The physiological consequences of simulated helicopter flight in NBC protective equipment

The physiological effects of wearing U.S. Army aviator nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) individual protective equipment (IPE) were evaluated in the USAARL UH-60 research flight simulator. There were 16 male aviators who flew the simulator in 4 test conditions: standard flight suit and cool cockpit, standard flight suit and hot cockpit, NBC IPE and cool cockpit, NBC IPE and hot cockpit. The cool condition was a WBGT of 17.9 degrees C, the hot 30.6 degrees C. Rectal temperature, mean skin temperature, and heart rate were monitored and showed significant increases for the NBC hot condition compared with the other three. Seven subjects failed to complete the sortie in the NBC hot condition, with a mean survival time of 298 min. All subjects flew for the target 6 h in the other conditions.