GENTEX® Flight Helmets

GENTEX® made its first flight helmet in 1948 and today is the world's premier designer and manufacturer of flight helmets and life support equipment. In fact, GENTEX® is the only company making flight helmets approved by the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Army, and Coast Guard, as well as dozens of governmental agencies and foreign military forces. Over 90% of all the flight helmets in the world are GENTEX® helmets.

Helmet Performance Standards

The only standards for aviation helmets are those developed by the armed forces. There are no standards for commercial aviation helmets. Any company can call its commercial helmet a “Flight Helmet” or “Helicopter Helmet” without regard to the helmet's actual quality or performance.

The military takes aviation standards seriously. The Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard each have organizations devoted to aviation standards. After analyzing accident data, they set performance goals and standards and then work with GENTEX® to design helmets that achieve those goals.

Since there are no commercial aviation helmet standards, and no certifying organization, the most practical way to select a flight helmet is to purchase a helmet approved by a modern military helicopter force.

Gibson & Barnes

Gibson & Barnes is GENTEX's exclusive United States distributor of GENTEX® flying helmets. Gibson & Barnes stocks over a half-million dollars of GENTEX® products so you can quickly get the helmets and parts you need.

Genuine GENTEX®

When you order a flight helmet from Gibson & Barnes, you can be sure it is a newly manufactured genuine GENTEX® helmet. Gibson & Barnes does not sell used, military surplus, or reconditioned helmets or parts.

More Information

You can find more information on helmet standards from the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, Fort Rucker, AL 36362-0577 www.usaarl.army.mil. Another good source of information on helmet performance, testing, and impact protection is the Snell Memorial Foundation. Their web site is www.smf.org.