High G flight: physiological effects and counter-measures is the second book on aviation medicine by Associate Professor David G Newman. David is a well-known ASAM member, and highly-regarded as a subject-matter expert in the physiological consequences of high-G flight. This text is a welcome companion to David’s other book, Flying fast jets: human factors and performance limitations.
As the title indicates, High G flight: physiological effects and counter-measures provides a comprehensive review of high-G flight, the physiological demands this places on the human body, and the ways these effects can be mitigated. This is a reference text, with a comprehensive review of the scientific literature at the time of writing. However, this book is written in a way that clearly conveys complex concepts in an easy-to-read text populated with simple-yet-effective illustrations.
After providing an introduction of basic physics of acceleration and the aerodynamic and operational basis of high-G flying, High G flight: physiological effects and counter-measures covers a wide range of topics: the cardiovascular, respiratory, and musculoskeletal effects of exposure to a high-Gz environment; cognitive, sensory, and endocrine function; physiological tolerance and adaptation; and countermeasures such as the anti-G strain, the anti-G suit, and the newer technology of Positive Pressure for G (PPG). The illustrations and graphics have been carefully reproduced to convey the important learning points clearly.
Although High G flight: physiological effects and counter-measures is focused on the physical and physiological challenges facing aircrew flying in high-performance military aircraft, the issues discussed will also apply to some civilian sectors, including aerobatic flight.
The issues explained in this book are usually only covered in depth for those students who attend the Diploma in Aviation Medicine from the Royal College of Physicians (London), largely due to the teaching of the Royal Air Force Centre for Aviation Medicine. However, in High G flight: physiological effects and counter-measures, David Newman has now made these issues easily accessible to a much larger audience. People who will find this book useful include: specialists in aerospace medicine who want to update their knowledge many years after their initial training, as well as those whose background is more in commercial aviation who want to up-skill in an aspect of military aviation medicine; Aviation Medical Officers (AVMOs) on a RAAF fast-jet flying base who want to broaden and deepen their knowledge in aviation medicine; and, undergraduate medical students who want to explore a career in aerospace medicine.
Even though it contains detailed discussions of aviation physiology, High G flight is written in a way that makes it accessible to non-doctors, and it would be a useful text for fast-jet aircrew to understand the physiological stresses they experience during flight.
High G flight will be a valuable contribution to the knowledge of aviation medicine, and it will provide much of the foundational knowledge that will be useful in the clinical practice of aviation medicine as it relates to fast-jet aircrew. Associate Professor Newman is to be congratulated on this outstanding textbook, and I commend High G flight: physiological effects and counter-measures to those ASAM members who may be interested in purchasing a copy for their library.
