Question
: What does it feel like to G-LOC? Also, in a 2-seater, when the guy in the back seat experiences G-LOC, how come normally the back-seater has his head down, even though the front-seater is flying upside down?
Answer : GLOC (G induced loss of consciousness) is a major issue for high performance fighter aircraft. As such, we get lots of training in a centrifuge to know what our personal “symptoms” are, and how to improve our straining maneuver to prevent GLOC. Each pilot experiences different feelings when approaching GLOC, and it can simply be reduced (or “tunnel”) vision or quickly progress to an unconscious state. When that happens, you really don’t feel anything, and most say it’s like being in a dream-like state. That usually lasts 20-30 seconds, and full situational awareness can take longer to recover. All centrifuge session are videotaped and monitored by a flight surgeon, and thoroughly debriefed. If a pilot does poorly, he repeats the training before he’s allowed to fly a high performance fighter. I still have my tape from my initial training before I first flew the F-16 over 20 years ago. As for the second part of your question, if someone is unconscious from a GLOC, the body can do strange things, (as we see on the centrifuge videos) and it’s quite possible that a pilot’s head could be down, even when flying inverted.
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