Would anyone have a picture showing the back of the high altitude flight suit worn by SR-71 and U-2 crews…? There are two ‘tubes’ running from the rear of the helmet into the back but can’t see where those tubes actually end…
Thanks!
Domi
Francis Gary Powers (U-2): 
SR-71 pilots: 
Might be a similar type of flightsuit, but that ain’t the helmet… That’s an old Navy HGU-44(?)…
Here’s Powers’ Hero-shot…
!(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/HansvonHammer/Screenshots/Aviation Uniforms/francis-gary-powers-1.jpg)
You may find what info you need here as well:
I see one tube off the back of the helmet, amd a couple of what are probably pressurization and oxygen hoses out of the current astronaut style suits.
Thank you Guys. It’s the golden yellow S1030 suit I’m interested in and none of those pics actually show the back of the suit… I think the right post-Challenger suit worn by NASA Astronauts (S1032 Suit) was very similar but again can’t seem to find a picture of the back of any astronaut while they are wearing this particular suit…
I don’t think there’s anything back there except parachute harness… I’ve searched and gotten good side-shots of both the S1032 LES suit and the earlier 10-series, and other than backpack parachutes, there isn’t anything that the hoses can connect to, everything goes into the bird’s cockpit… The helmet’s cord is for ICS/Radios and life-support (to include the “bail-out bottle”) near as I can tell, and the other one, on the suit, is for the pressurization and environmental system …
Look at this one again, this time fully enlarged to it’s “17-inch monitor” size…
http://images.ksc.nasa.gov/photos/1998/high/KSC-98PC-0939.jpg
http://www.hill.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=5759
SR-71 Full Pressure Flight Suit
Flying at over 2,000 miles per hour at over 80,000 feet in the SR-71 created an environment extremely inhospitable to human life. At those speeds, temperatures on the windshield and cockpit alone reached over 600 degrees Fahrenheit.
At that altitude the environment was closer to outer space than Earth. Due to weight and other considerations, the Blackbird carried only some of the systems to counter the effects of this harsh atmosphere on the aircrew. Therefore, crewmembers wore flight suits that were similar to those worn by the astronauts.
Called “full pressure suits,” these special garments (actually named “the Pilot Protective Assembly”) provided the wearer with a self-contained capsule of oxygen and atmospheric pressure. The suit was connected to aircraft systems that provided the required pressurization and oxygen. Cockpit cooling was also handled by systems on board the aircraft.
This suit protected the aircrew members during missions which lasted for an average of four hours. The suit and GNS-1031 helmet was fitted to the individual pilot for comfort and safety. Once the wearer was in his suit he had to use a portable cooling system to stay cool until he was connected into the aircraft cooling system. T
he pressurized suit was equipped with a parachute harness that had quick release fittings in the event the pilot had to leave the aircraft. There was also a flotation device installed in the suit in case the ejection occured over water. These highly specialized flight suits were maintained by USAF Physiological Support personnel.
Many thanks, Hans. I see that at least one of those tubes coming from the rear of the helmet is connected to the portable cooling pack. The second one probably has the same function but is maybe only connected to the aircraft when the pilot enters the cockpit so that there is no time when the pilot is not cooled down.
I think both tubes are, in the back, wrapped in velcro and can be secured to the outer layer of the suit (in fact the flotation vest) when not in use. There is still a tantalizing ‘something’ at the rear of the flotation vest, and I do not think it is just the crumpled material of the vest…
Cool info in those links.
I never realized that the U2 pilots wore the same suits as the SR-71 guys.
They look a lot like Shuttle suits and seem to go though almost the same procedures, right down to the steak and egg breakfast…
Steak and Eggs is a typical Fighter Pilot Breakfast… “High-protein/Low residue” is the USAF term for it… Learned the hard way by fighter pilots during WW2 who were doing the Ramrod (bomber escort) missions…