Altitude chamber takes its last breath

Published Dec. 18, 2014
By Airman 1st Class Harry Brexel
19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. --

Senior Airman Devin Theis, a 19th Aerospace Medicine Squadron high-altitude airdrop missions technician, instructs Airmen on the proper use of an oxygen mask during altitude training Dec. 8, 2014, at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. Students undergo hypobaric chamber training to experience the effects of high altitude on the body, which include low oxygen levels. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Harry Brexel)

For more than 50 years, aircrew Airmen at Little Rock Air Force Base have shared a common physical experience. Thousands of troops have felt the effects of rapid depressurization inside the Little Rock AFB hypobaric chamber.

Soon, that number will stop increasing. The base altitude chamber is being decommissioned.

The hypobaric, or altitude chamber, testing is mandatory for all new aircrew members, in order to learn their own body's warning signs for hypoxia, or a lack of oxygen, during flight. Little Rock Air Force Base Airmen requiring initial training to be certified for high altitude flights will now travel to other bases to train in an altitude chamber.

A team of approximately 20 Airmen from the 19th Aerospace Medicine Squadron have been responsible for running and maintaining the half-century-old chamber.

"About 45 people experience simulated flights in the chamber each month," said Tech. Sgt. Daniel Zerbe, 19th AMDS aerospace and operational physiology noncommissioned officer in charge.

That will soon change, as the last chamber flight will take place January 2015.

However, all current aircrew Airmen must still renew their oxygen deprivation training every five years. The 19th AMDS already has a solution in place for that requirement.

"We will now use two Reduced Oxygen Breathing Devices attached to flight simulators," said Zerbe. "The devices allow the aircrew members to experience hypoxia by breathing higher concentrations of nitrogen."

Switching to the ROBD offers a multitude of benefits.

The operation of two devices requires two to three personnel, whereas the chamber requires seven to ten. The ROBD also saves time. Chamber flights often take up to two hours, but ROBD assessments last only 30 minutes per student.

Two ROBDs will cost approximately $2,000 annually, as opposed to the hundreds of thousands of dollars it can cost for operation and maintenance of the altitude chamber. The simulator is able to mirror almost every aircraft in the Air Force, and it allows pilots to focus on a task they normally would while flying.

"Along with measuring how the oxygen deprivation affects their body, the simulators allow us to see how it affects certain flyer's job performance," Zerbe said.

ROBDs are also safer since they're used in a more controlled environment and utilize gas as the only variable. With the altitude chamber, pressure is altered to induce hypoxia. Undergoing pressure changes can cause issues, including trapped gas in the ears, sinuses, GI tract, and decompression injury.

Aircrew members will still have to experience the altitude chamber during their technical school training, but after the initial chamber training, they will use the new ROBDs for the rest of their careers.

"Although this means the end of a historical landmark at Little Rock AFB, we look forward to the integration of new Air Force technology," Zerbe said.

A group of Airmen tour the hypobaric chamber after it was opened in the early 1960s, at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. For more than 50 years, the chamber has allowed troops to experience the effects of high altitude on the body. (Courtesy photo)