In aircraft oxygen solutions for short flights and up to max. altitude of 10,000 feet?

[Lndwarrior]

My situation:

1. I'm an older, day only, VFR, light sport pilot. I will never go above 10,000 msl due to sport pilot regs. (Yes, I know about the 2000 agl exception)
2. I fly frequent short flights with a max. flying time of 2 hours.
3. I seem to be quite oxygen sensitive at altitudes over 7000 feet and higher.
4. Looking for a system for one person only. I do not need capacity for a passenger.
5. I will not be taking trips longer than two hours any more.
6. It would be beneficial for me to have an oxygen system that would last me up to 2 hours so I could fly up to 9500 feet if it made sense for weather, safety, etc.
7. I have a source to get a bottle refilled.

Would a relatively inexpensive portable oxygen concentrator work for these parameters? I see there are some systems out there for around $400. This would be ideal as I wouldn't have to deal with bottle refills.

If the concentrator won't work, will a D size bottle with flow control get me close to the 2 hour mark in capacity?

Since I'm still at relatively low altitude I'm not worried about rapid onset hypoxia. I know what that is and how I react. So, if the bottle ran out under 2 hours I would simply drop down to a lower altitude.

I'm looking for an inexpensive solution for a minimal use system.

TIA

 

[Lycosaurus]

I asked my doctor for a medical oxygen prescription. He was puzzled at first, but when I told him that I can get hypoxic above 10K feet, he was good with it. He asked me what I wanted written on the prescription (flow rate, reason etc). I thought 1/2L per minute is reasonable with an oxymizer canula (in fact, that flow rate works for me and my wife based on oxymeter readings and 10K altitude). The final prescription wording was arrived at by some back and forth between my doctor and the inhalation therapist I was assigned. She inhalation therapist only got involved once, with a house check (I had told her it was for aviation... but they still wanted to check my home). I wanted to make sure that my aviation medical did not get penalized in some way, therefore I placed an altitude limitation... here it is (final version that I have used for the last few years):

O2 Rx for prevention of altitude sickness > 10,000 ft altitude
flow rate 1/2 L/minute

The script is valid for 1 year, so I just ask him for another one during my annual checkup, and send the oxygen tank rental company a copy.

As for the tanks, I have medical rentals. In my country (Canada) they rent the regulator, but the tank is free. I just have to pay the oxygen volume/content ($18 US a few years ago), and there is no monthly cost associated with tank/oxygen. Tanks get swapped out, and they even deliver for free. As for the regulator, I declined the rental ($20/month) and purchased a pediatric regulator on Amazon ($25 US), along with Oxymizer pendant canulas ($26 US) to help conserve oxygen. A "T" fiting allows two people to be fed by one tank. It seems crude but I was assured by other pilots that it would work. Indeed it does. An oximeter to measure your saturation levels (another $25 US), and you are set for your adventure.

D sized tanks are 425 liters. At 1/2 liter per minute flow rate, that is a theoretical capacity of 850 minutes, or 14 hours.

Tanks can be replaced at any medical supply store associated with that company, anywhere in North America. Have not had to use that feature yet. I never have to worry about getting tanks tested. I don't think you can get any cheaper than that, unless you are a big oxygen consumer then you might want to buy a tank and refill it yourself.

Per your avatar, it looks like you might be flying a homebuilt. I used a couple of worm clamps to affix the tank right behind the seats so I can easily adjust the regulator. Don't forget to add "shut off oxygen flow" to your aircraft shut-down checklist.

Hope this helps.

 

[Jim K]

Medical stuff is cheap and works just fine in the plane. I run the same setup as lycosaurus. I don't think you need a prescription to get bottles filled here, but I could be wrong. I bought a bottle on Amazon along with an adapter that allows the medical type bottle to be filled from an aviation/welding hose, and my a&p took it over to the jet shop and had them fill it for me. The local gas company will just swap your tank if it's a standard size and in hydro test. I think that's the case everywhere. They'll lease you a tank, but they're only like $60 online.

I don't think you can get any cheaper than that,

I then discovered that my buddy who works for the ambulance service was willing to swap out tanks for me, so now the half tank a year I go through is free

Doug rozendall did some work with an oxygen concentrator a year or two ago and found them to work great under maybe 18k iirc. He has a thread about it on beechtalk.

 

[Lndwarrior]

I asked my doctor for a medical oxygen prescription. He was puzzled at first, but when I told him that I can get hypoxic above 10K feet, he was good with it. He asked me what I wanted written on the prescription (flow rate, reason etc). I thought 1/2L per minute is reasonable with an oxymizer canula (in fact, that flow rate works for me and my wife based on oxymeter readings and 10K altitude). The final prescription wording was arrived at by some back and forth between my doctor and the inhalation therapist I was assigned. She inhalation therapist only got involved once, with a house check (I had told her it was for aviation... but they still wanted to check my home). I wanted to make sure that my aviation medical did not get penalized in some way, therefore I placed an altitude limitation... here it is (final version that I have used for the last few years):

O2 Rx for prevention of altitude sickness > 10,000 ft altitude
flow rate 1/2 L/minute

The script is valid for 1 year, so I just ask him for another one during my annual checkup, and send the oxygen tank rental company a copy.

As for the tanks, I have medical rentals. In my country (Canada) they rent the regulator, but the tank is free. I just have to pay the oxygen volume/content ($18 US a few years ago), and there is no monthly cost associated with tank/oxygen. Tanks get swapped out, and they even deliver for free. As for the regulator, I declined the rental ($20/month) and purchased a pediatric regulator on Amazon ($25 US), along with Oxymizer pendant canulas ($26 US) to help conserve oxygen. A "T" fiting allows two people to be fed by one tank. It seems crude but I was assured by other pilots that it would work. Indeed it does. An oximeter to measure your saturation levels (another $25 US), and you are set for your adventure.

D sized tanks are 425 liters. At 1/2 liter per minute flow rate, that is a theoretical capacity of 850 minutes, or 14 hours.

Tanks can be replaced at any medical supply store associated with that company, anywhere in North America. Have not had to use that feature yet. I never have to worry about getting tanks tested. I don't think you can get any cheaper than that, unless you are a big oxygen consumer then you might want to buy a tank and refill it yourself.

Per your avatar, it looks like you might be flying a homebuilt. I used a couple of worm clamps to affix the tank right behind the seats so I can easily adjust the regulator. Don't forget to add "shut off oxygen flow" to your aircraft shut-down checklist.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the detailed info! And yes, I fly a homebuilt so no issue with adding a bracket.

 

[Salty]

I wonder if there’s a way to remote power on the innogen so you can put it in the tail cone. Maybe it can just run all the time the master is on? Just thinking out loud.

 

[455 Bravo Uniform]

A “little” bottle (the kind that will fit in a soft carry case) will last me about 4 hours on the lower settings. I turn it up until my O2 saturation is acceptable. Doesn’t take much. If you buy a demand regulator, and a bigger bottle, you should be good for multiple 2 hour legs.

Check FB marketplace or Craigslist for used medical bottles. I think I was all-in for $100 or so doing it ala carte used like this. 3 little bottles, a bigger one with a tiny cart, a bunch of regular regulators and a demand regulator.

The only things I bought new were nasal cannulas and an adapter so the FBO can connect the med bottle to their fill system.