Survival at sea - ditching training in Nordholz Germany

Marinefliegergeschwader 3 "Graf Zeppelin" in Nordholz, Niedersachsen

We all go through fantasies of emergencies - rehearse our reactions in mind, create great check-lists behind our desk and feel quite confident in the air. But nevertheless - one is kind of lost when great open water comes. Its a big runway ok, but the abrupt change of media in big dimensions doesn't belong to the daily experiences.

So when I hear via fellow pilot Ulf Mühlbacher, who is also preparing a 360 with his Turbine-Malibu, that the German Navy offers a survival-training at sea, we humbly ask the organizing AOPA-Germany to please accept applications from Swiss AOPA members as well. And well - they do. Thank you AOPA-Germany.

The course takes place 29th May 2005 in Nordholz, Germany

Morning

We pay 600 Euro per person, arrive by plane in Bremen, landing in Nordholz AB is possible, have a great shrimp-dinner in the evening at the local aeroclub, sleep in the barracks of the navy, have breakfast in the officer's mess and on Monday go through a very instructive and straightforward course in how to do the best in an awful situation.

Teaching is first by an English Video and then by Oberbootsmann Timo Herrmann. Absolutely no concentration problems in the following hours. How to use life-vests, what emergency-devices are proven, how to use them (we go out and shoot and fire and smoke). How does a life-boat look like when not in the box we normally just carry around. How does the boat behave when "out of the box", how do we feel when "in the box" (immediately start taking anti-nauseatic medicaments!).
What to do when the boat doesn't open, or when it opens roof-down. Then the consequences of hypothermia, of dehydration (suck little 50ml waterbags every hour). Then a good information of the state-of-the art emergency locator beacons. The big advantages of 406.025 MHz, the delicacy of false alarms with this Cospas-Sarsat related system.

And then lunch - much too early at 1300 - this time in the soldiers mess (officers never eat lunch, they do their strategic thinking then)

And then applied theory in another media - waterworld.

Afternoon

We are a bunch of pilots from the whole pool of mankind. Old and Young (even an old girl, my beloved wife, 62!), with or without big belt sizes, with and without marathon-condition.
We get safety-helmets, a blue overall, gloves and do an evaluation parcours. Diving 12m from 1.5 to 4.5 meters,
jump from a 5m tower, do some floating-exercises and then comes this cockpit without avionic-problems.
A very personal 1-to-1-teaching in the cockpit: fasten-seat belts of utmost importance, thumbs away from yoke (abrupt movements can brake knuckles), make deep inspiration, move hand along knee to door, open door, release belt, get out, dont panic. Ok, no sweat.
Now the whole thing head-down: this time more sweat, disorientation, remember: which hand along knee in what direction? Deep inspiration is good. But the nostrils are now up and filled with half the ocean (that was no item of the check-list), and again - dont panic.
Then comes the pushing out of a life-boat, how to gather around this precious island, not loose it but inflate it, turn it downside up if necessary, and then - HOW TO GET IN! And when inside how to organize life until some godsent helicopter hoovers down a belt for us to be pulled up for 5 meters.

Ok, the water is warm, thousands of helpful hands are around, there are no waves. But this is really another world.
We all are impressed by the silent but strong professionalism of the people involved. And we all will approach any "coast-line outbound" in a different attitude from now on.

Kapitänleutnant Hans Bechler gives a short final speech and passes over our diplomas. Trude gets hers first.
She deserves it.

What impact has this course on our travelling? We realize: the best emergency equipment is the TV-set at home. Dont leave your house!
All other stuff is very personal. We have a very informative after-course discussion with Stabsbootsmann Reinhard Lill who is in charge of all emergency equipment of the Fliegergeschwader. He has a small business where he sells highly proven survival-items (lgalill@aol.com). We want to have the same live-vests as the ones used in the course. And we get them: Secumar HK-10. From Klemann&Kreutzfeldt we order a second Epirb-Locator (ACR Aerofix 406). Their website offers a good introduction into 406 Locator-technique.

And naturally we hope we never need these things!