The recent fatal accident in Ottawa has been very sobering for me, because I knew the builder/pilot. His hangar was right across from mine at Smiths Falls, and I was speaking to him in front of his plane last week. As my airplane will be flying this coming summer/fall, it has me thinknig again seriously about safety.
I definatley plan on investing in nomex for fire protection, but I am still undecided about a helmet. I understand that only helicopter helmets offer proper crash protection. I wonder how often in a small plane crash a helmet could have prevented a death. Cyclists and motorcyclists wear helmets and these save lives all the time, but I wonder if a plane crash is a different animal, being more totally destructive? Any thoughts?
Also, how much headroom do you need to fit a helicopter helmet? There isn't a whole lot of space between the top of my head and the canopy, especially with the beefy Classic Aero seats I have.
I definatley plan on investing in nomex for fire protection, but I am still undecided about a helmet. I understand that only helicopter helmets offer proper crash protection. I wonder how often in a small plane crash a helmet could have prevented a death. Cyclists and motorcyclists wear helmets and these save lives all the time, but I wonder if a plane crash is a different animal, being more totally destructive? Any thoughts?
Also, how much headroom do you need to fit a helicopter helmet? There isn't a whole lot of space between the top of my head and the canopy, especially with the beefy Classic Aero seats I have.