

http://www.garciaaviation.com/

http://www.warbird-parts.com/

Converting an old one to modern avionics is a pretty simple deal. I’ve done it a couple of times and may have enough stuff to do another one. (except the helmet) O2 masks are easy to convert as well.

let me know if I can help

Brad