between the circular tubes; and a boarding ramp
permanently attached to each circular tube. The
floor is equipped with a built-in inflatable floor
support, and the inflatable boarding ramps are
located on opposite sides of the raft.
A sea anchor, used to retard drifting, is stowed
in the sea anchor pocket, which is located at the
junction of the circular tubes. An inner lifeline,
boarding handles, a heaving line, and emergency
survival equipment, stowed in the accessory
container, are provided for the safety and survival
of the aircrewmen. The inner lifeline, attached to
the floor, and the boarding handles, attached to
the circular tubes and boarding ramps, are used
to secure the accessory container to the raft.
Topping-off valves are located on each side of the
tubes. A topping-off valve is also located on each
side of the floor support. The LRU-15/A life raft
assembly parts and nomenclature are shown in
figure 6-7.
EQUIPMENT AND SURVIVAL ITEMS
The LRU-15/A life raft equipment and
survival item requirements and the applicable
storage container are listed in table 6-5.
The LRU-15/A life raft assembly (droppable)
is inflated by pulling the inflation assembly
handle, located under the carrying case end flap.
The LRU-15/A life raft assembly (wing
installation) is automatically inflated and ejected
from the raft compartment after the life raft
compartment door has been released. A unique
design feature of the LRU-15/A is that it is always
right side up after inflation. The inflation
assembly inflates the circular tubes and boarding
ramps only. In the event that the inflation
assembly does not function properly, the equalizer
tube distributes gas equally between each
circular tube. After boarding, the floor sup-
port is inflated with the hand pump provided in
the accessory container. The circular tubes may
be topped off, if necessary, from either side of
the raft floor.
The LRU-15/A life raft assembly can be either
dropped to survivors or used by aircrewmen in
the event of an emergency. Each type of packaged
LRU-15/A life raft assembly is used in certain
types of aircraft; for applicable configurations,
refer to the aircraft MIM.
Prior to packing the LRU-15/A life raft
assembly, it must be updated by comparing the
configuration of the assembly with the
modifications listed in NAVAIR 13-1-6.1.
EMERGENCY REPAIRS
Emergency repair of the LRU-15/A raft, when
in the water, is accomplished by the use of the
metal clamp type plugs provided in the accessory
equipment container of each raft. No emergency
repair equipment is provided with other types of
rafts.
DEMONSTRATING THE USE
OF RAFTS
Many ditching and water crashes occur in a
rough sea or at night. Only complete
familiarization with the use of survival equipment
will give the aircrewman a chance of survival
under such adverse conditions. Therefore,
intensive drill in the use of rafts and their
associated equipment is essential for safety.
The survival officer must be concerned with
survival techniques and should see that a survival
training program is set up in the parachute loft.
In most cases, the chief in charge of the loft has
the responsibility of setting up this training. As
a PR2 you will have many occasions to participate
in this training and, in many instances, may be
completely responsible for the carrying out of the
program. Regardless of who is in charge and must
shoulder the complete responsibility, it is the duty
of every PR to be completely familiar with all
phases of survival training and to be able to
demonstrate the use of survival equipment.
The multiplace egress trainer is a very effective
system of training in water survival techniques.
It is used to simulate an actual aircraft ditching,
and to teach the best escape procedure with full
equipment.
Although such complete courses of training
cannot be conducted in certain localities because
of the lack of specialized equipment, the PR
should make every attempt to give aircrewmen
frequent practice in the actual use of the
equipment. Discussions, demonstrations, and
shop lectures are all helpful, but working with the
actual raft equipment is the only way to acquire
the knowledge essential to survival.
In demonstrating the rafts use, the most
important thing to stress is that the retainer
lanyard snap is firmly attached to the ring on the
life vest before inflating the raft. Inflate the raft
as soon as possible so that personnel can get out
of the water. The raft is inflated by pulling on
the short length cable attached to the C02 cylinder
valve. After several hours, the CO2 cylinder may
be removed from the side of the raft. It tends to
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