Tri-Service

A Pilot's View: How To Cope With G-Force

Many of us will at some point have dreamed of being able to fly. But what challenges do you face when you do so at over 1,000 mph? One British combat pilot has explained just that, in this post from the RAF's official website.

"G-force is the pull you feel when you turn the aircraft. When you turn hard, you get forced down in your seat. It isn't the speed. You get used to that - about seven miles a minute - very quickly. That's just like driving fast on a motorway. You don't feel you're driving quickly because you're looking further ahead, and you see everything earlier.

"A Hawk pulls seven or eight Gs, so you become eight times heavier than your normal weight - so your head becomes eight times heavier on your shoulders."

"You can struggle to stay awake as the G-force drains the blood supply to your head. The first thing that might happen is that you suffer from tunnel vision as the extremities of your eyes get blurred. You must fight back, because when you get to no vision at all, you're close to 'greying out'.

She won't thank us for this one - In 2010 Forces TV's Kate Gerbeau experienced the G-forces Wing Commander Andy Green will experience when driving the Bloodhound SSC at 1,000 miles per hour...

"We wear a G-suit which has a blow up bladder clamped to your legs, and it forces blood back up through your body. We also do a rather embarrassing straining manoeuvre, when you tense everything up, hold your breath in short bursts and pull against it. You make your head feel a little buzzy, and it forces the blood back into your brain, and clears your vision.

"If you do get G-lock, it can be very dangerous, especially if you're on your own. Some pilots pass out but aren't sure what's happened, and they can forget where they are and what they're doing - flying an aircraft."

"The worst thing is negative G, when you're pushed to weightlessness. Everything's tied on to us so they don't float about, but a pencil would just float in front of you. If you push harder you then get actual negative G, which is like standing on your head. You get a really hot head as all the blood pours into your eyes.

Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson didn't fare much better though...

"If you were really aerobically fit like Steve Cram, it would be disastrous because your heart rate and blood pressures low. We train a bit like sprinters - weights and short runs and anaerobic exercise for short-term fitness.

"Being a pilot really is a fantastic job."

More from Forces TV: A Pilot's View: Scrambling To Intercept Russian Fighters