Giving Cirrus and Diamond their due, “crashworthy” doesn’t immediately leap to mind when thinking about little airplanes. The vast majority of the fleet is old school, with little flail space, single diagonal seatbelts and many aircraft with non-energy-absorbing seats. Most of us just grit our teeth and fly on.
Improved seatbelts are a plus as are retrofit airbag belts. But how about another idea? A flight helmet. We wear helmets on motorcycles, bicycles and when snowboarding and skiing, why not for flying? It’s a question several manufacturers have pondered and they’re finding some sales for specialized aviation helmets. But, well, aren’t we stepping a little overboard here? After all, how much risk can we mitigate before we just chain up the hangar and hide in the house?