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Military's top-heavy helmets a pain in the neck to pilots
The Canadian Press
Printed in Edmonton Journal 09 Sept 04
OTTAWA
The high-tech gadgets the military keeps sticking onto the helmets of its pilots are starting to be a literal pain in the neck. More than 80 per cent of the pilots flying Canada's Griffon helicopters say they've suffered neck pains from having to wear the heavy Darth Vader-like headgear, a new survey shows. â Å“We think there's a problem out there,â ? aid Lt.-Col. Steve Charpentier, the military's top helicopter pilot. â Å“We want ... the scientific community to come up with a fix.â ?
The Defence Department has launched three-year, $900,000 study to document the problem and come up with solutions before more pilots book off sick with stiff necks and related headaches. Charpentier experienced the problem first-hand in 1996 when he first started flying Griffon helicopters.
The air force had introduced helmets with night-vision goggles attached, adding more than three kilograms to the total weight. The goggles make it possible to fly and spot targets in the black of night. After wearing the supersized helmet, and constantly twisting his head to see the computer console at his side, Charpentier wound up with debilitating neck pains and had to undergo physiotherapy.
â Å“I couldn't move my head for a week,â ? he said from Winnipeg. Since then, he has met at least two fellow pilots who have also temporarily booked off flying because the helmets hurt their necks. The air force has since surveyed Griffon pilots, among the first in the Canadian military to use night- vision goggles regularly, and found at least 80 per cent of them complained about neck pains. There were no statistics on how many pilots were unable to fly as a result.
The problem is not unique to Canada, and is spreading as more pilots around the world are required to wear cyborg headgear. â Å“Just about any military on the planet is using some form of night-vision goggles,â ? Bill Fraser, a Defence Department scientist in charge of the three-year study. â Å“Everyone is starting to see this (problem) around the world.â ?
The technology will eventually become widespread in Canada's military aircraft fleets, from fighter jets to transport planes. Solutions could include requiring pilots to do specific neck exercises or having some helmet weight transferred to the shoulders through braces:
But it's unlikely there'll be any reduction in the load on pilots' necks. The Canadian military is already planning to increase the total weight by adding a device known as a heads-up play, which would project cockpit controls onto a helmet visor.
The technology would add a few doze grams to the total headgear load. Scientists are also designing a next generation night-vision goggle system that would widen the field of vision and also likely add weight.
Fraser and Charpentier both cautioned that neck-pain research is still in its infancy and solutions maybe difficult. â Å“I don't know if we can solve the problem,â ? acknowledged Fraser, who is regularly consulting with allied forces in the United States, Australia and Britain about the helmet dilemma.
The Canadian Press
Printed in Edmonton Journal 09 Sept 04
OTTAWA
The high-tech gadgets the military keeps sticking onto the helmets of its pilots are starting to be a literal pain in the neck. More than 80 per cent of the pilots flying Canada's Griffon helicopters say they've suffered neck pains from having to wear the heavy Darth Vader-like headgear, a new survey shows. â Å“We think there's a problem out there,â ? aid Lt.-Col. Steve Charpentier, the military's top helicopter pilot. â Å“We want ... the scientific community to come up with a fix.â ?
The Defence Department has launched three-year, $900,000 study to document the problem and come up with solutions before more pilots book off sick with stiff necks and related headaches. Charpentier experienced the problem first-hand in 1996 when he first started flying Griffon helicopters.
The air force had introduced helmets with night-vision goggles attached, adding more than three kilograms to the total weight. The goggles make it possible to fly and spot targets in the black of night. After wearing the supersized helmet, and constantly twisting his head to see the computer console at his side, Charpentier wound up with debilitating neck pains and had to undergo physiotherapy.
â Å“I couldn't move my head for a week,â ? he said from Winnipeg. Since then, he has met at least two fellow pilots who have also temporarily booked off flying because the helmets hurt their necks. The air force has since surveyed Griffon pilots, among the first in the Canadian military to use night- vision goggles regularly, and found at least 80 per cent of them complained about neck pains. There were no statistics on how many pilots were unable to fly as a result.
The problem is not unique to Canada, and is spreading as more pilots around the world are required to wear cyborg headgear. â Å“Just about any military on the planet is using some form of night-vision goggles,â ? Bill Fraser, a Defence Department scientist in charge of the three-year study. â Å“Everyone is starting to see this (problem) around the world.â ?
The technology will eventually become widespread in Canada's military aircraft fleets, from fighter jets to transport planes. Solutions could include requiring pilots to do specific neck exercises or having some helmet weight transferred to the shoulders through braces:
But it's unlikely there'll be any reduction in the load on pilots' necks. The Canadian military is already planning to increase the total weight by adding a device known as a heads-up play, which would project cockpit controls onto a helmet visor.
The technology would add a few doze grams to the total headgear load. Scientists are also designing a next generation night-vision goggle system that would widen the field of vision and also likely add weight.
Fraser and Charpentier both cautioned that neck-pain research is still in its infancy and solutions maybe difficult. â Å“I don't know if we can solve the problem,â ? acknowledged Fraser, who is regularly consulting with allied forces in the United States, Australia and Britain about the helmet dilemma.
