Question about the lungs respiratory system during flight?

[Russell RJT]

Hello all.

4 years ago i had a spontaneous pneumothorax.. wont be doing flights above 2,000 however im not finding much information about the stressing on the respiratory system in flight, could anyone help me with this one?

 

Thanks all

Russ

[alan_k]

The maximum stress is almost certainly on take off, when maximum effort is required. During flying the physical demands are very small, you are in effect sitting in a chair just using your arms to pull on brake handles.

You will find that the most tiring phase will be when you start ground handling the wing, it gets easier as your muscle memory and technique improve. Once experienced the energy requirement is relatively small, that's how long term pilots make it look easy.

[AndyB]

There is not much stress on lungs during take-off as the effort is 10 seconds. I used to check my heart rate with a  fit bit. In the early days (50 flights) my pulse would increase over 100 before I even strapped into my machine, then peak at 145 for a few seconds. Now (200 flights), pulse stays below 80, then peaks at 130 for just 5 seconds.

However, as Alan says, when you are learning to kite, or learning to run with a machine on your back....you can get really tired!

[Tone67]

Hi Russell 

Ive copd and only 48% capacity, i hufff n puff on take off but can foot launch and once airborne no problem at all