I was recently in Estonia for a NATO military training exercise. Flying in the back seat of an F-16D (two seater), I was ‘gently’ reminded of the importance of human factors in flight and the constant, inherent danger in combat aviation. Even in the training environment, significant risks and aeromedical stressors […]
Most aviators learn early in their career that flying with a simple upper respiratory infection or seasonal allergies can be painful. Gases in the sinuses and middle ear expand in accordance with Boyles Law as altitude increases and pressure decreases. [For a full discussion on the Gas Laws that apply […]
The recent Germanwings tragedy has called commercial aviation’s concept of ‘Fitness for Flight’ into question. In case the reader has just returned from a week long hike in the wilderness and missed the news headlines – on 24 March 2014 an Airbus 320 carrying 150 passengers destined for Dusseldorf, Germany from […]
Aerospace and Operational Physiology (AOP) has the unique challenge of bridging physiologic sciences with the operational environment. Many people think “they just work with pilots and do altitude chamber training.” While we do frequently work with pilots and other aircrew, many are unaware of other human factor issues on which […]
BLUF: Bilberry is probably not effective in improving night vision visual acuity or contrast recognition. It recently was brought to my attention that some pilots have added bilberry to their diets and others have been willing to shell out cold hard cash on bilberry extracts or leaves in pill form. Why? For […]
I have been thoroughly blessed to serve as an active member of the USAF Pilot Physician Program (PPP) officially since 2008 but unofficially since 2002, when I entered pilot training as a “former flight surgeon”. Although the USAF Pilot Physician Program was officially created in 1954, the legacy of medical […]
There exist a huge number of Laws in Physics & Chemistry. However, there are only a few that are really important in aerospace medicine. Most of these are the basic Gas Laws. Let’s review some of the most important ones. Ideal Gas Law PV = nRT […]
I recall seeing an inspiring commercial from US Navy recruiters (see below) some years ago. After showing a series of action-packed video clips, the narrator asks the provocative question: “If someone wrote a book about your life, would anyone want to read it?” When I first learned about Dr Story Musgrave and […]
On a recent flight in a Block 40 F-16 with our squadron’s weapons officer I was introduced to the new pilot-activated recovery system (PARS). Starting at about 20,000 feet (FL 200) we rolled inverted and started a rapid 30 degree nose-low dive. The pilot pressed a button initiating the PARS. Immediately the […]
In January 2014, F-22 Raptor driver and creator of TallyOne, Rob “Shotz” Burgon partnered with commercial aviator Brent Owens of iFlyBlog to create a unique podcast for aviation enthusiasts called Slipstream Radio. This past week, Slipstream Radio discusses topics relevant to aviation medicine and featured GoFlightMedicine during an interview with GFM creator, Rocky “Apollo” […]
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Perspective @CellCellPress🧬
Routine omics collection is a golden opportunity for European human research in space and analog environments - Introducing considerations for a routine omics program for Europeans in space.
#humanspaceexploration #omics
https://www.cell.com/patterns/fulltext/S2666-3899(22)00155-6?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2666389922001556%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
Space weather monitoring devices to study radiation dynamics at the Moon🌙
Space radiation is one of the five primary risk to human health and to mission success during deep-space travels farther away from Earth and the protection of our magnetosphere.
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/a-new-era-of-science-on-the-lunar-gateway
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