FLIGHT PERFORMANCE EFFECTS OF THERMAL-STRESS AND 2 AVIATOR UNIFORMS IN A UH-60 HELICOPTER SIMULATOR

The effects on flight performance of the four combinations of an unenc umbered mission oriented protective posture (MOPP) aviator battle dres s uniform (ABDU) and encumbered MOPP4 over ABDU flight ensemble in coo l (70 degrees F or 21.1 degrees C, 50% relative humidity [RH]) and hot (100 degrees F or 37.8 degrees C, 50% RH) UH-60 simulator cockpit con ditions were evaluated with a repeated measures, 2 x 2 factorial study using nine crews. The encumbered MOPP4 uniform had the most frequent adverse effect on flight performance followed by heat stress, with les s frequent effects from the combination or interaction of these two fa ctors. This study confirmed that heat stress and wearing an encumbered U.S. Army MOPP4 flight uniform significantly reduced endurance and fl ight performance in a UH-60 simulator.