 The skills and techniques for surviving can be learned through training and experience. Though very important, these skills can be severely hampered if you don't have adequate tools with which to survive. A person who has a good imagination and some degree of ingenuity will find that both nature and the aircraft can provide most of the tools they need to survive. But if the aircraft is totally destroyed and you are in an environment that has extremely limited resources, the only gear you have available for survival is what is on your person and whatever survival kits you are able to get off the aircraft. The FAA has provided you with training and very comprehensive survival kits and life rafts designed to keep you alive until rescue. However, just having these items on board isn't enough. You must know exactly what you have available to you and, more importantly, how to properly use them in a survival environment. This module will concentrate on three areas. Survival kits provided by the FAA, life rafts and accessory kits provided by the FAA, and personal survival kits. The Mod One is a comprehensive survival kit that is designed to keep four persons alive for 72 hours. The Mod One is equipped to address seven vital areas, first aid, shelter, water, food, signaling, fire starting, and tools. In the area of first aid, the Mod One contains the Adventure Day Tripper Medical Kit. It is designed for up to five people and is equipped to last approximately four days. Its contents include a brochure, an illustrated guide to life-threatening injuries, bandage scissors, splinter picker forceps, double antibiotic ointment, antiseptic towels, tincture, butterfly closure strips, mole skin, mole foam, surgical gloves, antimicrobial hand wipes, sterile dressing in various sizes, adhesive tape, adhesive bandages in various sizes, trauma pads, gauze bandage, cotton tipped applicator, elastic bandage with velcro, acetaminophen, antihistamine, ibuprofen, safety pins, accident report and pencil. In addition to the Day Tripper, the Mod One will contain the following additional first aid items, sunblock, no-rinse body wash, insect repellent. During your global survival course, you have or will receive a block of instruction on first aid techniques. This will help to tie together the first aid kit items and their use so that you may better treat common post-crash and survival injuries. In the area of shelter, the Mod One kit contains items that will help to protect you from the elements so that you can better maintain proper body core temperature. These items are tube tents, emergency bags, gloves and sunglasses. Of course these items are definitely more effective if you combine them with proper dress for the environment in which you find yourself. For a more comprehensive look on how to dress for survival, refer to the modules on hot land and cold land survival. Water needs are addressed simply by drinking the packaged water located in the Mod One kit. There isn't a large amount of water and it will only help to sustain you for a short time. More than likely, you will need to find additional water. For a more detailed discussion on water procurement and purification, refer to the hot land survival module. Food isn't a high priority while surviving. The only time you should eat is when there is an ample amount of drinking water. As mentioned, there isn't an abundance of water in the Mod One kit. So if additional water is procured, at least two quarts per day per person, you can safely eat the survival rations in the kit. The Daytrex bars located in the Mod One have the ideal macronutrient profile, high carbohydrate, moderate fat and low protein for surviving in extreme environments. Read the eating instructions on the package before consuming. Signaling devices located in the Mod One kit are plentiful and effective. Each signaling device will have clearly written and simple directions. Read the directions well in advance of use and have signaling devices at hand for instant deployment. The signaling devices contained in the Mod One include signal mirror, MK13 day night flare, strobe light, gyro jet flares, the Orion Ultimate Signal Kit which includes C die marker, orange smoke flare, whistles, signal mirror, solar blanket and aerial flares. Especially when dealing with pyrotechnics, flares, great care must be taken in order to protect you and fellow crew members from potential harm. Items in your kits that are designed for fire starting are plentiful. Fire can be a survivor's best friend. A fire will provide survivors with warmth, security, protection, a way to purify water and cook food as well as acting as a signaling device. Before we address the fire starting devices located in the Mod One kit, we must first learn the steps in starting and maintaining a fire. There are few considerations in picking a spot to start your fire. Make sure you are not starting it in a place that may cause a wildfire. Avoid areas with dried and dead grasses. Don't start it under or near coniferous trees. Don't start it too close to the aircraft or you may risk igniting spilled fuel. It is also a good idea to look up, look for a snow overhang that could come crashing down on your fire. In general, just take a good look around for possible hazards. Next, consider the ground on which the fire is to burn. Brush away all dead leaves till you get to bare earth. Find some rocks that range in size from your fist to about the size of your head. Make your fire pit about three feet in diameter and encircle it with the stones. Pile the stones up to a height of approximately one foot. If in deep snow, where it may be impractical to dig down to bare earth, you may have to cut green logs about three to four feet in length and make a fire platform. For a fire to start and remain burning, it must have three basic elements. It must have oxygen, fuel and heat. Oxygen is abundant in the form of air. Fuel will most likely be procured from nature or from the kit. Heat will be generated from one of the various fire starting devices in the Mod 1 kit. Before you make the first spark, gather all material you will need to start and maintain your fire. First, you need to gather some tinder. A good example of tinder would be fine dried grass, dead and dried pine needles, cotton, paper, magnesium or powdered wood. Simply put, anything that ignites easily and burns hot is considered tinder. Next, you'll need to find some kindling. Examples of kindling would be small twigs, thicker grasses, wood shavings and thin chunks of dried bark. Finally, you need to find some fuel. Fuel would be material ranging from just slightly bigger than kindling to full-fledged logs. Always get three times the amount you think you will need. Get tinder, kindling and fuel all at once and have it near the fire pit. In the pit, you will need to get your tinder piled up in a spot where it is protected from the wind. The next step is to put a spark to the tinder. Ensure that the tinder has a lot of oxygen coming into it. If you put a spark to the tinder and nothing happens, it usually means you have the tinder compressed and insufficient oxygen is feeding the fire. Spread the tinder out slightly and try again. You may also want to gently blow on the tinder to get it going. Once the tinder has ignited, start putting the small tinder on top in a teepee fashion. Progressively work up to the small kindling, then start adding your fuel. Remember to keep your fire just big enough for you and your crew members. Too big a fire exacts a large drain on your energy reserves to keep it going. The Mod 1 kits are sufficiently equipped to make fire starting a cinch. For tinder you will find chemical fire tinder. These are tablets of highly combustible material that burn hot and slow. To get the tinder burning, you will find matches, metal match, a magnifying glass, candles. With the tinder and spark source present in your kits, your job would simply be to procure the kindling and the fuels. In those instances where it is difficult to use a spark-based fire starter, you may opt to use the campfire starters located in the Mod 1. These devices emit a flame similar to a road flare. They burn for approximately 120 seconds, giving you ample time to ignite the kindling and small fuel. Survival tools located in the Mod 1 kit will help you in several ways. The tools you will find in the Mod 1 are mini folding shovel, multi-tool pliers, krill lamp for interior shelter lighting, saber cut saw for cutting firewood, duct tape, and flashlight. As you have seen, the Mod 1 kit is well stocked, but a kit is only as good as the person who is using it. Know the contents and how to use every item in the kit. As with any kit, the Mod 1 has room for improvement. This is where a personal survival kit will come in handy. Typically, you don't want to duplicate items that you have in existing kits, but here are a few suggested items for a personal survival kit. A sharp pocket knife. A spark-based fire starter or waterproof matches. A cable saw. Required medication. Expersed of prescription glasses. A small signal mirror. A small bottle of water purification tablets. A trash bag. A solar blanket. A mini flashlight. Cotton. Double-ought sick steel wool. A small first aid kit. Dental floss. And a small fishing kit. Hooks, lines, sinkers. A point to remember. Keep the personal survival kit to a size that can easily fit into a pocket. The idea is that when you leave the aircraft, so does the kit. Try to keep food items out of personal survival kits, because they may leak or spoil. The life rafts that are put on FAA aircraft are of the highest quality. The two life rafts you will find are the Winslow raft or the Switlick raft. But without proper knowledge of the raft and its components, you put yourself and your fellow crew members at a disadvantage. Some of the features of these life rafts are CO2 and nitrogen inflation system with oversized buoyancy tubes, tripod arch auto-inflating canopy support system, oversized four-rung boarding ladder, five boarding assist handles, combination foul weather observation port and water collector, inflatable insulated floor, auto-deploying hemispherical drogue, 75 feet of heaving line, 35 feet of painter line with quick release, writing line with hand grips, unidirectional radar reflective tape. Each life raft will have an accompanying accessory kit. These items will help to make survival at sea a little easier to facilitate a quicker rescue. Items in the accessory pack include survivor six reverse osmosis pump, sea die marker, emergency water container, raft repair kit, hand pump, raft knife, bailing bucket, sponge, heaving line, sea anchor, fishing kit, flashlight, signal flares, EBC 102 emergency locator transmitter. The life raft will take about 30 seconds to fully deploy in temperate conditions. For an in-depth discussion on raft deployment, writing, boarding and survival techniques, refer to the water survival module. As you have seen, the FAA has invested a great deal in ensuring that its pilots and crew members are properly equipped to survive. It is still the responsibility for each crew member to know what equipment is available to them and how to use it safely. Training, knowledge and preparation in survival will be valuable allies and will substantially increase the odds of your making it back alive.