WO2012041973A1

WO2012041973A1 - Flight suits

Info

Publication number: WO2012041973A1
Application number: PCT/EP2011/067008
Authority: WO
Inventors: Paul Oliver; Peter Gordon
Original assignee: Survitec Group Limited
Priority date: 2010-09-30
Filing date: 2011-09-29
Publication date: 2012-04-05
Also published as: GB201016375D0

Abstract

An aircrew flight suit is formed by separate upper and lower suit portions (20, 21) that meet at the waist. The portions (20, 21) can be connected together at the waist by, for example, a zip (39) to form a unitary suit. This allows different sizes of upper and lower portions (20, 21) to be mixed and matched.

Description

FLIGHT SUITS

The invention relates to suits worn by aircrew in flight.

Figure 1 shows a typical known aircrew flight suit. The suit 10 is formed of a suitable material in one-piece with a body portion 11 and arm and leg portions 12, 13 respectively. The suit includes boots 14. A central longitudinal zipper 15 extends along the front of the suit 10 to allow it to be donned and removed by a wearer. The suit 10 may also include gloves 16.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an aircrew flight suit comprising an upper suit portion and a lower suit portion, the upper suit portion being releasably connected to the lower suit portion.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an aircrew flight suit comprising an upper suit portion for covering the torso of a wearer selected from a plurality of differently configured upper suit portions and a lower suit portion for covering the lower body and legs of a wearer selected from a plurality of differently configured lower suit portions, the upper suit portion being releasably connected to the lower suit portion. There are a number of practical and economic benefits of such a suit that are discussed in more detail below in relation to specific embodiments of the invention. The following is a more detailed description of some embodiments of the invention, by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 2 is a front view of a first form of flight suit according to the invention,

Figure 3 is a similar view to Figure 2 but with a upper suit portion of the suit partially separated from the lower suit portion of the suit,

Figure 4 is a similar view to Figure 2 but with protection and survival equipment attached to the suit,

Figure 5 is a similar view to Figure 4 but with an arm of the suit raised to show a side opening,

Figure 6 is a schematic front elevation of the suit of Figures 2 to 4 but with the upper suit portion and the lower suit portion separated, Figure 7 is a similar view to Figure 6 but with the upper suit portion and lower suit portion joined,

Referring first to Figures 2 and 3, the flight suit comprises a upper suit portion 20 and lower suit portion 21. The upper suit portion 20 and the lower suit portion 21 are preferably made from an inherently fireproof fabric such as NOMEX^®. The upper suit portion 20 has a torso portion 22, a waist 23, a neck opening 24 and left and right arm portions 25a, 25b, respectively. The upper suit portion also has a front opening 26 closed by, for example, a zipper 27 extending from the front centre of the waist 23 to the front centre of the neck opening 24. The lower suit portion 21 has a waist 28 and left and right leg portions 29a, 29b. The lower suit portion 21 includes an opening 48 extending from the front centre of the waist 28 to a crotch 50 of the lower suit portion 21. The opening 48 is closable by a zipper 49. The suit is completed by gloves 30 and boots 31.

The upper suit portion waist 23 and the lower suit portion waist 28 have cooperating fastening means 32a, 32b that, when engaged together, inter-connect the upper suit portion 20 and lower suit portion 21 but which can be disengaged to separate the upper suit portion 20 and the lower suit portion 21. The fastening means could, for example, be a zip or could be a touch/close fastener such as VELCRO^® or could be press studs. In use, the upper suit portion 20 and the lower suit portion 21 are interconnected using the fastening means 32a, 32b and then donned. After use, these portions 21, 22 can be separated. In addition, the portions 20, 21 may be separated while being worn and doffed separately and where, for example, the suit is contaminated by, for example, biological or chemical agents.

The suit has other functions. Referring next to Figure 4, the suit may support equipment (known as "aircrew life support equipment" - ALSE) that protects the wearer against the effect of g-forces generated on acceleration or of altitude and other potentially damaging factors.

For this purpose, the upper suit portion 20 supports an inflatable chest counter- pressure bladder 33 and the trousers 21 support an inflatable leg counter- pressure bladder 34. These can be of known type such as shown in US-A- 6325754. The chest bladder 33 covers the chest of a wearer 35 but is sleeveless. The leg bladder 34 extends over the lower torso and the legs of the wearer.

In use, the chest bladder 33 provides counter-pressure to the chest of the wearer 35 to counteract the effect of breathing pressurised gas at altitude. The leg bladder 34 provides counter-pressure to the legs of the wearer 35 when the wearer is being accelerated to reduce the effect of blood pooling in the lower limbs. A further function is to provide a means of carrying or supporting specialised equipment 47 on the wearer. This equipment may be of a type for use within an aircraft or for use outside the aircraft. Examples are flares, a radio, first aid items, a weapon or weapons, a lifejacket or life preserver, protective equipment for chemical nuclear and biological protection and ballistic armour. In general, this equipment is carried on the upper suit portion 20. This may be by the use of an attachment system of the general kind described in US-A-5724707 or our co-pending UK Patent Application No. 0819596.8.

The upper suit portion 20 can also be modified to provide protection against the effects of ejecting from an aircraft at high speeds. The air blast encountered on ejection, which may be as much as 700kts can make the arms of the wearer frail and this can break, dislocate or totally tear out the arms. In order to prevent this, the jacket 20 is fitted with an arm restraint system formed by two lines 36a, 36b carried on respective arms portions 25a, 25b and leading from the wrist of the associated arm portion 25a, 25b to a mechanism mounted on an ejector seat that, in the event of ejection, reels-in the lines 36a, 36b taut and in doing so pulls the wrists and arms of the wearer 35 down and holds the wrists and arms tightly against a lower part of the ejection seat.

The suit may be of the general kind shown in WO-A-2007/111981 that provides an integrated ensemble but modified to provide the separate but connectable upper and lower portions described above with reference to Figures 1 to 4.

Such a suit is shown in Figures 5, 6 and 7. Parts common to these Figures and to Figures 1 to 4 will be given the same reference numerals and will not be described in detail.

Referring first to Figure 5, the upper suit portion 20 carries an integrated chest counter-pressure bladder 42 and the lower suit portion carries an integrated lower G bladder 43. The suit of these Figures has an alternative form of opening to the suit to allow it to be donned and removed. As shown in these figures, the upper suit portion 20 is provided with an opening 37 that extends from the left-hand side of the waist 28 to the armpit 38 and then along the inner surface of the left-hand arm 25a to a point mid-way along the arm 25a. The opening 37 may be closed by any suitable releasable fastening means such as a zip 39.

The lower suit portion 21 is provided with an opening 40 that extends from the left-hand side of the waist 28 along the left-hand leg 29a to the region of the knee. Again, this opening 40 can be closed by any suitable releasable fastening means such as a zip 41. These openings 37, 40, together with the separability at the waist by the fastenings 32a, 32b, allow the suit to be donned and removed quickly and easily. The primary function of the suit of Figures 2 to 7 is to protect the wearer against flame/heat blast. If the wearer is exposed to e.g. burning fuel or the like, the suit protects the wearer from flame. Such suits also protect the wearer against abrasion and dirt (e.g. oil and grease) and provide comfort in inclement weather.

Forming a flight suit by selecting an upper suit portion for a plurality of differently configured upper suit portions and selecting a lower suit portion from a number of differently configured lower suit portions, as described above with reference to Figures 1 to 7 has a number of further benefits.

First, different types of ALSE are required for different aircraft types. For example aircraft with high acceleration speeds (e.g. jet fighters) require the G- protection bladders 34 in the lower legs. However other lower acceleration aircraft do not require these. Some aircraft are fitted with arm restraint systems which require the arm restraint lines 36a, 36b on the upper suit portion 20; others do not support the use of arm restraint lines 36a, 36b. If the suit can be separated into upper and lower portions 20, 21, it means that different upper and lower portions 20, 21 can be manufactured and can be put together in a modular way to accommodate a wider range of different aircraft types. So for example, a fast jet pilot would wear the same upper suit portion 20 with all of the same survival aids and fittings as a non fast jet pilot would wear - but in the fast jet version the lower suit portion 21 would have the g- protection bladders 34 fitted and in the non fast jet version they would not be fitted the wearer would have just a plain lower suit portion 21. This therefore allows greater commonality of the suit amongst different aircraft types and in turn has economies in reducing the logistical requirements and cost.

Accommodating the greatest anthropometry of pilots and aircrew with the minimum number of sizes of suit is very important in order to minimise the logistical and cost burden of fitting out. It is possible therefore to "mix and match" upper and lower suit portions 20, 21 in order to accommodate an increased size role with fewer total numbers of garments. It is easy to maintain and service the upper and lower suit portions 20, 21 separately. One portion 20, 21 of the suit may be worn more heavily and another portion 20, 21 maybe need to be replaced separately. Also the two portions can be laundered separately and all this means increased economy of cost.

This has a number of advantages. First, it allows the greatest anthropometry of pilots and aircrew to be accommodated with the minimum number of sizes of garment. This reduces the logistical and cost burden of fitting out pilots and crew.

In addition, it is easier to maintain and service the two parts separately. One part may be worn more heavily than the other and so the parts can be replaced separately. Also, the two parts can be laundered separately and this leads to economy of cost.

As shown in Figures 5, 6 and 7, the opening 37 that allows the upper suit portion 20 to be donned extends along one side of the portion and then along an adjacent arm. The purpose of this is to leave the front of the suit portion free for other equipment. It can have the disadvantage, however, that when the person donning the suit is wearing a helmet, as shown in these Figures, it can be difficult to get the helmet through the neck opening. As an alternative, therefore, to solve this problem, the opening may extend along one side of the portion and then across to the adjacent edge of the neck opening as shown in broken line at 37a in figure 7. In this way, the upper suit portion can be donned in the same way as a jacket by putting one arm of the wearer into an arm of the suit portion, passing the remainder around the back of a wearer and then putting the other arm of the wearer into the other arm of the suit portion. The opening can then be closed by the releasable fastening 39.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. An aircrew flight suit comprising an upper suit portion (20) for covering the torso of a wearer and a lower suit portion (21) for covering the lower body and legs of a wearer, the upper suit portion (20) being releasably connected to the lower suit portion (21).

2. An aircrew flight suit comprising an upper suit portion (20) for covering the torso of a wearer selected from a plurality of differently configured upper suit portions and a lower suit portion (21) for covering the lower body and legs of a wearer selected from a plurality of differently configured lower suit portions, the upper suit portion (20) being releasably connected to the lower suit portion (21).

3. A suit according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the upper suit portion (20) and the lower suit portion (21) have respective waist portions (23, 28), the releasable connection (32a, 32b) extending around the waist portions (23, 28).

4. A suit according to anyone of claims 1 to 3 wherein the releasable connection comprises a zip (32a, 32b).

5. A suit according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the releasable connection (32a, 32b) comprises a touch/close fastener.

6. A suit according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the releasable connection comprises press studs (32a, 32b).

7. A suit according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the upper suit portion (20) includes an opening (26) extending from a lower edge (23) of the upper suit portion at the front centre of the upper suit portion to a front central point of a neck opening (24) of the upper suit portion (20), the opening (26) being releasably closable by fastening means (27).

8. A suit according to any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the lower suit (21) portion includes an opening (48) extending from an upper edge (28) of the lower suit portion to a crotch (50) of the lower suit portion (21), the opening (48) being releasably closable by fastening means (49).

9. A suit according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the upper suit portion (20) includes an opening (37) extending from a lower edge of the upper suit portion (20) at a point to one side of the upper portion (20) to an armpit

(38) of the upper portion (20) and then along an arm (25a) of the upper suit portion (20), the opening (37) being releasably closable by fastening means

(39) .

10. A suit according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the upper suit portion (20) includes an opening (37,37a) extending from a lower edge of the upper suit portion (20) at a point to one side of the upper portion (20) to an armpit (38) of the upper portion (20) and then to an edge of a neck opening (24) adjacent said armpit (38), the opening (37, 37a) being releasably closable by fastening means (39).

11. A suit according to any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the lower body portion (21) includes an opening (40) extending from an upper edge (28) of the lower portion (21) and a point to one side of the upper edge of the lower portion (21) and along the lower portion towards a lower edge of the lower portion (21), the opening being releasably closable by fastening means (41).

12. A suit according to claim 9 or claim 10 and claim 11 wherein the start point of the upper suit portion opening (37) and the start point of the lower suit portion opening (40) are co-incident when the upper suit portion (20) is connected to the lower suit portion (21).

13. A suit according to any one of claims 1 to 12 in combination with a chest counter pressure garment (33), the chest counter pressure garment (33) overlying the upper suit portion (20).

14. A suit according to any one of claims 1 to 13 in combination with a lower G garment (34), the lower G garment (34) overlying the lower suit portion (21).

15. A suit according to claim 13 or claim 14 wherein the chest counter pressure garment (33) includes mounting means for mounting auxiliary items on the suit.

16. A suit according to claim 14 or claim 15 wherein the lower G garment (34) includes mounting means for mounting auxiliary items on the suit.

17. A suit according to claim 14 or claim 15 wherein the mounting means comprise longitudinally spaced rows of webbing loops.

18. A suit according to claim 2 wherein the different configurations are provided by differences in size of the upper suit portion (20) and differences in size of the lower suit portion.

19. A suit according to claim 2 or claim 18 wherein the different configurations are provided by differences in the ability or otherwise of the upper suit portion (20) to support a counter-pressure garment (33) and the ability or otherwise of the lower suit portion (21) to support a counter pressure garment(34).