ALTITUDE CHAMBER AT
Written: 21 JULY 2003

Because of Sveins initiative we got the chance to experience the altitude chamber at Shaw Air Force Base, to feel the effects the body experiences under low pressure and low oxygen level. I got up at 03:45 to make the departure. A bit too early for me, but I got up and got Kristian with me as well. We were 11 in total. The trip took us about one and a half hours in the school's new Chevrolet van with Svein behind the wheel.

Knowing the state of alert at Shaw was Bravo, I was a bit surprised how easy we got in. We did not initially have to show any form of ID and we could in fact just drive right into the base. We drove however by our own free will to the vehicle search area. After about 15 minutes here we got full access to the base. The remaining time before the scheduled start we used to explore the base. We ended up down at the line area where there were more F-16s parked with their engine on than there are operative ones in Norway.

After lunch they first did the demonstration of the equipement before we finally were placed in the chamber. The masks we had on gave us 100% oxygen. The first thing we had to do was to breathe in 100% oxygen for half an hour to get rid of all nitrogen to avoid decompression sickness. This was quite boring.

First step in the program was an ascend to 18 000 ft without a mask. Then with the mask on we continued the ascend to 25 000 ft. Here they started the demonstration of hypoxia (lack of oxygen). We took our masks off and waited for the symtoms. In the mean time we were given a couple of tasks to complete such as easy mathematics. It wasn't difficult, but it was definitly more difficult than on the ground. We were told to put the mask on and do an emergency oxygen supply after recognizing 3 symptoms. Mine were dizzyness, numness and that I got cold and clammy. After this we got a demonstration of what happens to the nightvision when exposed to this condition before we descended back to the ground. We were in the chamber for about one hour in total.

It was a very good experience to feel the symptoms that occurs under such conditions. Physicians can explans as much as they want what will happen, but you don't really learn until you have experienced it yourself. And it's much better to experience it in such a controlled environment rather than experience it in the cockpit! The trip was very successful and was definitely worth the $ 50.