flight helmet!
flight helmet!
i found a '42 or '43 USAF summer-flight helmet on ebay and couldn't resist buying it.
i am not a collector of militaria but i looked just too cool to pass the chance. got it for 30€, shipping was cheap cause the seller lives in vienna. unfortunately my head's too big for the helmet, so my daughter had to act as a model...
:FI:Ci"bighead"der
i am not a collector of militaria but i looked just too cool to pass the chance. got it for 30€, shipping was cheap cause the seller lives in vienna. unfortunately my head's too big for the helmet, so my daughter had to act as a model...
:FI:Ci"bighead"der
Due to budget cuts, the light at the end of the tunnel will be turned off.
- :FI:Noter
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Flight helmet fan here too, just the wrong era. Always wanted a modern helmet, always too expensive, friend told me he saw one at a gun show. So the next gun show I'm there, and low and behold there's one there, it was like a navigators helmet, or some dude who sits way in the back of the plane (probably a Hawkeye or Viking, it was a Navy helmet), had a clear visor, mic boom, but it was a helmet...$90. Now I am really suave and smooth and... it's a lady selling it, so I can really get the price down. It was her husbands, who had to be Frankenstien, cause the helmet is huge, so after about five minutes I've gotten her down to $85, how's that for wheelin'n'dealin'...like I said I've got a way with the ladies.
Pay my $85 and take home my enormous helmet. Peel off all the reflective tape, bondo up the holes I left taking off the tape and paint it and decal it. Add a ton of foam inside the helmet so my head's not swimming in it, but it's still just a blue helmet with some cool decals, I want a fighter pilot helmet, tinted visor, O2 mask, the whole deal. Contact a guy in Arizona with a ton of surplus aviation gear, he has a tinted visor that he will sell me. Get my visor and take about a week to put it in, it was not easy. So I'm good for a while, I've got my helmet, but I am always wanting the O2 mask, but they are more expensive than a helmet, and this a luxury item and then some, so the mask just is not going to happen, maybe a mid-life crisis purchase.
My dad knows about my helmet and desire to finish it with the O2 mask, and is always on the lookout, he's an airplane nut too so it's fun for 'em. Couple years go by and he tells me he has a present for me, but not mentioning the helmet specifically. He hands me this O2 mask and tells me the story about a guy in a F-80 at an airshow that had to eject and once the pilot has done this they can no longer use the mask. Guess my dad had some other guys looking too, I don't think he knew the actual pilot, but he ended up getting me my mask to complete my fighter pilot helmet.
It is now on a shelf above my computer collecting dust, still put it on everynow and then. A great novelty item, kids love wearing it, and it's a great topic of conversation. My son is the model for this shot (he also flew my missions last Friday in HE, explains a lot about my lack of points.
Noter
Pay my $85 and take home my enormous helmet. Peel off all the reflective tape, bondo up the holes I left taking off the tape and paint it and decal it. Add a ton of foam inside the helmet so my head's not swimming in it, but it's still just a blue helmet with some cool decals, I want a fighter pilot helmet, tinted visor, O2 mask, the whole deal. Contact a guy in Arizona with a ton of surplus aviation gear, he has a tinted visor that he will sell me. Get my visor and take about a week to put it in, it was not easy. So I'm good for a while, I've got my helmet, but I am always wanting the O2 mask, but they are more expensive than a helmet, and this a luxury item and then some, so the mask just is not going to happen, maybe a mid-life crisis purchase.
My dad knows about my helmet and desire to finish it with the O2 mask, and is always on the lookout, he's an airplane nut too so it's fun for 'em. Couple years go by and he tells me he has a present for me, but not mentioning the helmet specifically. He hands me this O2 mask and tells me the story about a guy in a F-80 at an airshow that had to eject and once the pilot has done this they can no longer use the mask. Guess my dad had some other guys looking too, I don't think he knew the actual pilot, but he ended up getting me my mask to complete my fighter pilot helmet.
It is now on a shelf above my computer collecting dust, still put it on everynow and then. A great novelty item, kids love wearing it, and it's a great topic of conversation. My son is the model for this shot (he also flew my missions last Friday in HE, explains a lot about my lack of points.
Noter
- Beowolff
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nice helmets, guys! i love em too!
by the way, Noter... what model Thrustmaster stick is that there in the photo?
Beo
by the way, Noter... what model Thrustmaster stick is that there in the photo?
Beo
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- :FI:Falcon
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AH!
Noter!
A giant clam has your kid by the head!
Get a broom ...
or maybe an oyster knife?
Noter!
A giant clam has your kid by the head!
Get a broom ...
or maybe an oyster knife?
Last edited by :FI:Falcon on Thu Apr 06, 2006 6:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
"He who warned, uh, the British that they weren't gonna be takin' away our arms, uh, by ringing those bells, and um, makin' sure as he's riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be sure and we were going to be free, and we were going to be armed."
- The history of Paul Revere's midnight ride, by Sarah Palin.
- :FI:Noter
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Top Gun Fox2 Pro "Shock" usb is the stick. For $20 it does a great job. Now that I'm getting a little more serious I'd like to upgrade, but not thrilled with what's out there, the CH is nice, but too much money, and I'd have to buy the throttle and pedals. The TM has it all in one unit, wish it had more buttons.
Like I said Falc, the previous owners head was ginormous, it doesn't look much different on me either.
Noter
Like I said Falc, the previous owners head was ginormous, it doesn't look much different on me either.
Noter
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great pics of the helmet models!!
I had a 30's vintage leather flight helmet/headcover thing ( wasn't really a helmet as we think of them today. Just a leather skullcap) without the earpiece thingies.. Got drunk and gave it away one night... Was a cold ride home that night w/no cover for my ears.
I had a 30's vintage leather flight helmet/headcover thing ( wasn't really a helmet as we think of them today. Just a leather skullcap) without the earpiece thingies.. Got drunk and gave it away one night... Was a cold ride home that night w/no cover for my ears.
Mindless Dribble and Off Topic posts are my specialty!
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- :FI:Noter
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Ah the geek meter just went up, if I could connect the cables, believe me I would have. The connectors for avionics are huge compared to our pc/stereo connectors, and the adapters are...again too expensive for such a toy. Plus I'm not even sure if the electronics in the helmet or mask even work.Noter, I think tonight you should fly with your helmet on for the duration of the campaign
Noter