Oxygen mask upgrade options

[Patrick Kenney]

My 690A has the basic, I believe original, oxygen masks which are a steady flow of oxygen (which I understand is not very good in terms of conserving oxygen usage) and the masks are pretty flimsy little clear plastic things...
I had a sudden complete loss of pressurization situation a few months ago, which was a bit scary at the time and was quite hard on my ears but, now that I've been through it, I realize that it was not really a big deal, especially at the altitudes I fly and am limited to, given that the time of useful consciousness for a healthy person is not a scary figure - like it is once you go higher than the 20s and especially into the 40s. I am more frightened of a slow, undetected loss of pressure in the mid 20s, than I am of a sudden loss of pressurization.   
Since my incident, I have been thinking about situations where I might have to use the oxygen mask for an extended period, something like a smoke in the cockpit during an extended open water crossing, and I'm wondering what the upgrade options are. I've heard that, for example, ferry pilots encountering such an emergency scenario on a long overwater ferry flight might opt to cut the tube to the type of mask I have and bite the tube with their teeth and manually manage releasing oxygen rather than use my type of mask which is so wasteful. My mask is not particularly confidence inspiring relative to what I've seen is an option for, e.g., the TBM.

[donv]

I think an oxygen mask upgrade should be pretty straightforward, depending on how extreme you want to go. Late 1000s have the EROS system, which would be overkill in your case. However, just getting a better mask that plugs into your system shouldn't be an issue.

My airplane has a halo-type mask on the pilot's side, which was obviously added by someone in the past. It still has the standard mask on the copilot side.

One downside to the fancier mask systems is that they are a bother if you just want to take a few breaths of oxygen to refresh yourself on a long flight. The old mask is much easier for that, since you can just press it to your face and take a breath. The halo mask basically requires pulling your headset off, since it goes over your head. I'd much rather have it in an emergency, though!

[Adam Frisch]

Have you thought about adding oxygen concentrator? Some are now approved by FAA for aircraft use. Never have to refill a tube again. I'm planning on having one of those portable ones installed in the refreshment center.

[donv]

Why would you want one of those? Can you take a breath from one without using it up?

If you didn't have an oxygen system at all, I guess I can see it, but I probably add oxygen to my system once a year. I shut it off after every flight, though. Usually leaks are the result of a passenger mask pin being pulled inadvertently, or just not quite being seated correctly.

[Steve binnette]

I think Patrick has hit on the two real potential problem areas.

Slow depressurization and smoke in the cockpit.

There are multiple ways to be alerted if your cabin is slowly climbing.  I don't like trusting  the single light with no aural.  I was looking for a fitness watch and came across the Garmin D2 pilot watch.  It has all the fitness functions and most importantly it will sense cabin altitude and vibrate if the cabin goes above a certain altitude.  I have mine set to 12000 ft.

Smoke in the cockpit requires a good mask and eye protection.  For absolute simplicity you can use the little goggles used to swim laps.

High end mask are ridiculously priced.

 

[TXGold]

Howdy! Would love to hear what type masks everyone has and see what options there are. I have Scott and need a new one and I'm no crazy about them in the first place. Crazy expensive too! Eros is over kill for a FL280 airplane in my opinion. My 421C had a small rubber plastic type mask style that just laid on the floor on side of pilot seat and had a mike inside it. Can't I use something like that and be legal?

[JimC]

For extended use with minimal flow, you're looking for a diluter-demand mask with built-in regulator. I like my Aerox with the face-sucker inflatable one-handed harness, but it wasn't cheap at about $4k.


You're right that the slow leaks kill 10x as many people as sudden depressurization. Slow leaks don't care what kind of mask you have.

[Bruce Byerly]

Howdy! Would love to hear what type masks everyone has and see what options there are. I have Scott and need a new one and I'm no crazy about them in the first place. Crazy expensive too! Eros is over kill for a FL280 airplane in my opinion. My 421C had a small rubber plastic type mask style that just laid on the floor on side of pilot seat and had a mike inside it. Can't I use something like that and be legal?

Ryan - the early 690A’s originally had something simple (that didn’t work very well) in a box on the sidewall but your plane has been modified to later model setup like an 840 in many respects.  Like most of this stuff, you’re either going to fix it and enjoy it or fix it when you sell it so you might as well put a proper mask in it to make it easy to take a hit at 280.  I find myself doing that after 3 or 4 hours anyway. Just my opinion.

[donv]

Bruce, you are referring to the horse-collar system, right? Which works great for taking a quick breath, but I have always found never wanted to stay on my head in an emergency situation. Of course, the bungees tend to wear out because people leave it in the quick-donning configuration all the time since that is what looks "right"...

My halo-type on the pilot's seat is great if you actually need it in an emergency but is a pain in normal operations since it always seems to get in the way.

[Bruce Byerly]

Don, I’m referring to the old plastic bag style. Those were in some planes. In a box with a neat little knob that locked the door. Pretty useless in an emergency but anyway, the Scott style masks aren’t serviceable anymore so we are doing the inflatable Eros masks on a simple bracket. Like everything, they cost jet money but we living in the jet age.

[donv]

I think I've seen the early style you are talking about-- in fact, I think N690CF might have that system.

Two questions about the EROS system-- roughly how much does it cost to retrofit?

And, how is it if you just want to take a few breaths? If I remember correctly, if you removed it from it's holder, it was a real pain to get it back in.

[Bruce Byerly]

They go back pretty easy once you know how it works.  I think they’re about $8,000 for a pair, but I’m not sure what anything costs anymore or if you can even get it given the inflation etc.  Yes, I’ll take the original pressure masks any day. They are the best but sadly not “overhaul-able.”  By some miracle I have two that don’t even leak in the 840.

[seanmcgillivray]

I have the EROS. Really nice, look professional and can be overhauled. I had mine done during the last 150.

Once you figure out how they go in they are simple to use.

[donv]

How do the EROS masks integrate with the curtain on the 840/980? I used to fly a 1000 which had them, but it didn't have a curtain behind the cockpit.

[Bruce Byerly]

How do the EROS masks integrate with the curtain on the 840/980? I used to fly a 1000 which had them, but it didn't have a curtain behind the cockpit.

I think you can make the curtains work. I haven’t used curtains in about 20 years but there was a time when the big guy needed to use the potty and they came in handy …