Went to the altitude chamber today at Fairchild, and when I had the mask on (12/P), after about 5 minutes, the mask really started putting some hurt on the bridge of the ol' schnoz. Is this normal? If so, does it go away, or do you just learn to deal with it? I had a good seal, but I'm thinking, and hoping, that it might have been too small. Any thoughts?

Its because you didnt have it fit for you. You used an any ole joe can wear mask. When you get your personal mask it will be custom fit for you.

Custom fit or not you may fly long missions where it will kill the bridge of your nose. During the heavy periods of OEF we flew 12 hour missions and everyone was walking around looking like Rudolph the red nose reindeer. During one stretch I flew 80 combat hours in 7 days and it hurt to touch my nose.

A quick funny war story about wearing the mask. I launched off alert to cover a SOF team that had been ambushed. I was dead center over the Hinu Kush mountain range. I had been fighting a cold and my ears were bothering me so I decided to clear them. I reached up to pinch the mask and my thumb punched through and poked a big hole in the front of my mask. It was comical, I knew I could descend because the terrain was well over 15,000', but I was going to get hypoxic if I didn't do something. I reached into my helmet bag and pulled out my roll over survival duct tape. Well it sounded like a good idea, but the tape would not form a seal on the mask, in fact, it would barely stick to the mask at all, and I thought duct tape stuck to everything. For the next 20 minutes I held the tape and a piece of plastic in place as I tried to figure out what to do. Luckily, our life support folks had thought to stick a spare mask in the back, it was two sizes too small, but I pulled it as tight as I could and managed to shoot 50 rounds of 105MM and 100 rounds of 40MM in support of the ground team. Strange things always happen in combat but at least I can look back and chuckle about it now.

[ 16. November 2004, 22:29: Message edited by: Clearedhot ]

Cool, that's shit hot...I didn't know you were in the AC.

12/P's are trash to begin with. Get a 20/P (Combat Edge).

Started out here with the 12/P and it killed me. No matter how many times I went back to have it refitted, it still chewed on my nose and had to be 100% tight to get a good seal, which made me feel like I'd been punched in the face after every sortie. I got the 20/P and it's still not enjoyable, but it makes a good seal with way less pressure and stays on a lot nicer when you're G-ing it up.

I just got issued the combat edge a few weeks ago. Went to the chamber and it hurt so bad I couldn't even listen to the instructors talking. Afterwards, went to life support and found the oldest, crustiest guy there. He figured out my mask was a size too small, got me a new one and it fits great. Nose is still a little red when I finish, but amazingly better.

Right anytime you wear a friggin mask, and I dont care which mask, for 8-16 hours it hurts. Its just a lot better if your life support shop has a clue. :D

are any of the UPT bases dealing with the combat edge gear yet other than ENJJPT? i was just curious because i had heard a rumor that eventually all of UPT would be in the combat edge mask and was wondering if there was any truth to that. So far as a FAIP i have only seen guys or girls wearing them who have brought them with them from a previous life.

I don't know that AFSOC will ever go to the combat edge.

"are any of the UPT bases dealing with the combat edge gear yet other than ENJJPT?"

Laughlin will give you a combat edge mask if you ask for it...

Originally posted by TheInner:

i had heard a rumor that eventually all of UPT would be in the combat edge mask and was wondering if there was any truth to that.

Waste of money if you ask me, especially if they're issuing it on the Tweet side (where you don't even use a G-suit -- does the T-6 have one?). The trainer aircraft can't hold the sustained Gs for which Combat Edge was intended. The only fighters that really benefit from CE are Vipers and C models.

In fact, Strike Eagles have just (finally) done away with the CE vest (the other 50% of your CE equipment). The vest was pretty much a joke for us since our fat pig of a jet can't sustain 9Gs for any appreciable amount of time and most Mudhen guys don't feel it was of any benefit.

Toro,

You have not flown a fat pig until you take a 165,000 gunship to the tanker to topoff before pressing across the line. I flew one mission during OEF where the temp at 10,000' was 70 degrees. I nearly bent the throttles trying to get the gas, let a lone sustain a 9 G turn.

Originally posted by Clearedhot:

I nearly bent the throttles trying to get the gas, let alone sustain a 9 G turn.

Reminds me of a funny thing I saw in the Al Udeid O'Club. A bunch of us fighter guys were hanging out -- probably talking BFM with our hands -- around a couple 130 dudes. One of the 130 guys grabs a couple colored vis a vis pens and starts mocking us by drawing up a BFM engagement on the bar (not on a piece of paper, on the bar). He's got like four different colors and lines are going everywhere. The funniest part was as he started his animated commentary with things like, "Dude, I overrotated into a split S, and my air medals went flying everywhere through the cockpit. Then, I started pulling so many G's, I went into the Hs!"

Some things never change, I would gladly change all this school crap to be a line IP again, I really miss flying.

Originally posted by Toro

Reminds me of a funny thing I saw in the Al Udeid O'Club. A bunch of us fighter guys were hanging out -- probably talking BFM with our hands -- around a couple 130 dudes. One of the 130 guys grabs a couple colored vis a vis pens and starts mocking us by drawing up a BFM engagement on the bar (not on a piece of paper, on the bar). He's got like four different colors and lines are going everywhere. The funniest part was as he started his animated commentary with things like, "Dude, I overrotated into a split S, and my air medals went flying everywhere through the cockpit. Then, I started pulling so many G's, I went into the Hs!"

That made me laugh out loud. Thank you.

Mask? Helmet? Man, I can't even remember the last time I flew with gloves, let alone a mask and helmet! I do remember that it did mess up your hair -- even if you do have a high and tight like TORO!

And don't forget about the "mask face"!

I have left the Herk - I just never changed my avatar image!

(Although, the 130 still remains in my heart...)

In PACAF Viper guys don't have to wear the "Bro" anymore unless you are flying twice and pulling G's on the second sortie.

Beaver, is "bro" the CE vest?

Yeah, like instead of "Bra" it's our "Bro." Or Man-ziere, if you will.

Strike Eagles in ACC (and I think throughout) don't have to wear the vest at all any more. A victory for us since the thing is useless in our pig of a jet.

Originally posted by Clearedhot:

I nearly bent the throttles trying to get the gas, let a lone sustain a 9 G turn.

TOBOGGAN!