ERI, Emergency Response International, the Light Aircraft Survival kit , Light Sport Aircraft Pilot News newsmagazine.

 


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Emergency Response International  (ERI) Light Aircraft Survival kit

Picture yourself as a young aviator that has lead a very adventurous life. You get a call from a buddy Friday afternoon, inviting you up to his cottage, on a small secluded lake in Northern Ontario for the weekend. You graciously decline, but shortly after your girl friend calls to cancel out your drive through the country on your motorcycle.

So on the spur of the moment and with little thought, you decide to accept your friends invitation, and fly up to his cottage in your little single place Buccaneer Amphibian.

By the time you get to the airport, get the plane ready to go it is now 6 o'clock! Still plenty of time to make the 200 mile trip.

As you fly north following the highway, you decide to head across country to save some time. Using your road map you fly from one lake to the next, until you suddenly realize that one lake looks the same as the next, and the roads and cottages on those lakes are few and far between!

 
Then all of a sudden your plane gives a sudden shudder, and the engine quits! Your at about 2,000 feet, you check to make sure your gear is up and then set up for a dead stick landing into a finger lake directly ahead. As you get down to 200 feet you realize that the sun in setting and everything is getting darker, and you are having a hard time locating the dark green water of the lake, until it suddenly finds you!

With a bounce or two you make a safe landing, and with your paddle are able to get your plane to shore. BUT you now discover there are no cottages on this lake, no roads in or out. No one knows where you are, what route you took, or when you actually should be arriving!

Worse yet it is mid September in Northern Ontario, where temperatures during the day may reach 65 to 70 degree F but at night it can get down pretty close to freezing. Checking out your situation you find the reason your engine quit is your main fuel tank is empty! You were so tied up in thought about being lost your forgot about your fuel burn.

Now this story has a happy ending because the pilot had another 5 gallons of fuel in his reserve tank and was able to fly out the next morning, BUT it made him come to realize a number of things.

While some of these might be obvious, others are not. While at Airventure 2010 I came across a tent with a banner reading Emergency Response International. "Since 1978 ERI has specialized in Global Survival, Search and Rescue and Emergency Preparedness training, publications, consulting and equipment sales." If your a pilot I would suggest that the next time you are at Airventure or at a show where ERI has a display, that you drop into their tent, talk to their staff, and ask them to demonstrate the Light Aircraft Survival Kit.

They have a number of items that are of interest to pilots. The first being The Handbook for Aviation Survival Sense. This little GEM which would make a great gift is very compact in size, and is written on waterproof paper. Statistics show most people live through ultralight and light plane accidents. However many die because they don't know the proper steps to take to ensure survival after the crash. The book is broken down into several sections which include, pre-flight planning, having a positive mental attitude, shelters, firecraft, and tips on how to improvise. All of which would have been needed by the pilot above had he not had that extra fuel tank!

The other item that every pilot should have, which comes with the above, is the ERI Light Aircraft Survival Kit. This kit again is very small, lightweight and compact in size in fact the kit weighs in at just over 7 lbs and can fit into an area 11 inches by 9 inches by 5 inches.

It contains a Pelican waterproof container, The Handbook for Aviation Survival Sense, 8'X10" waterproof silicon impregnated tarp, 2 large emergency shelter bags, 50' parachute cord, metal match, 2 waterproof orange match containers wrapped with 6' of duct tape, glass signal mirror, three chamber rescue whistle, PALight LED survival strobe/flashlight, Pre-Mac SWP (Survival Water Purifier), Platypus 1/2 liter water bag, waterproof Otterbox for personally selected first aid items, Mora survival knife, Buck folding saw, Leatherman Blast Multi Tool, and a Silva compass.

BUT listing the items really doesn't do the kit justice! To get the full impact of what this little case can do in an emergency you have to see the separate components in action.

For example the shelter bags, which are tough 4mm garbage bags can be used to keep you dry and retain body heat. You just simply cut a hole it it to allow your head through. The kit also includes a silicone impregnated nylon tarp that is 8 feet by 10 feet in size. This can be used to make a shelter for multiple people, when it is strung up with the 50' of parachute cord.

For making a fire the kit comes with a metal match, and a small container to stuffed with Vaseline impregnated cotton balls. Which ignite almost like magic when hit with a spark from the metal match.

For signally the kit comes with a small signal mirror a three chamber rescue whistle, which emits three different levels of sound and a PAL LED light good for about 160 hours which has a low beam, medium beam and a strobe beam.

A small waterproof medical kit, with a list of items that will fit into it, that can be adjusted to fit specific medical needs.

For water the kit comes with 1/2 liter collapsible water bag that can be used to store water after it is filtered with the supplied PreMac water filter which uses charcoal and other elements to disinfect lake or stream water making it safe to drink, it does not work for salt water.

In the tools category the kit comes with a solid shank survival knife. This can be used to cut into and split small pieces of dry firewood. A Leatherman multi tool, which can be used to remove screws and panels from an aircraft. And finally a Buck Folding saw which can be used for cutting down trees for shelter, firewood etc.

To truly understand the real value of this kit you need to see each item in action! So find a show that ERI is going to be at, find them and then watch and be amazed!

For more information
Emergency Response International, Inc.
319 Olive Street, Cashmere, WA 98815
1-509-782-4832
1-866-671-1214
www.eri-online.com/

 

ERI, Emergency Response International, the Light Aircraft Survival kit , Light Sport Aircraft Pilot News newsmagazine.
Emergency Response International  (ERI) Light Aircraft Survival kit

 

 

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