Hi
Stuart,
I’ve used welder’s
oxygen in the past also. It does cost about $10.00 a fill vs. aviation
oxygen @ $80.00 for my last fill. But, don’t do it, welder’s oxygen
contains too much water, and other impurities. It will freeze at high
altitudes, more importantly it can corrode the regulator and gauge and will
void any warranty.
Pulse oximetry is a
nice cross check at high altitudes but should not be relied upon for various
reasons, a prime one being that a little hyperventilation will artificially
raise the oxygen saturation curve, giving a false sense of security.
Bob
Mitchell
L-320
Senior
AME
From:
Lancair Mailing List
[mailto:lml@lancaironline.net] On Behalf Of
Stuart Seffern
Sent: Monday, November 24, 2008 10:01
PM
To:
lml@lancaironline.net
Subject: [LML] Re: 360s at high
altitudes
I use a Standard
welding Oxygen bottle which can be exchanged anywhere in the
US for less than $10 and a nose
cannula in a O-360. Don’t necessarily try this yourself.
I’ve taken AF high altitude training twice at Wright Patterson and know
well my personal limits. At 22,000, for just under 1 hour over the
Rockies heading east with a 80 knot tailwind wearing a pulse oxcimeter on my
finger I was above the nasty turbulence and bad WX singing my semi-hypoxic
rendition of Stormy Weather and getting a suntan in smooth air. O2 stats
never dropped below 90%. I saw fuel economy rates as high as 47
MPG!
Lancairs are
amazing airplanes….