Risk Model for High-Altitude Missions Added to NATOPS

  • Published
  • By John Burhman
  • 711th Human Performance Wing
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  An important Air Force Research Laboratory-developed model used by flight mission planners, operators, pilots, and commanders to gauge the risks of altitude decompression sickness in a given situation is now part of the Naval Air Training and Operating Procedures Standardization program. Developed by AFRL scientists Dr. Andrew Pilmanis and Dr. James Webb and hosted on the lab's Collaborative Biomechanics Data Network Web site, the Altitude Decompression Sickness Risk Assessment Computer model underwent official incorporation into NATOPS General Flight and Operating Instructions, a key program publication.

Also known as OPNAV Instruction 3710.7 (N88), the text now contains CBDN Web site references, as well as several pages describing the ADRAC model as an invaluable online mechanism for assessing critical mission scenarios according to physical and physiological principles. As its title indicates, the NATOPS document prescribes general flight and operating instructions and procedures applicable to the operation of all US Navy aircraft and related activities. The addition of AFRL's CBDN-based ADRAC tool to the Navy's written governance thus marks a milestone of significant interservice impact.

Developed and maintained by personnel from the AFRL 711th Human Performance Wing more precisely, from the Human Effectiveness Directorate's Biosciences and Performance Division--the CBDN comprises a group of comprehensive human performance and measurement databases collectively representing more than 30 years of AFRL research. Contained within this Web-accessible framework are extensive data collections spanning impact acceleration, altitude, vibration, anthropometry, blast, and numerous other subject areas. The CBDN's Altitude Decompression Sickness Research Database alone contains several thousand altitude exposure records, along with the associated ADRAC model.

ADRAC's user-friendly front end enables quick determination regarding the risk of decompression sickness based on factors such as altitude, prebreathing time, and duration of exposure. Because ADRAC is a regular go-to resource for a wide range of users, including Air Force Special Operations Command and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 711 HPW representative Mr. John Buhrman worked with Naval Commander Michael Venable to assimilate relevant content as part of NATOPS. Consequently, the CBDN Web site and its resident ADRAC model now exist as formal components of published Navy doctrine.