U.S. NAVY AVIATION STRUCTURAL MECHANIC (AM) BALL CAP DEVICE

With a top speed of nearly Mach 2.0 and a service ceiling of 50,000 feet, the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18 Hornet added entirely new dimensions to the concept of naval combat aviation. But those impressive performance characteristics also added unique challenges for those responsible for ensuring the safety of the aircrewmen flying at those blistering speeds and dizzying heights.

That’s where Aviation Structural Mechanics (Safety Equipment)—AMEs—come into the picture. The job title sums up an AME sailor’s responsibilities quite nicely: Aviation Environmental and Egress Technician. If something involves keeping aircrewmen conscious and comfortable, as well as ensuring they have an extremely high rate of survival in the event of an emergency, it’s likely handled by an AME.

Because of low oxygen content, freezing temperatures, and low air pressure at high altitude—combined with the heat that can be generated inside a cockpit by solar radiation passing through the canopy—modern aircraft have complex environmental control systems to regulate all those parameters. Another critical piece of equipment for aircrewmen are Anti-G systems comprising an Anti-G valve and suit that protect against the adverse effects of high G forces by inflating and deflating the pilot’s suit to regulate blood pressure (and the pressure of other bodily fluids) during high-speed turns and maneuvers.

Modern ejection systems propel both the pilot and his seat a safe distance from the aircraft, so it’s crucially important that the AME inspects and maintains explosives components like Cartridge Actuated Devices and Propellant Actuated Devices that blast both of them free from the failing aircraft without harming the pilot.

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Price

$7.19

Quantity

USPHS

Merchant Marine

AUXILIARY

U.S. NAVY AVIATION STRUCTURAL MECHANIC (AM) BALL CAP DEVICE