Thus the semicircular canals are able to detect rotation of the head (angular velocity). This movement is picked up by sensors at the bottom of the cilia which pass messages to the brain. This causes the cilia to move through the fluid, and they sway in a similar way to reeds in a fast moving stream. As we spin our heads the semi-circular canals, and the cilia they contain, move with our heads, whereas the fluid contained within the canals tends to stay still. If you get hold of a bucket of water and spin it, much of the water it contains will remain still because of inertia. 143811Īs our eyes read the visual signals around us, channels of fluid within our inner ear called the semi-circular canals sense movements through small hairs, called cilia, which are suspended within the fluid. The vestibular system is situated in the inner ear (see Figure 1 below) and together with our eyes, and various other parts of our body (for example, our toes) it helps us to balance. When we landed we felt suitably sick, as many people would, but why? Why is the modern aircraft pilot told to believe their instruments and not their senses? He tried vertical rolls, break turns, barrel rolls and loops.Ĭoncentrating on reading a line from a piece of paper while doing a wicked vertical roll nearly did the trick for me, because my eyes focused on what looked like a stationary object, but my ears told me that I was being moved about quite vigorously. My pilot was Andy Cubin, an ex-Red Arrow pilot and he really showed me what a modern piston engine stunt plane can do. We spent under half an hour reeling around the sky in a simulated dog-fight with each other. Motion sickness and the vestibular systemĭuring our competition for a flight in one of the United States Air Force F-16s, Zeron and I had our first experience of flying in an aerobatic aircraft with a pair of Extra 300 stunt planes. The movement of the plane can result in motion sickness, and the forces exerted on the body by one of the most advanced aerobatic aircraft in the world is literally crushing. Watching films like Top Gun it's easy to see the appeal of being a fighter pilot, but would Tom Cruise have made a real fighter pilot, let alone Zeron and me? The cockpit of a fighter plane is a very hostile environment.īecause of the altitude at which they may fly there is little naturally available oxygen and the outside temperature is very low.
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