Pressure Suit Progress

The complex operation of gluing the helmet neck-ring to the pressure garment itself is done; I made this a little more complex than it needs to be....but at least I know that, now :) In the photo you see the neck ring bound to the suit itself, and the use of an upturned flower pot holding the neck ring in place for me to work with it. The unfinished textiles coming up out of the neck ring are a cosmetic issue only, but will be cut back a bit for pilot comfort.



The breathing gas intake and exhalation hoses have been customized and bound to the demand regulator and the helmet, respectively. The process is slow and iterative; I have to just sit and look at things for a long time, then in 'dry', glueless runs, try a series of connection and structure options before finally commiting to a design and building it. Below, gluing an airtight union from the breathing gas supply to the regulator (a SCUBA diving regulator, for this prototype pressure suit) with industrial cement that takes a week to cure.



And below, looking over the various hoses.