EQUIPMENT AND SURVIVAL ITEMS

The LRU-15/A life raft equipment and survival item requirements and the applicable storage container are listed in table 6-5.

The LRU-15/A life raft assembly (droppable) is inflated by pulling the inflation assembly handle, located under the carrying case end flap.

The LRU-15/A life raft assembly (wing installation) is automatically inflated and ejected from the raft compartment after the life raft compartment door has been released. A unique design feature of the LRU-15/A is that it is always right side up after inflation. The inflation assembly inflates the circular tubes and boarding ramps only. In the event that the inflation assembly does not function properly, the equalizer tube distributes gas equally between each circular tube. After boarding, the floor support is inflated with the hand pump provided in the accessory container. The circular tubes may be topped off, if necessary, from either side of the raft floor.

The LRU-15/A life raft assembly can be either dropped to survivors or used by aircrewmen in the event of an emergency. Each type of packaged LRU-15/A life raft assembly is used in certain types of aircraft; for applicable configurations, refer to the aircraft MIM.

Prior to packing the LRU-15/A life raft assembly, it must be updated by comparing the configuration of the assembly with the modifications listed in NAVAIR 13-1-6.1.

EMERGENCY REPAIRS

Emergency repair of the LRU-15/A raft, when in the water, is accomplished by the use of the metal clamp type plugs provided in the accessory equipment container of each raft. No emergency repair equipment is provided with other types of rafts.

DEMONSTRATING THE USE OF RAFTS

Many ditching and water crashes occur in a rough sea or at night. Only complete familiarization with the use of survival equipment will give the aircrewman a chance of survival under such adverse conditions. Therefore, intensive drill in the use of rafts and their associated equipment is essential for safety.

The survival officer must be concerned with survival techniques and should see that a survival training program is set up in the parachute loft. In most cases, the chief in charge of the loft has the responsibility of setting up this training. As a PR2 you will have many occasions to participate in this training and, in many instances, may be completely responsible for the carrying out of the program. Regardless of who is in charge and must shoulder the complete responsibility, it is the duty of every PR to be completely familiar with all phases of survival training and to be able to demonstrate the use of survival equipment.

The multiplace egress trainer is a very effective system of training in water survival techniques. It is used to simulate an actual aircraft ditching, and to teach the best escape procedure with full equipment.

Although such complete courses of training cannot be conducted in certain localities because of the lack of specialized equipment, the PR should make every attempt to give aircrewmen frequent practice in the actual use of the ^equipment. Discussions, demonstrations, and shop lectures are all helpful, but working with the actual raft equipment is the only way to acquire the knowledge essential to survival.

In demonstrating the raft's use, the most important thing to stress is that the retainer lanyard snap is firmly attached to the ring on the life vest before inflating the raft. Inflate the raft as soon as possible so that personnel can get out of the water. The raft is inflated by pulling on the short length cable attached to the C02 cylinder valve. After several hours, the CO2 cylinder may be removed from the side of the raft. It tends to

Figure 6-7.-LRU-15/A life raft assembly, parts nomenclature.

chafe the side of the compartment and acts as an anchor, causing the raft to orbit around it. Sometimes it is possible to back off the coupling between the cylinder and the manifold so that the cylinder releases from the mount. Once the cylinder has been removed, it is no longer useful in any way and should be thrown over the side. This, of course, is under actual emergency conditions; in a training demonstration, the cylinder should be saved and recharged for further use on the training equipment.

In demonstrating their use, also give instructions on manual inflation of rafts. If nothing happens after the CO2 cable has been pulled, the carrying case should be pulled off and the raft unfolded so that the hand pump will be accessible. After the pump is removed, the first compartment to be inflated should be the seat. This will help keep the raft afloat so that the remaining compartment can be inflated with the pump. In attaching the pump, care must be taken not to screw the pump too tightly to the valve. If it is too tight, it may freeze and become impossible to loosen without some type of wrench or pliers.