G-suit - Design

Design

A g-suit is a special garment and generally takes the form of tightly-fitting trousers, which fit either under or over (depending on the design) the flying suit worn by the aviator or astronaut. The trousers are fitted with inflatable bladders which, when pressurized through a g-sensitive valve in the aircraft or spacecraft, press firmly on the abdomen and legs, thus restricting the draining of blood away from the brain during periods of high acceleration. In addition, in some modern very high-g aircraft, the Anti-g suit effect is augmented by a small amount of pressure applied to the lungs (partial pressure breathing), which also enhances resistance to high g. The effects of anti-g suits and partial pressure breathing are straightforward to replicate in a simulator, although continuous g can only be produced artificially in devices such as centrifuges.

Various designs of g-suit have been developed. They first used water-filled bladders around the lower body and legs. Later designs used air under pressure to inflate the bladders. These g-suits were lighter than the liquid-filled versions and are still in extensive use. However, the Swiss company Life Support Systems AG and the German Autoflug GmbH collaborated to design the new Libelle suit for use with the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, which reverts to liquid as the medium and improves on performance. The Libelle suit is under consideration for adoption by the United States Air Force.