Survival Gear

[boogs82]

Hey everybody,

I'm just wondering who does and does not carry survival kits when they're flying.

If you don't carry one, why not?
If you do carry one.....

What type of items do you carry in it?
What type of case do you carry these items in?
Where do you keep it in the airplane?
Did you put it together yourself or buy a kit?
What was the price for it (roughly)?

I'm looking to put one together and just wondering if I should do it myself or buy a kit.

Thanks

[lazyeight]

For myself when flying privately my kit includes the following. Might miss a few,

-first aide kit, fire starter, lighter, snare wire, mirror, reflective blanket, foldable hand saw, two knives, fishing line and hooks, lifestraw, flashlight + extra batteries, dry food for 5 days.

I'd like to add a small collapsible shot gun if I could bit nothing out there will be small enough to fit into my survival backpack.

I made my own kit and put it into a small backpack I got at Atmosphere. I think total around $150.

[photofly]

There are a couple of threads on this topic already, if not more.

The more experienced you are at wilderness survival the less you need, so Les Stroud can travel light. My survival kit includes toilet paper, shampoo and a jacuzzi.

You can get more inspiration here:
http://equipped.org/avsrvtoc.htm

[pelmet]

The more experienced you are at wilderness survival the less you need, so Les Stroud can travel light. My survival kit includes toilet paper, shampoo and a jacuzzi.

You can get more inspiration here:
http://equipped.org/avsrvtoc.htm

Toilet paper.....unecessary space waster. I am just reading the latest COPA magazine which states that your VFR chart can be used as toilet paper if required. Hadn't thought of that before. Maybe I should always carry a printout of the CAR's with me just in case .

And just in case you think that sort of thing hasn't been done before, I read a WWII book a few years back by an air crewman flying out of Malta, a location where many of the crew got quite sick from stomach flu requiring a sudden need to use the facilities. On this particular bomber leaflet drop flight there were no facilities but there were lots of leaflets piled up. Probably made for some interesting gestures by the Italians who picked up these leaflets from the ground. Maybe he chose the ones with drawings of Mussolini for maximum use.

https://www.google.com/search?biw=1366& ... T8f2WJGZLM:

[PilotDAR]

Each of my planes has a survival kit with the required minimums, plus items which experience tells me I would like to have for at least an overnight stay. My amphibian is two nights for two people, plus my lifejacket pockets with the basics for a spartan overnight anyway. I keep the kits in a 10 liter roll top waterproof bag purchased from MEC. For longer trips to the far north, I have carried more comprehensive kits, which including the camping gear I was taking anyway, would allow me a week stay, and some basic aircraft service and repair.

Build your own kit, with your consideration of what you could need and use. If you don't know how to use it, either learn, or don't take it. If you buy a preassembled kit, you may be carrying things of poor quality, and things you do not value. or cannot use. Buy compact, effective, high quality equipment and supplies, and service/replenish at least annually. My kits are each 10 pounds, and are secured standing up, in the back of the plane. Make sure you have it secured in a way which you can access and extract relatively quickly, you might be in a hurry to get it out.

[Lotro]

I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but for Christmas my wife got me a "Crashkit Charlie". It's expensive and something I would not have bought myself, but it sure has a lot of stuff in it. It's small, lightweight and watertight and fits nicely in the seat box of the Super Cub. I also keep a sleeping bag and tent in the back and in my "flight vest" I have water purification drops, an emergency blanket, fire starting materials and I fly with an assortment of knives/multitools on my person depending on where I'm going. I also have a PLB.

IMHO a PLB is the best money you'll spend assuming you keep it on your person when you fly, register it and test it regularly.

Probably the most important thing though is practice. Having all the stuff doesn't mean much if you don't know how to use it. That's where I need to do some work.

[Spandau]

Many of those pre-packed "survival kits" are full of nothing but cheap, Chinese made junk. You'll probably be much better off building your own. As for what you need in your kit a really good place to start is by sitting down and reading "Down But Not Out". It's an old book but still probably the best, and keep a copy of it in your kit.

I tailor my own kit for where I'm going and the time of year, but even in December I still carry bug repellent. If you don't need it to ward off the skeeters the good stuff like Repex, etc makes first class fire starter. A Kleenex, a shot of bug juice, and a stroke on the flint bar equals instant fire, even in a steady drizzle. While I do carry a big vacuum packed bag of beef jerky, I really like those packaged instant mashed potatoes in a couple of flavors. They're good food energy for their weight, and by the simple addition of hot water you have HOT FOOD, which can really be a life saver if you're cold or wet. You can also eat the stuff with a busted jaw or a painful mouth injury, which would make snacking on the jerky pretty tough. Get a good knife, something where the tang of the blade extends all the way into the handle, not one of those plastic, hollow-handled, Rambo toys with the compass and the whistle in it, because once the handle breaks off the blade is useless. I hate hatchets, they're dangerous, so I carry a proper axe in a sheath and a small file for it, because a dull axe is also dangerous. A roll of duct tape is mandatory and I probably keep half a dozen Ziplock bags in my bag to keep stuff together and to keep stuff dry. In one of them is a roll of toilet paper/fire starter as I like my luxuries!

I've never used my stuff in anger but I like knowing it's there.

[PilotDAR]

I carry my cell phone in a waterproof case, clipped to my lifejacket. If you enter the water, a wet cell phone will be useless when you reach shore, you may as well keep it dry until you're ready to use it. Mine was in a waterproof case when I went in the water last summer, though the pouch was torn from my lifejacket going through the windshield. Happily I did not need it to summon help, people saw us go in. My wife called my phone for two days. It rang, but was not found, then the battery went flat I suppose. New phone, and new pouch for this summer....

[tps8903]

When I worked in the Arctic in addition to the items mentioned in the second post I carried a Grizzly 8.5" barrel shotgun with birdshot and slugs. In my personal plane I have a .22 Calibre collapsible survival rifle for when I use to land on remote lakes and ice fish. The survival rifle is a lot easier to hike with, but the shotty was necessary in the Arctic due to Grizzly bears in the region.

For food I use Mountain House freeze dried meals.

I made a northern companion style engine pre-heater out of an old MSR camping stove and some HVAC pipe with SCAT tubing in the end. The stove could be taken out of the pipe and used stand alone for cooking and melting snow etc. The nice thing about the MSR stoves is that they burn Gasoline, Diesel, Camp Fuel etc. Will it eventually clog with 100LL? Dunno? But I know I have 90L of fuel I can burn in my tank if I get stuck somewhere. I doubt it would clog in the amount of time it would take me to get rescued.

The final item I took was a Garmin InReach Sat messanger. Great product!!!

[Beefitarian]

I recommend a copy of this book. https://www.amazon.ca/SAS-Survival-Hand ... 0062378074

I might upgrade to the newer edition. I have a pocket book size copy in my kit. Lots of things for cutting and starting fires. Some first aid bandage type things. A few foil blankets. Some para-cord. It's not huge but it's not tiny either.

I should probably put it in a fanny or back pack/vest. It's no good to me if it's in the plane and I have to get away from a fire.

The more experienced you are at wilderness survival the less you need, so Les Stroud can travel light. My survival kit includes toilet paper, shampoo and a jacuzzi.

You can get more inspiration here:
http://equipped.org/avsrvtoc.htm

Toilet paper.....unecessary space waster.

You're not welcome in the jacuzzi if that's your opinion.

[waterdog]

I would say that my kit is an evolving process and changes as I get more experienced.
I have changed my set up so that I have two kits.

1) fly fishing vest from Bass Pro shop with a ton of zipper pockets, for I think $150. I put it on under my life Jacket if I am landing on the water somewhere far away where I may be on my own if I was to exit the plane quickly and swim to shore. The idea is that it is the basics.
In the vest are:
Leatherman ( scout I think, has a whistle and fire starter)
406 PLB waterproof
fire starter
waterproof matches in vacuum bag
protein bars and basic food supplies ( vacuum bag)
trauma supplies, compression bandages, 6 triangulars, gauze and other serious trauma stuff (vacuum bagged)
paracord
fox whistle tied to outside so it can reach your mouth
headlight
3 emergency blankets
glow sticks
Strobe light from my scuba diving days
Signal mirror
compass

There is some other stuff but thats the basics.
2) Then I have a waterproof bug out bag that has some stuff that would be nice to have but not critical if the plane where to sink.
Bug Spray
Sun block
water purification tabs
nalgene, wrapped in a lot of duck tap ( great for splints), stuffed with more first aid supplies
-30 orange sleeping bag
tarp
paracord
more food, power bars and nuts
hunting / skinning knife
Again I think there are some other things but can't think of them off the top of my head.

The vest weighs in at 5 lbs and the bug out bag comes in at 10 lbs.
I also heard great advice on flying in the winter......when flying wear what you would hike out in....So, long underwear, snow pants etc. Its really hard to put on snow pants with broken legs.....
I thought that was great advice.
I do think that your survival kit should reflect where you are flying. If you are flying Toronto to Muskoka in the summer you likely can get away with a less substantial kit then a long cross country.
My tool kit with emergency tools comes in at 10lbs.
Flight bag with gps and handheld radio comes in at 11lbs

I think that building your own bag is paramount, the pre-packaged ones look great but I think its better to think through scenarios and pack your own accordingly.

K

[RatherBeFlying]

A PLB will most likely get you picked up by the next day, even if the ELT fails (not uncommon). A survival sleeping bag will keep you warm enough, even if you're not an accomplished woodsman, or too injured to put together a shelter and fire.

It's only near habitation or agriculture that water purification is really needed, but then there's folks nearby.

https://www.mec.ca/en/products/camping- ... rgency

[Beefitarian]

I would buy one from waterdog.

I have a whistle and signal mirror and forgot to tell you. Mirror is the best thing during the day, strobe at night. I don't have a strobe.

If you have things like a strobe make sure you play with them often so you know it still works, try it at least every few months.

[LousyFisherman]

Wow, what most people call survival gear I call luxury camping.
Different strokes for different folks

YMMV
LF

[Beefitarian]

Like I used to tell my CASARA buddies, "If we go down and I'm ok, I can't wait for you guys. I'm building a town."

Are you still partnered in that 150 and is it back in Okotoks?

[PilotDAR]

As I refreshed supplies, and repacked two survival kits today, I again, inserted little strips of paper in each heat sealed bag of this and that. The slip gives packing date, and the expiry date of any food items in that packet. I checked older bandaids (no expiry date on those) just to assure that they would still be sticky - they were okay, so a few new, and a few older.