Cockpit lighting has been the subject of considerable discussion. In military aviation, red lighting was long used in the cockpit and pilots were required to wear red goggles for a certain period of time before night flight. These precautions for night adaptation were necessary because pilots who needed to spot enemy aircraft frequently flew from … Continue reading Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 13 – Cockpit Lighting

A veteran pilot once remarked that night flying is no different from day flying-it's just that at night you can't see anything. Although his statement carries a good deal of truth, you can usually see something. To compensate for what you can't see, you need proper instrumentation. To make the most of your vision at … Continue reading Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 12 – Night Flight

Vision, even under instrument conditions, is perhaps your single most vital faculty in flying. Yet, the best eyes in the world-with 20/20 sight, good depth perception, and well-developed color vision-can play unexpected tricks on the most experienced pilot. The eyes and brain cooperate closely to produce the sensation of sight. Illusions can arise from the … Continue reading Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 11 – Vision

Pilots tend to think of carbon monoxide gas as something produced by a defective muffler, a faulty exhaust system, or a heater leak in the aircraft cabin. When they perform their preflight check of the aircraft and find no breaks or cracks, they feel reassured. Yet, one of the more common sources of carbon monoxide … Continue reading Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 10 – Carbon Monoxide

If you fly an unpressurized aircraft, you are almost sure, eventually, to encounter the problem of ear discomfort during ascent or descent. To understand why this happens and how to counteract it, a simple grasp of the structure of your ear is helpful. The external ear canal (the small tube leading to your eardrum) is … Continue reading Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 07 – The Ears

Everyone knows that alcohol impairs the efficiency of the human mechanism. This fact has been emphasized again and again-in newspapers, magazines, television, and other media throughout the world. Studies have positively proved that drinking and performance deterioration are closely linked. Estimates indicate that alcohol is a major factor in nearly 50% of all automobile accidents. … Continue reading Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 08 – Alcohol

Some people believe that breathing faster and deeper at high altitudes can compensate for oxygen lack. This is only partially true. Such abnormal breathing, known as hyperventilation, also causes you to flush from your lungs and blood much of the carbon dioxide your system needs to maintain the proper degree of blood acidity. The chemical … Continue reading Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 05 – Hyperventilation