Physiological training crucial for aircrews

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo
  • Air Force Print News
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFPN) --  Approximately 35,000 students take physiological training each year to gain a better understanding of survival in the flight environment. It covers problems in both high and low altitudes and recommends procedures to prevent or minimize human factor errors that occur in flight.

Airmen at the 21st Aerospace Medical Squadron Aerospace Physiological Branch train aircrew members to become familiar with the inherent risks associated with anything that travels through the air at speeds sometimes greater than sound and at heights sometimes greater than 70,000 feet.

The first part of the training is in the classroom. Aircrew members are educated in the basic principle of physics governing altitude. They learn about the barometric pressure changes and its affect on gases, the change in temperature associated with these barometric changes as well as how the physical composition of ambient air is affected by pressure changes.

While every portion of physiological training could literally determine the survival or loss of aircrews and their aircraft, the initial phase of the training is paramount, because it is the cornerstone of the remainder of the training, according to branch officials. Physiological training is constant regardless of the type of aircraft flown in an Airman's career.

Students progress from the classroom to a hands-on, interactive phase that teaches prevention, recognition and recovery. From there it is on to the altitude chamber.

Students go through a dry run of the chamber after being given an overview of the flight, including what to expect at what time or which simulated flight level, and the accompanying safety procedures. At the same time students also practice connecting, disconnecting and checking gear to ensure they are doing it properly and that they are comfortable with it. 

It is important for the students to experience hypoxia in the altitude chamber in order to recognize their own individual signs, how long it took them to experience it after exposure and their reaction time for recovery actions. Students go through the various stages, hold out as long as they feel comfortable and then recover by themselves by hooking up and restarting their oxygen systems.

Branch technicians insist that physiological training is a vital part in the overall training cycle of any aircrew member. Instructors teach their classes with the mindset that every student in the class will need this training to save their life the next time they climb into an aircraft.