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| Press Release Number: EPX200303312 | 31-Mar-03 |
New duds keeping flyers warm, dry, stylish |
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| By JAMES DARCY NAS Patuxent River Public Affairs PATUXENT RIVER NAVAL AIR STATION, MD-Tara Capecci knows what you have on under that flight suit, and she is not impressed. Capecci is team leader for personal protective apparel in NAWCAD's Crew Systems Division, and when the weather gets cold, she says, Navy and Marine Corps aviators are forced to don the same kind of ill-fitting long johns they've been wearing for the last 40 years. If recent testing here is any indication, however, the new Multi-Climate Protection System that Capecci's team has developed could change the way aviators dress for the cold, from the outside on down to the bare essentials. The MCPS is a six-layer garment system that incorporates all the best commercial innovations in the clothing industry over the last several decades, while still meeting military requirements, she said. Development on the system began in 2000, spurred by requests from the fleet for more functional cold-weather gear. A change was also needed because of a lack of women's sizes for much of the combat-role apparel that was available. Three years later, pilots and aircrews throughout Pax River are participating in an initial flight evaluation of the new system, which rivals anything available from upscale outfitters and mail order catalogs. All of the designs incorporate new fabrics developed by industry partners expressly for use in the MCPS. Essentially, Capecci said, these are flame-retardant versions of the modern commercial textiles many of us have in our closets. "This is a multi-layered approach for undergarments and outergarments. It allows a person to select what they need for their mission and the environmental conditions they're in," Capecci said. The first layer is "silk-weight" mesh long underwear made out of Nomex, a flame-retardant fiber created by DuPont and used in most military aircrew clothing today. "Nomex takes a high level of direct contact to ignite," Capecci said. "It self-extinguishes when the flame is removed, and it doesn't melt." By contrast, many synthetic fabrics used for civilian clothes will melt into the skin, making burns much harder to treat. Unlike most Nomex garments, though, the fabric in the long johns wicks moisture away from the body, enhancing comfort and warmth. This first layer can be worn alone under a flight suit for protection on moderately cold days, Capecci said. The second layer includes form-fitting pants and a shirt, made from modified Polartec Power Stretch, a one-sided fleece common in civilian cold-weather gear. The manufacturer, Malden Mills of Lawrence, Mass., incorporated Nomex into this layer along with nylon and spandex for a form-fitting stretch. Because it is not pure Nomex, this layer must be sandwiched between the first layer and the flight suit, Capecci said. The third layer is a pure Nomex double-sided fleece that can be worn by itself or with the first layer under a flight suit. If the two layers are worn under an anti-exposure suit, a crewmember can maintain body temperature for two hours in 45-degree waters, Capecci said. After donning up to two of the three underwear layers and a flight suit, an aviator has three outer layers available to further stave off the cold. The first of these, layer four, is an all-Nomex fleece bib overall, which Capecci said is a favorite among helicopter crews, who may spend much of their time flying around with the crew door open. The overalls are cut wide at the cuff to allow them to be slipped on without taking off one's boots. Complementing the overalls is a Nomex fleece jacket with abrasion patches on the elbows and shoulders. This fifth layer is also available as a vest. "These are modeled after the commercially available WindPro products," Capecci said, "and are a dense knit to help block the wind." The fabric is highly compressible, an important trait given the survival gear and harnesses that must be strapped over top of an aviator's clothes. The final layer is a Gore-Tex jacket and pants set that is breathable but totally waterproof. The Gore-Tex is laminated between a Nomex outer shell and liner. Wearing the shell layer with or without the fleece overalls and jacket provides a modular solution to fighting wind and rain; currently, Capecci said, aviators must have both a summer and winter jacket, neither of which is waterproof. The new jacket looks strikingly similar to the ones currently in use, however. "People like the look of that jacket," Capecci explained. "It's the right length to integrate with the other gear they wear." Her team has made some improvements based on aircrew feedback. The new jacket has more elastic in the waist, hand-warmer pockets and a map pocket in the left breast. It also comes with a snap-on hood. The biggest challenge the team is facing with the jacket is finding a way for flyers to attach unit patches while still retaining waterproofing; all stitching must be factory seam-sealed to prevent water infiltration. Throughout Naval Test Wing Atlantic, 15 complete sets of the MCPS gear are being used on a regular basis by aviators from various aircraft platforms. Two sets were provided to Pax River's Search and Rescue Team in January, one for lead chief petty officer AMC Robert Mirabal and one for rescue swimmer AT2 Angela Cox. "We've been wearing them at work every day," Mirabal said, "for everything from flying to training in the trees to just sitting around in the shack. ... I wish I could buy this stuff for all my guys right now." The SAR team trains outside about four times a week, in rain, snow or shine. They usually fly with the door of their UH-3H Sea King helicopter open because of the rappelling ropes rigged in the doorway. The rotor wash from the helicopter is equivalent to a 70-knot wind, creating a comparable wind chill. "Before, the only thing you could wear under your flight suit was the old long underwear and a T-shirt. You had a flight jacket that went over the flight suit and that was it," Mirabal explained. "The outer layer was essentially a sponge; it just soaked up the water." With the new apparel, he said, he is able to mix and match layers to produce a suitable combination for any temperature and wind level. During the coldest weather this year, he has worn one underwear layer, the fleece vest over his flight suit, and the waterproof shell jacket and pants. "We've been out there in the rain and the snow, and the water just beaded up and rolled off. I was out there one day when the wind chill was below zero and I stayed comfortable," he said. Capecci said most of the feedback they've received has echoed that of the SAR team. Her team continues to tweak little details based on user input. Such details include zippers in the armpits of one layer to allow "airing out," lighter-weight fabric around some seams to improve mobility, and even thumb slits in the cuffs of the second layer, used when dressing to prevent the sleeves from rolling up as the flight suit is pulled on. Color is also being worked out. For the prototypes being tested here, all layers but the shell are black. The finished product will probably keep black for the underwear layers, but the outer layers will be changed to sage green. A low-rate initial production is planned for this summer, followed by a fleet evaluation next winter that will focus on maintenance and reliability. The MCPS gear is expected to be available to all units by September 2004, Capecci said, though some pieces may be issued as early as September of this year. -USN- |
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