Originally Posted by
Tanker-driver
There is new training out there not requiring the use of the chamber. Not sure exactly how it works, but several guys in my unit have done it. I imagine it involves controlled exposure to a low oxygen environment. In any case, some sort of high altitude training should be required for anyone operating a pressurized airplane. Learning to recognize your own symptoms (everyone's are slightly different) to hypoxia is an eye opening experience.
The training could be accomplished easily with a mask and supply of air with adjustable O2...a bottle of N2, and bottle of O2, and a valve to adjust the ratio. You'd breathe sea-level "air", but with less-than-normal O2.
This is not *quite* the same as a real rapid decompression since there is no chance of DCS, but it would certainly give you the same O2 partial-pressure cognitive effects.