As of October 27th, the US Air Force centrifuge at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, has ceased operations.
The closure was a result of BRAC; a replacement centrifuge is being built at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Until it opens in 2012, aircrew will use the contractor-run centrifuge at the former Brooks AFB in Texas.
The centrifuge will continue to be a “rite of passage” for fighter pilots in both the US and many international air forces.
A significant milestone specific to the fighter pilot is attending the centrifuge, a dastardly little machine made famous by its amusement park portrayals in various movies. The centrifuge is not nearly as fun to actually experience.
Much as the movies show, pilots are seat-belted into a cubicle that simulates a cockpit on the end of a long arm that spins at amazing speeds, compressing the pilots under increased gravity (G) forces.
A person sitting or standing experiences 1 G, or a force equal to gravity. At 9 Gs (the maximum modern fighters are designed to experience), a 200 pound person feels as though they weight 1,800 pounds. Though significant, the increased “weight” is bearable.
The more challenging aspect of G forces is that the outward forces cause a pilot’s blood to pool in his legs and feet. The potential result is a lack of sufficient blood to the brain which causes a blackout under G, called a “G-induced Loss of Consciousness,” or G-LOC (pronounced Gee-Lock). Aerospace physiologists do an excellent job of teaching the proper techniques and the Air Force provides anti-g equipment to wear in the form of a chap-like “g-suit.”
All fighter pilots-in-training go through the centrifuge twice. The first Read more