Manual

conscious of it as a matter of course. Withfew exceptions, human beings experiencea constant 1 G (the force of normalgravity) on a daily basis. We take forgranted that our leg muscles willovercome this force. We also take forgranted that if we place this instructionmanual next to our computer, gravity willkeep it there until the next time we needit.Think for a moment if the force of gravitywas suddenly multiplied several times.Walking would become quite a chore. At2 Gs our bodies would weigh twice whatthey weighed at 1 G. If the force of gravitycontinued to increase eventually it wouldexceed our muscle’s ability to raise ourfeet.Pilots routinely expose their aircraft (andthemselves) to repeated periods ofsevere G-induced stress. During combat,these periods of stress can be quiteprolonged. Sometimes it’s the ability of apilot to withstand that extra G whichmakes all the difference in combat. Forexample, when flying high performanceaircraft, a 200 lb. pilot can easily be madeto weigh over half a ton.A normal human head weighsapproximately 25 to 30 lbs. but whensubjected to a relatively mild 5 G turn, itwould now weigh 125 to 150 lbs. Imaginehaving to support such a load. That kindof weight places a tremendous strain on apilot’s neck. The pilot can’t just brace thisweight against the back of his seat, hehas to be constantly turning his headabout looking for bandits. Operating anaircraft under these conditions isextremely difficult. Every action becomesa major test of strength and endurance.Aside from making pilots weigh a greatdeal, gravity has certain otherphysiological affects. When the humanbody is subjected to high positive Gs,blood is forced away from the brain andbegins pooling in the feet. When too muchblood leaves the upper extremities, a pilotwill lose consciousness because his brainis starved for oxygen. This loss ofconsciousness is known as a G-inducedblack-out. Pilots just call it “taking a nap.”Positive Gs and Black-OutsA pilot subjects himself to positive Gswhenever he pulls back on the stick. Asyou might imagine, this happens fairlyfrequently. Even when inverted, once thatstick comes back positive G forces arethe result. Smart pilots will keep their eyeon the G count. When the G forces reacharound 8 Gs, it’s time to considerunloading the aircraft. Expose yourself toanything over 8 Gs and you run the risk ofgoing to sleep.When a black-out does occur the screenfades to black. It remains entirely blackfor the duration of the event. As yourecover from the black-out, the screenfades back in. The length of time that thescreen stays black is entirely a function ofthe amount of Gs you experience overhow long a period of time.While the screen is black, the simulationcontinues at its regular pace. (The worlddoes not stop just because you’reasleep.) In fact, by blacking-out you havebecome a perfect 1 G strafe target,perfectly helpless. Any enemy pilot in thevicinity has an open invitation to makesure your nap is permanent.Negative Gs and Red-outsNegative G forces, like positive Gs, act ona pilot and aircraft as well.Understandably, it may be confusing atfirst to think in terms of negative Gs. Inour earlier example, positive gravity iswhat kept this manual resting firmly nextto our computer. Negative gravity wouldcause the manual to be pulled from thetable.Negative Gs are caused when a pilotpushes the stick forward (away from