Flying with an inflatable cushion

[gjnl]

I don't know who Tom Borcherding is, but he clearly doesn't know what he is talking about with regard to flying. The "belly" of the plane is indeed pressurized to exactly the same pressure as the cabin. It would actually be quite difficult to arrange for an unpressurized cargo hold on a plane with a tubular body. Thus putting your chair in the cargo hold is no more likely to cause pressure issues than is the overhead compartment.

Tom Borcherding is the President of ROHO.

The issues that Tom addressed from the questions I put to him were not about putting a chair in the cargo hold. What Tom was responding to was how to fly with and adjust a ROHO cushion in the cabin of an airplane. If you take off at about sea level and cabin pressure is somewhere between 6,000 to 8,000 feet, Tom was recommending that you adjust the pressure in your ROHO cushion, to a comfortable level, i.e., do the same tests you would do on the ground to adjust the pressure in the ROHO cushion while you are in the air.

Tom has been very responsive to concerns members of our community have had about ROHO cushions, reaching out to help those of us who have had issues and helping to us to resolve problems. He should be applauded for his efforts on behalf of his company and our community.

[Crappler]

Tom has been very responsive to concerns members of our community have had about ROHO cushions, reaching out to help those of us who have had issues and helping to us to resolve problems. He should be applauded for his efforts on behalf of his company and our community.

I completely agree. He's been one the best supplier supporters/commenters here.

[landrover]

I?ve never deflated my Roho, and haven?t noticed a drastic enough change in inflation to warrant the need to do so.

[Tom Borcherding]

funklab, Fair enough criticism. My knowledge of "all things aircraft" is not a strong suit! The point I was trying to make is to carry your cushion onto the plane with you (to keep it safe and free from damage in the cargo hold), and if you do need to stow the cushion with your chair then the guidance would be to open the value so the cushion is not impacted at all by any change of cabin / cargo hold pressure. My apologies for not being accurate in all areas of my original message.

[badger78]

Tom, the flight I’m planning is from Milwaukee Wisconsin to Ft Lauderdale Florida. Total flight time around 3 ? hours. The altitude of the beginning airport is about 850 feet ASL.
As I mentioned in my first post, I will be taking two Roho cushions on the plane. A smaller width Roho that will fit an airline seat and a larger one that I normally use in a wheelchair.
I will be sitting on a smaller one during the flight and planning on adjusting it as needed. My main concern is with the one that will be stored in an overhead storage bin. If needed I could have one of my friends who is flying with me to check the cushion from time to time to make sure it isn’t expanding too much due to the lower cabin pressure. I really don’t want to arrive in Florida and have a problem with that cushion. So to the best of your knowledge, do you think the stored cushion will be OK without checking it and deflating it if needed? The one I will be a sitting on will be checked if it begins to feel uncomfortable.
I appreciate your comments.

[Tom Borcherding]

Hi Badger, the cushion you plan to stow in the overhead bin will be fine. When you first use the cushion in Ft. Lauderdale, give it a quick inflation check. I don't think the 841 feet of altitude difference between Milwaukee and Ft. Lauderdale (9.02' above sea level according to Wikipedia!) will make a difference in the cushion that you would notice, but it won't do any harm for you to make a quick check. Take your ROHO inflation pump along just in case at the lower Ft. Lauderdale altitude and warmer temperatures you decide to add a couple puffs of air. Post your experiences with this after your trip. Enjoy spring in Florida!

[gjnl]

Good safety tip about taking the pump with you when you travel. So easy to forget about it. I always carry one in my back pack and there is one in my van.

[dnvrdave]

...Take your ROHO inflation pump along just in case at the lower Ft. Lauderdale altitude and warmer temperatures you decide to add a couple puffs of air. Post your experiences with this after your trip. Enjoy spring in Florida!

the flight I?m planning is from Milwaukee Wisconsin to Ft Lauderdale Florida. Total flight time around 3 ? hours. The altitude of the beginning airport is about 850 feet ASL.

I guarantee that you'll see an increase in hardness, going from 1000 ft to 8000 ft, but I agree that it should not damage the cushion. The damage I have seen is a (permanent) thinning of the rubber due to overstretching, to the point of causing weakness and eventually a hole. But that was when I was sitting on the cushion and going from 5000 ft to 10000 ft.

I usually just add air to the cushion by blowing into it by mouth. A pump isn't really necessary, but my nurses do find that the rubber on the pump tube adds friction, making it easier to open the valve.

I also want to hear how it goes for you, Badger (from my Alma Mater! Yay!). Especially the Roho that you will be sitting on. It's tricky to know when to let air out and how much, while you are sitting on it. And it will be flat when you land (if you let air out at 8k feet), unless you have some magic way to add air while sitting on it (I've never been able to do that, with a pump). But unless you have very low sitting tolerance, I think the airplane seat should provide enough cushion for the 10's of minutes it will take to get you off the plane.

[August West]

I guarantee that you'll see an increase in hardness, going from 1000 ft to 8000 ft, but I agree that it should not damage the cushion. The damage I have seen is a (permanent) thinning of the rubber due to overstretching, to the point of causing weakness and eventually a hole. But that was when I was sitting on the cushion and going from 5000 ft to 10000 ft.

I usually just add air to the cushion by blowing into it by mouth. A pump isn't really necessary, but my nurses do find that the rubber on the pump tube adds friction, making it easier to open the valve.

I also want to hear how it goes for you, Badger (from my Alma Mater! Yay!). Especially the Roho that you will be sitting on. It's tricky to know when to let air out and how much, while you are sitting on it. And it will be flat when you land (if you let air out at 8k feet), unless you have some magic way to add air while sitting on it (I've never been able to do that, with a pump). But unless you have very low sitting tolerance, I think the airplane seat should provide enough cushion for the 10's of minutes it will take to get you off the plane.

How can you substantiate the permanent thinning of the rubber? If so, it's best to take all the air of the ROHO when traveling in an airplane and use a different cushion on the airplane seat.

[badger78]

OK fellow Badger!!

Back from my little vacation with news that the cushion did not explode. This is good. I did have to have some air let out at one time during the flight. I have enough sensation in my rear end that I could feel the individual cells starting to individually inflate and at that time some air was let out. The second cushion that was stored in the pressurized cabin in an overhead bin was deflated a little bit before the flight.
I would say yes this cushion will work, but I would plan on having to deflate it as needed.