About Oxygen
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What
Every Pilot Should Know About Oxygen...
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The
blanket of air, several hundred miles thick, which surrounds our planet
is compressible and has weight. The air closest to the earth is supporting
the weight of the air above it, and, therefore, is more dense; its molecules
are packed closer together. As we ascend in altitude, for example, at 10,000
feet, the atmospheric pressure is only two-thirds that at ground level.
Consequently, the air is less dense, and each lungful of air contains only
two-thirds as many molecules of oxygen as it did at ground level. At 18,000
feet the atmospheric pressure is only one-half that at ground level. Although
the percentage of oxygen is still the same as at ground level, the number
of molecules of oxygen in each lungful is reduced by one-half. As we ascend,
there is a progressive reduction in the amount of oxygen taken into the
lungs with each breath, and, therefore, there is a decrease in the amount
of oxygen available for the bloodstream to pick up and transport to every
cell in the body. To compensate for this progressive oxygen deficiency,
we must add pure oxygen to the air we breathe in order to maintain in
the inspired air enough molecules to supply the metabolic needs of the
body.
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Warning |
| Improper use or improper maintenance of aviation oxygen equipment may result in serious injury or death. AVOX Systems oxygen equipment is intended to be used only for aviation applications and is to be used only by, or under the supervision of, a pilot or crewmember trained and qualified in its use. AVOX Systems oxygen equipment is to be serviced only in accordance with the applicable component maintenance manual available from AVOX Systems and only by service technicians trained in the inherent hazards of high pressure aviation oxygen and knowledgeable of this equipment. The names of authorized service centers are available from AVOX Systems or your authorized AVOX Systems distributor. Aviation oxygen equipment is to be used only with aviator's breathing oxygen meeting the requirements of MIL-PRF-27210. |