Aircrew flight equipment keeps pilots alive

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kristopher Levasseur
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --  Without the support of the 48th Operations Support Squadron aircrew flight equipment flight, many of the aircraft at RAF Lakenheath might not be able to get off the ground.

Aircrew flight equipment Airmen deal with everything a pilot needs for survival -- from the survival kits to the gravity suits they wear.

"Our flyers take to the sky every day risking their lives and we hold a responsibility to make sure that if something goes wrong, they will have all the tools they need to return home safely," said Master Sgt. Jack Gargis, 48th OSS, NCO in charge of life support.

More than 70 aircrew members from all three fighter squadrons process through aircrew flight equipment every week. Each crew member has their helmets, masks and harnesses inspected every 30 days and the gravity suits are inspected every 120 days. The inspections take approximately one hour.

"A lot of the work we do on the equipment is really transparent to the aircrew," said Sergeant Gargis. "If they came in and their gear wasn't there, they would be surprised."
Without the equipment the staff provides, aircrew would have difficulty breathing and could possibly loose consciousness while flying.

"The blood in a pilot's body has a tendency to pool in their feet during a high gravity situation," said Sergeant Gargis. "The gravity suit keeps blood where it needs to be so the pilot doesn't lose consciousness."

In addition to the in-flight equipment, aircrew flight equipment maintains parachutes and survival kits.

"The parachutes go though rigorous inspections just like all the other equipment," said Senior Airman Micah Muscott, 48th OSS aircrew equipment technician. "Ejecting from an aircraft is a worst case scenario, but if it happens, we make sure the pilot gets down safely."

Typical survival equipment includes water, flares, radio, compass, mirror, glow sticks and fire starters.

"The main focus of the survival kit is to provide equipment that facilitates in the downed aircrew being rescued," said Sergeant Gargis. "The other items in the kit are there to sustain them until they are rescued."

Being put in an ejection situation is something no pilot wants, but thanks to the aircrew flight equipment flight they will have what they need.