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Cheap Helmet

swjohnsey

Well Known Member
I'm not paranoid but realize the folks occasionally crash, sometimes through no fault of their own. I have a good five point harness and a halon fire extinguisher. I wear a helmet when I am on a motorcycle and when racing cars. I tried to get some of my helmets to work in the RV-4 without any luck. I'm using the CQ in the ear headset but couldn't get either an open face or full face helmet to work. Helmet pulls the headset down when I put it on.

Aviation specific helmets are crazy expensive except for one brand that was "only" about $300. I noticed it was very similar to the shorty helmets worn by the Harley crowd. I ordered a Bell Pit Boss. It was NOS for around $90. Turns out it was too small so I returned it but noticed that many other companies sold the same helmet rebranded. I bought an open box from Amazon for under $40 and it was literally here in two day. Tried it out today and it works perfectly.

The helmet I ended up with is ILM 883V. It lists on Amazon for $50. It is DOT certified and made in China just like its Bell Pit Boss twin. They run small. Very comfortable, I forget I have it on. Doesn't interfere with vision.
 
I'm glad you asked (or reported your success)! There is a growing community of bush pilots using the Wendy Exfil helmet which works great with your CQ Headset!

IMG_1464-M.jpg


(While we're at it, notice proper ear tip insertion depth.)
 
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First hockey players, now bush pilots! All my heroes are getting soft.

Oh wait, fighter pilots started it all.

Disregard. :)
 
Note that motorcycle helmet standards are a lot different than race car standards. I'd expect race cars to be closer to aircraft in terms of requirements.

In particular, a motorcycle helmet is designed for multiple successively smaller hits. A race helmet is designed for one big one, which is more likely in an aircraft as well.
 
Note that motorcycle helmet standards are a lot different than race car standards. I'd expect race cars to be closer to aircraft in terms of requirements.

In particular, a motorcycle helmet is designed for multiple successively smaller hits. A race helmet is designed for one big one, which is more likely in an aircraft as well.

In our trauma center, I see quite a few motorcyclists who have one big impact. Anything is better than nothing, I suppose. We have had some that wear the partial "skull cap" helmets that actually get some benefit. Those are the ones with the fake DOT label.

I am considering something like this if it is light and adequately ventilated.

Thanks,
John
 
Before folks get too enamored with the idea of helmets, you should ask the question “just how many injuries or fatalities in aircraft accidents are caused by head injuries that could be addressed by a helmet?” In most fatality cases, the helmet probably wouldn’t make a difference anyway - so the real question is to look for non-fatal injuries in the accident records. I honestly haven’t heard of many.

“But Paul”, I hear people say…. “We see pictures of you wearing a helmet a lot!”

Well yes - I wear a helmet in my jet all the time because it is the easiest way to mount my oxygen mask (which I use on every flight) and because if I pull the handle labeled “BRS”, no one is quite sure what will happen, but we figure it will be a wild ride! I also wear a helmet if I am wearing a parachute for flight testing, just to help the odds that if I bump my head on the way out, I will be conscious to pull the D-Ring and open my chute. My military style flight helmets are really considered “bump hats” by the way - I’d never trust one to keep my head safe in a motorcycle crash. They don’t have a crushable liner of the type you see in Snell-rated racing helmets.

BTW - one other good reason for a rated helmet is the visor, just in case you take a bird through the windshield….

I wear hard hats for climbing and caving that are much like the one pictured in the post above BTW - again, mostly in case of rock fall. And I wear a ski helmet on the slopes- those also have crushable liners in case your head meets a tree.

So to the real question - what are you trying to protect against, how likely is that event going to happen in your type of flying, and is it worth the bother of having a helmet? And will that helmet protect you for that case?

And I can’t help but express my thoughts on the thread title - Back when I was young, and using a motorcycle for transportation, I remember Bell Helmet’s slogan “If you have a ten dollar head, buy a ten dollar helmet….”
 
My reason for wearing a helmet would be the same reasons I wear a 5-point restraint...getting tossed around while flying and maybe hitting my head on the canopy and contribute to loss of control....or hitting my head on the panel during an..."awkward"... landing and converting a relatively low-energy/survivable airplane crash into a fatal or debilitating one. In that regard, I see a helmet for cross-country leisure flying between airports with nice wide paved runways as being pretty much unhelpful, as opposed, say, to wild aerobatics or back-country/off-airport landings.
 
Everything in front of me on the panel is sharp or pointy. In a sudden stop I will do a face plant even with the 5 point. This helmet is light and cheap. I don't notice it while flying. If it cost $1k I wouldn't bother. For fifty bucks i will give it a try.
 
Headset problems

I have several helmets. No aviation yet. I almost always used some sort of "in the ear" sound. I used a beanie head cover on the motorcycle or balaclava in the race car. Put the ear pieces in. Pull the beanie on. Slide the helmet over. Ear pieces stay put.
 
A good helmet is much cheaper than brain surgery. In most places anyways.

Do you wear a helmet while driving your car? ;) Just curious...odds of a head injury requiring brain surgery are vastly greater in your car than in your airplane.
 
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I wear a David Clark K-10 helmet and over the ear DC headset. I don't know if it will save me from brain surgery, but I knock the left side and top of my head against the canopy in turbulence.
 
I wear a David Clark K-10 helmet and over the ear DC headset. I don't know if it will save me from brain surgery, but I knock the left side and top of my head against the canopy in turbulence.

Yeah, that's the main reason to wear a helmet while flying IMHO ... head-banging in turbulence or aerobatics. A cheap beanie will distribute the blow and is probably all that's necessary for the vast majority of situations in an airplane. Compared to a full-face kevlar and neck brace with a lot of energy-absorbing material), the beanies have negligible chance of absorbing enough energy to save your life in a crash. OTOH, in some crashes a good helmet might provide a valuable edge, and if one can find one that's comfortable for long periods, it can also provide a convenient place to hang comms, visors, and oxygen. It's a matter of balance...the inconvenience and expense of a good helmet vs the likelihood that it could save your life in the flying circumstances that you routinely find yourself in. For me...cross-country good-weather flying in the midwest at 8500 feet in an RV-9A...more nuisance and expense than it's worth. If I was doing aerobatics, crop-dusting, back-country etc...I would spare no expense for an appropriate helmet.
 
To wear a helmet or not to wear a helmet, that is the question... wait, that's not how it goes but regardless, it certainly is one's choice to wear one or not and having a discussion for it or against it sounds like just a reason to disagree with a fellow pilot :rolleyes:. With that said, as stated by Scott, more and more bush pilots are wearing helmets these days and some of the events around the country are even requiring them now (let's not get in to why we think they require them). I myself had a very strong argument against wearing a helmet ( at least I thought it was a good argument) until just last weekend when one of the competitors that I'm not going to name, in an event that I'm not going to name, had a crash wearing one of Wendy Exfil's helmets that he didn't want to wear. He contacted the rest the pilots from the hospital a few days ago letting us know his condition and admitted that without the helmet he may not have made it and for sure he would have had brain damage. So yeah, there goes my strong argument out the window.
Although that was during a competition and it was a tube and fabric airplane in backcountry. I guess flying an RV we may convince ourselves that we don't really need to wear a helmet but I don't think anyone can argue that's its not safer to wear one.
 
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