GRUMMAN AMERICAN
FOR TRAINING USE ONLY – SECTION 10
MODEL GA-7/COUGAR
SAFETY INFORMATION
10-11
Issued: April 10, 1978
MEDICAL FACTS FOR PILOTS
GENERAL
Modern industry’s record in providing reliable equipment is very good. When the pilot enters the airplane, he
becomes an integral part of the man-machine system. He is just as essential to a successful flight as the control
surfaces. To ignore the pilot in pre-flight planning would be as senseless as failing to inspect the integrity of the
control surfaces or any other vital part of the machine. The pilot himself has the responsibility for determining his
reliability prior to entering the airplane for flight.
When piloting an airplane, an individual should be free of conditions which are harmful to alertness, ability to
make correct decisions, and rapid reaction time.
FATIGUE
Fatigue generally slows reaction times and causes foolish errors due to inattention. In addition to the most
common cause of fatigue, insufficient rest and loss of sleep, the pressures of business, financial worries, and family
problems can be important contributing factors. If your fatigue is marked prior to a given flight, don’t fly. To
prevent fatigue effects during long flights, keep mentally active by making ground checks and radio-navigation
position plots.
HYPOXIA
Hypoxia in simple terms is a lack of sufficient oxygen to keep the brain and other body tissues functioning properly.
Wide individual variation occurs with respect to susceptibility to hypoxia. In addition to progressively insufficient
oxygen at higher altitudes, anything interfering with the blood’s ability to carry oxygen can contribute to hypoxia
(anemia, carbon monoxide, and certain drugs). Also, alcohol and various drugs decrease the brain’s tolerance to
hypoxia.
Your body has no built-in alarm system to let you know when you are not getting enough oxygen. It is impossible
to predict when or where hypoxia will occur during a given flight, or how it will manifest itself. A major early
symptom of hypoxia is an increased sense of well-being (referred to as euphoria).
This progresses to slow reactions, impaired thinking ability, unusual fatigue, and dull headache feeling.
The symptoms are slow but progressive, insidious in onset, and are most marked at altitudes starting above 10,000
feet. Night vision, however, can be impaired starting at altitudes lower than 10,000 feet. Heavy smokers may
experience early symptoms of hypoxia at altitudes lower than is so with non-smokers.
HYPERVENTILATION
Hyperventilation or over breathing, is a disturbance of respiration that may occur in individuals as result of
emotional tension or anxiety. Under conditions of emotional stress, fright, or pain, breathing rate may increase,
causing increased lung ventilation, although the carbon dioxide output of the body cells does not increase. As a
result, carbon dioxide is “washed out” of the blood. The most common symptoms of hyperventilation are:
dizziness, hot and cold sensations; tingling of hands, legs, and feet; nausea; sleepiness; and finally
unconsciousness.
Should symptoms occur, consciously slow your breathing rate until symptoms clear and then resume normal
breathing rate. Breathing can be slowed by breathing into a bag, or talking loud.