Head wear..or the lack of it !

[MadMuz]

As far as I have found out from several in the know, as well as reading what Mark just wrote, it is not mandatory to wear a helmet (at this stage) however, ASRA STRONGLY recommends people in gyros wear a suitable helmet.

[gyroo]

Hi Matthew,Ops Manual section 3.01 para 6 (under "training") seems to be the only currently accessible statement of this common sense doctrine, and a plain reading of that single sentence means that it arguably only relates to training operations. That"s interesting because my instinctive memory was that there was a much more definitive statement in past years (going back to the early 1990"s), but scratching around at the moment I"m thinking that when the Ops Manual in its current form came into operation, a lot of the older edicts and requirements fell away. Still, it"s not a satisfactory way of doing things in 2014 to be almost talking about folklore - we need to be more definitive and precise.The Technical Manual currently in draft form (and not likely to be published until mid 2015) is more detailed along the lines of what you have read in this thread. I"m thinking that because the wearing of a helmet is arguably more in the Operations area of responsibility than Technical, that perhaps when the next re-write of that is done a "Safety" supplement should also be included in the Ops manual as well. I will discuss this with the Board at the next available opportunity, and come to think of it, I recall discussions with CASA in 2011 wherein the issue of the safety equipment generally was touched upon, although the focus of that was most particularly what requirements we would put in place governing long overwater operations (such as Bass Strait crossings). I also recently did some legal research on the notion that gyroplanes are classifiable as "dangerous articles" under the common law, and the results I came up with suggested strongly that the modern law and modern concepts of duty of care already impose on ASRA a duty to mandate the wearing of helmets in machines where the upper body of the occupants is exposed to the elements and exposed in a tumbling crash. I will be discussing these findings with the Board in the near future as well.Getting away from the "legalese" for a moment, a very practical reason for wearing a helmet is insect protection. I remember that in 2008 we had extremely bad locust swarms in northern central Victoria. They usually stay down low but on a couple of occasions I encountered high flying stragglers above 700 feet or so, and hitting them at 65 knots was like being at the wrong end of a firing squad. Stingingly painful.Cheers,Mark R

[aussie_paul]

This would do Mark....Aussie Paul.

[birdy]

Only trouble iv had with skidlids is the drag on long ferries.Id end up with a neck that wouldnt move.I stuck sum vortax generaters

[MadMuz]

At least he has the sunnies on Paul ;D

[MadMuz]

although the focus of that was most particularly what requirements we would put in place governing long overwater operations (such as Bass Strait crossings). That"s easy fixed Mark, just ask Waddles if you can borrow his floaties

[WEST OZ FLYER]

Thank you Mark, that is what I concluded. Just trying to clear up some grey areas. I have started a new thread on another thing that I have wondering about. Matthew