What does the helmet of China Air Force pilots do?

Flying helmet is an indispensable equipment for fighter-bomber fighter pilots, and the People's Air Force began to distribute pilot helmets in the 1970s.

The first is the blue TK-2 flying helmet.

TK-2 helmet is the first generation of standard flying helmet produced in China. Its appearance is sky blue, printed with red five stars, the overall shape is approximately hemispherical, the lower part is retracted, the ear protection part is slightly prominent, and there is a thin shell on the forehead, which is used as a protective cover for goggles, and the overall shape is quite beautiful. There are three round holes in the front upper part of the helmet.

The protective shell is made of FRP, which has good heat insulation, sound insulation, impact resistance and fragmentation resistance. TK-2 goggles (also called filters) are made of light green plexiglass with a thickness of 2 mm, which can prevent glare. The descending mechanism of the filter is arranged at both sides of the helmet shell.

The edge of helmet shell is sewn with sheepskin bag to protect the integrity of helmet edge. TK-2 uses three shock-absorbing pads, the inner layer is hard foam plastic, and the outer layer is latex sponge and sheepskin, which are attached to the top of the head, forehead and back of the head respectively. There is also a cushion with an adjusting rope in the back pillow, which can be adjusted according to the head shape.

TK2A is an improved model. TK-2 helmet has been improved in many aspects, and it is also the longest flying helmet in our army at present.

TK-2A has a white appearance, the protective shell is made of glass fiber reinforced plastic, and the upper part of the helmet is also printed with a red five-star, which is similar in shape to TK-2, but larger in size and more comfortable to wear. On the surface, the biggest change should be the filter lowering mechanism, which adopts the locking design of stainless steel pawl, ratchet and ratchet, and this design mode has continued to this day.

The double-layer design of TK-2 is basically used in the internal shock-absorbing liner, but the latex sponge layer is thickened by 3 mm, which makes the thickness of the entire liner reach 20 mm Due to the increase of helmet volume, although the cushion is thickened, it is still much more spacious than TK-2.

TK-2A is equipped with five sizes, the maximum weight of No.0 is 1.45 kg, and the minimum weight of No.4 is 1.25 kg.

TK-2A helmet's ventilation holes have increased in diameter and number. The filter lens is thicker and darker, with a thickness of 3 mm and more stereoscopic; Change the snap fastener with compensation bag on the back pillow shell into nylon sling type snap fastener, and thicken and widen the back pillow.

In order to improve the protective performance and further adapt to the needs of modern aircraft types and future combat environment, our army recently installed TK- 1 1 flight helmet. The new helmet can provide greater protection, practicality and comfort, and is gradually replacing the original TK-2A, becoming the main protective helmet for Chinese pilots.

The shape of this TK- 1 1 is similar to that of TK-2A, but the outline changes greatly. The ear protection part of the helmet shell is smooth and curved, which is more modern than the right-angle protruding shape of TK-2A. The suspension device of oxygen mask has also been changed from the original hook type to a more advanced and reliable plug type.

The edges of TK- 1 1 are protected by sheepskin and sponge, so it looks thicker, but it is absolutely comfortable to wear. Sockets for fixing the mask are installed on two inner sides. In addition, it can be clearly seen from the right that the modified ear protector is a smooth arc instead of a straight line.

The shell material of TK- 1 1 helmet is made of Kevlar material, which has low thermal conductivity, high strength and good toughness, and is more suitable for wearing in various environments with high protection. From the internal structure, it is found that the inner shell of the helmet is pressed with a hard foam plastic layer of10 mm. Because the outer shell adopts Kevlar laminated structure, the edge needs to be wrapped with sponge and sheepskin for protection, while the round hole is sealed with metal skin.

TK- 1 1 is equipped with a new YM99 15 plug-in aviation oxygen mask, which is equipped with a miniature mouthpiece. The area of the new pressure compensation bag is increased by 40% compared with the previous one. The previous hook is not visible outside the helmet, and sockets for fixing the mask are installed on both sides of the front opening of the helmet. The suspension system of the whole helmet consists of a mesh part and a detachable cushion. The black mesh component is made of cowhide and fixed with the shell by screws on the metal ring. The mesh component is provided with an adjusting rope, which can be adjusted according to different head shapes and eye heights, so that the center of gravity of the helmet is more reasonable, and the comfort and stability are more fully reflected. The whole suspension system also includes cushion components, which have two choices: summer type and winter type: summer type is made of sheepskin and composite fabric wrapped sponge, which is divided into front, back and upper three pieces; The winter type is a whole cushion with a large radian, which is mainly formed by overlapping a series of nylon buckles with an adjusting net to increase the thermal insulation. In summer, the suspension system ensures a considerable space between the pilot's head and helmet, which is well ventilated and can cushion the impact from the outside.

TK- 1 1 As a new type of equipment, many measures have been taken to reduce mania, among which the improvement of earmuffs and the installation of headphones are good examples. Earmuff is a hemispherical shell made of ABS material. The coat is sheepskin and latex sponge, which is fixed on the inside of the helmet by screws at both ends of the elastic band. The design of this fixed mode can adapt to different head circumference and ear position without any adjustment, which is also beneficial to the protection of people when they encounter side impact. TK- 1 1 The most important feature is that a communication earphone is installed in this movable earmuff, which replaces the previous practice of fixing the earphone in the helmet shell, so that the earphone can be close to the ear at any time. This new communication system will undoubtedly improve the pilot's perception and coordination ability on the battlefield. Helmets are expensive.