Changing the Beard Rule
03-25-2017, 05:34 PM
#92
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Joined APC: Jan 2006
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Originally Posted by CrimsonEclipse
<citation needed>
03-25-2017, 07:28 PM
#93
Banned
Joined APC: Feb 2007
Posts: 461
Originally Posted by rickair7777
Well in the non-aviation world, there is a known legit concern with beards and high-concentration O2...beards will essentially explode if exposed to an ignition source in an O2 environment. You can easily try it yourself if you need proof (legal disclaimer: don't try this at home).
03-25-2017, 11:53 PM
#94
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Apr 2011
Position: retired 767(dl)
Posts: 5,724
Originally Posted by rickair7777
Well in the non-aviation world, there is a known legit concern with beards and high-concentration O2...beards will essentially explode if exposed to an ignition source in an O2 environment. You can easily try it yourself if you need proof (legal disclaimer: don't try this at home).
03-26-2017, 09:24 AM
#96
Disinterested Third Party
Joined APC: Jun 2012
Posts: 6,026
Many years ago I hosted a new hire pilot at my place. A large class had been hired, and there was a room shortage, so many of us offered up some space to accomodate the new hires. This particular individual was from another country, and he had a beard. During the ground school, he was privately counseled to lose the beard.
We had a discussion about it that evening. He was very upset. He needed the job, needed the experience, but he'd always had the beard, and said it was a part of who he was. I told him he would need to decide which had a higher priority in his life; working for a certificate holder in advancement of his life-long career, or looks and whiskers.
He quit.
He was an idiot.
We had a discussion about it that evening. He was very upset. He needed the job, needed the experience, but he'd always had the beard, and said it was a part of who he was. I told him he would need to decide which had a higher priority in his life; working for a certificate holder in advancement of his life-long career, or looks and whiskers.
He quit.
He was an idiot.
03-26-2017, 09:28 AM
#97
Disinterested Third Party
Joined APC: Jun 2012
Posts: 6,026
Originally Posted by rickair7777
Well in the non-aviation world, there is a known legit concern with beards and high-concentration O2...beards will essentially explode if exposed to an ignition source in an O2 environment. You can easily try it yourself if you need proof (legal disclaimer: don't try this at home).
Even then they do not explode.
03-26-2017, 05:07 PM
#98
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Joined APC: Jan 2006
Position: Engines Turn Or People Swim
Posts: 39,292
Originally Posted by JohnBurke
No, they won't. Oils, specifically petroleum products, can combust in high oxygen concentration atmospheres. Beards do not explode unless slicked and set with 10W40.
Even then they do not explode.
Even then they do not explode.
Almost anything can burn in 100% O2. If it's even a little bit flammable in air, it will burn with extreme vigor in pure O2. A beard would probably not quite technically explode, but you sure as hell wouldn't want it attached to your face if a spark landed on it..
Google steel wool + O2 if you need the visual.
03-26-2017, 05:10 PM
#99
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Originally Posted by CrimsonEclipse
This is a very strange way of trying to prove that the oxygen mask concern is false.
I don't know if it's false or not. Although the military certainly thinks it's legit.
03-26-2017, 05:51 PM
#100
Disinterested Third Party
Joined APC: Jun 2012
Posts: 6,026
Originally Posted by rickair7777
Not talking about spontaneous combustion, but rather an ignition source.
Almost anything can burn in 100% O2. If it's even a little bit flammable in air, it will burn with extreme vigor in pure O2. A beard would probably not quite technically explode, but you sure as hell wouldn't want it attached to your face if a spark landed on it..
Google steel wool + O2 if you need the visual.
Almost anything can burn in 100% O2. If it's even a little bit flammable in air, it will burn with extreme vigor in pure O2. A beard would probably not quite technically explode, but you sure as hell wouldn't want it attached to your face if a spark landed on it..
Google steel wool + O2 if you need the visual.
Oxygen concentration can enhance combustion. Hair burns, and applying oxygen to a flammable item while burning is taking place will accelerate the combustion process.
Unless you're stupid enough to smoke inside an oxygen mask, this generally isn't a problem. Simply applying oxygen to a beard will not cause it to burn. How many circumstances can you think of in which an ignition source is applied to a beard in a cockpit while wearing an oxygen mask?
Are you aware of an ignition source inside an oxygen mask?
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