The last two nights I have taught a mini-seminar for my aero club. One of the request was for a survival kit list. After not finding one on my own website ( I was sure it was transferred … so I thought…) here is a basic kit. Most of this should be placed in the vest and the vest should be worn by the pilot. Auxiliary items such as fleece jacket/shirt and the 70 oz of water should be in a pack in the back of the plane.
The reason the vest is worn is in case the crew has to egress the aircraft and either cannot get to the survival bag or is too injured to do so. (Imagine trying to crawl over the back seat of a 172 and digging around for a bag with busted up ribs, etc)
Below id the basic list of we went through in class– and with all list like this– modify to your needs, experience, and terrain and weather you are flying in. Additionally if you have passengers, you will want to increase these items as needed.
- Signaling
- Whistle
- Mirror
- Strobe
- Smoke
- Shelter
- Space Blanket (red or orange)
- 25’ Para Cord
- Fire Kit
- Striker
- Tinder
- Cotton Balls/ Dryer Lint
- Rubber Inner-tube (1×3)
- Candles
- First Aid Kit
- Navigation
- Map
- Compass
- GPS
- Water
- Minimum 70 oz
- Ceramic Filter
- Puri Tabs
- Head Gear (fleece hat and/or boonie hat- should be hunter orange)
- Solid fuel tabs
- Small metal cup
- Power Bars/ Energy Bars
- Air Force Survival Knife
- Multi-tool
- 50’ Para Cord
- Light-weight fleece shirt
- Lights
- Head Lamp
- Small Flash Light
Aviation survival is often focused on the aircraft mishap- and we often forget that a survival situation can begin simply when we fly into the back country on a Sunday afternoon and when leaving a beautiful grass strip we had to ourselves for the day…becomes a little more permanent when the battery dies or the starter fails.
Adventure IQ 