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Robert Hart has mentioned in an earlier post today
that we now have oxygen fitted in Alice and it is set to cut in at 5000
ft. To those who feel that this is being ultra conservative, I offer
the following.
Many years ago I did a chamber test in conjunction with high
altitude parachuting in USA. More recently I wore a pulse oximeter
(courtesy Dr Ken Wishaw) on a flight from DDSC. As a result I have a
zero tolerance for those who boast that they don't need oxygen below 11,000 ft
(or some other figure) and that the guidelines in this area are ultra
conservative.
Those who have done a chamber test will be well aware of
the insidious nature of the effects of lack of oxygen. This
point was made abundantly clear during my chamber test with the USAF. We
were required to continually subtract the figure 2 from 1000 and write the
resultant figure down, while also noting the onset of any of the symptoms that
we had been briefed to be alert for. After we had "recovered" from
the test we reviewed our mathematics and were all dismayed to find that,
significantly before we became aware of any symptoms, we were making stupid
errors in the subtraction exercise.
On my "oximeter flight" at DDSC I had a sensor attached to my
left ear lobe and was able to observe a continuous readout of oxygen
saturation and pulse rate on a battery powered monitor. Ken had briefed me
that adverse effects could be expected to start at an oxygen
saturation level of 91%. During the 3 hour flight (in Alice of
course) I monitored my oxygen level and saw a steady and alarming drop from
the initial 98% at field elevation (1200 ft) to 91% at 7000
ft QNH. I also noted that my pulse rate increased steadily
with the increase in altitude - the reason for this is obvious when you
think about it. Although the oximeter told me these things, I experienced
none of the physical symptoms of the lack of oxygen.
So I am very comfortable with having oxygen automatically
administered to me by Alice at 5000 ft!
-- Personal Computer Concepts Uniform Time PO Box 114 INDOOROOPILLY QLD 4068
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