tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post8918596986486293521..comments2024-03-13T09:47:40.487+00:00Comments on Cockpit Conversation: Too Much InformationAviatrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13634111275860140084noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-45982367199283862992008-11-14T21:59:00.000+00:002008-11-14T21:59:00.000+00:00Anonymous of 8:11 pm: I'd hardly call needing to p...Anonymous of 8:11 pm: I'd hardly call needing to pee more than once in eight hours "frequent urination", and in the cooler months I probably drink less than 500 mL over the course of a 7 hour mission. I make sure I drink lots after landing to make up for it, but it's hardly a desperate quest for liquid, just me knowing that I should.<BR/><BR/>You're supposed to drink enough water that your pee is nearly clear, to ensure that you are properly hydrated.<BR/><BR/>Pilots are screened for diabetes every medical, and I don't have any family history, nor the symptoms on the linked page.Aviatrixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13634111275860140084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-35056539653412454782008-11-14T20:46:00.000+00:002008-11-14T20:46:00.000+00:00Whenever this happens there's always that thought ...Whenever this happens there's always that thought "am I going to make it?".<BR/><BR/>Spare a thought for the U2 pilots. I read a great article (can't find it now) which said that before a mission they ate a "low residue diet". The reason being that on their very long missions it wasn't just the need to urinate that became a problem!<BR/><BR/>Many years ago in NZ the world distance to goal gliding record was broken. Crossing Cook Strait at 28,000' everything iced up. One of the guys told me later that the results are inevitable and uncomfortable when you try and pee out of a tube that has a plug of ice in the end!<BR/><BR/>Glad the outcome was OK LOL.<BR/><BR/>MikeCritical Alphahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16907258677958422214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-11564455795224478592008-11-14T20:11:00.000+00:002008-11-14T20:11:00.000+00:00Are you noticing that you are unable to sleep thro...Are you noticing that you are unable to sleep through the night without urinating as well? If so, and I hate to mention this with your past medical challenges, but it could be a sign of Type II Diabetes. Reference: http://www.diabetessymptomsonline.com/urination-and-thirst.htmAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-43982990017383177162008-11-14T05:20:00.000+00:002008-11-14T05:20:00.000+00:00Two stories to add:1 - When I moved from Toronto t...Two stories to add:<BR/><BR/>1 - When I moved from Toronto to Northern MB, I was in a similar situation where my cell phone no longer had service. I called up the company and asked to cancel my service stating that I had moved to a smaller town and I no longer had service. <BR/><BR/>The person on the phone asked "Well have you checked our service coverage map to see if you get service?" - "No", I responded, "I turn on my phone and it gets no reception." She couldn't really argue with that. <BR/><BR/><BR/>2- This was not a story that happened to me, but rather a client at the fancy FBO I worked at during undergrad. <BR/><BR/>An older gentleman who owned his own piston twin had flown to Charlottetown PEI where he had enjoyed 3 full bowls of the airport cafeteria's signature seafood chowder. <BR/><BR/>About 45 minutes into the flight, he had to pee. He was flying alone and the plane was outfitted with pilot relief tubes so he decided to use them - apparently he found it easier to use them by taking off his pants. <BR/><BR/>So he's flying along pantless and relieving himself when wouldn't you know it - an engine fails! <BR/><BR/>He went through the engine failure checklist, secured the engine, declared an emergency and headed for the nearest airport. After he got everything stabilized, he put his pants back on. He landed it safely. <BR/><BR/>The whole time he was pantless and running through the emergency procedures, all he could think about was, geez, if I crash, when they find me in this plane not wearing any pants, they're going to wonder what the heck was going on!Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08182491952606831811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-6743789396876527402008-11-14T02:44:00.000+00:002008-11-14T02:44:00.000+00:00Ahhh. Another area where rotor wing pilots have i...Ahhh. Another area where rotor wing pilots have it all over the fixed wing jocks.<BR/><BR/>Able to park almost anywhere to quickly "check the tail rotor/fuel/scenery"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-64578929299045628262008-11-14T01:35:00.000+00:002008-11-14T01:35:00.000+00:00It's a problem.Like Ed above, I've had to ...It's a problem.<BR/><BR/>Like Ed above, I've had to deal with this on x/c soaring flights. Strapped into a parachute & reclined seating in very tight quarters makes things ... awkward.<BR/><BR/>I've got an apparently shrinking bladder, so I've had to be conscious not to over-drink before flights, and only lightly during. It especially helps to cut back on the caffeine. Still, I have to use to the nappies as backups of last resort.<BR/><BR/>You will be served just fine by the porta john you mention. You can move around a little, have an autopilot, not to mention <B>two</B> engines. I only hope you have a cockpit door or at least curtain.<BR/><BR/>For even more too much information:<BR/><BR/>Most (men) use the plumbing route. We've learned it's not a good idea to thermal underneath someone who has their gear down.<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.derosaweb.net/aviation/relief" REL="nofollow">derosa</A><BR/><BR/>Women's solutions are a little more complicated:<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.freeflight.org.uk/gliding/relief.html" REL="nofollow">sparrow</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-63057828424134828722008-11-14T01:03:00.000+00:002008-11-14T01:03:00.000+00:00It's not by NASA, but developed for the US Air For...It's not by NASA, but developed for the US Air Force, the <A HREF="http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/05/pilot-relief.html" REL="nofollow">Advanced Mission Extender Device</A> is what you're looking for.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-27470522906008158942008-11-14T00:15:00.000+00:002008-11-14T00:15:00.000+00:00Gliding I used to pee at least once on pretty much...Gliding I used to pee at least once on pretty much every cross-country flight. Used to have two plastic bags - one inside the other - in case of small holes. One pee and the inner one could be emptied out the DV panel and then stored in the outer one. If a second pee was needed the whole combination went out of the window. Sorry about the litter. Roasting bags are good, they don't stretch.<BR/><BR/>Many gliders are fitted with "vent" tubes going out the bottom of the cockpit. Problem is subsequent undercarriage corrosion.<BR/><BR/>Women pilots I knew mostly just dealt with it by bladder training though one friend flying my glider did have to land at another airfield only 25 km out on the way home as she was not able to concentrate any more.<BR/><BR/>The chief flying instructor of my club made up a mechanism for his girlfriend, though, involving a Volvo windscreen washer motor and plastic instrument tubing, etc. She kept it all in a little wash bag which was really quite discrete.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-57026580444968196402008-11-13T23:44:00.000+00:002008-11-13T23:44:00.000+00:00I'm a male runner and have had to learn about how ...I'm a male runner and have had to learn about how my hydration needs have changed as I age. Oh and pretty much stopping caffeine intake made a huge difference. My "it's only two cups" the day of a run seems to have seriously decreased my ability to keep hydrated, along with the consequent increase in trips to the bathroom.<BR/><BR/>I've learned that I really need very little in the way of hydration, save for prior to a run in summer heat, when I can't seem to have enough.<BR/><BR/>Glad you survived, Aviatrix; sounds like it wasn't much fun.<BR/><BR/>MartyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-19998151269249272282008-11-13T23:34:00.000+00:002008-11-13T23:34:00.000+00:00A friend of mine who flies (by himself) over long ...A friend of mine who flies (by himself) over long distances suggested taking a long a bottle of yellow gatorade.<BR/><BR/>Stay well hydrated with it, and, when empty, well, it is not so obvious what it is once you land and want to dispose of it. Just don't forget what's in the bottle.<BR/><BR/>This is completely notwithstanding the gender-specific challenges imposed by sitting in a seat and having a bottle to capture things in... for that one I can only imagine and offer my sympathies. Do those funnel things work!?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-5282304766520322732008-11-13T23:11:00.000+00:002008-11-13T23:11:00.000+00:00Blake: I don't know if the air pressure has any ef...Blake: I don't know if the air pressure has any effect, but nervousness and cold both make you feel like you have to go. I remember reading that that was a big problem for WWII bomber crews, especially tailgunners, who were strapped tight into a very small bubble outsite the fuselage for 7-8 hours, with no way to get into the plane and relieve themselves -- if they wet their pants, they might lose certain body parts to frostbite by the time the mission was over.<BR/><BR/>Once I did try to go while flying a plane (alone, single-pilot IFR, no autopilot). I used an empty water bottle and managed with no mess (despite the turbulence over the hills of New Hampshire), keeping the plane level with my feet on the rudder pedals. I decided I'd prefer not to experience that again. <BR/><BR/>Usually, I limit myself to max 4:00 legs in the Cherokee, and since I'm a healthy 43-year-old non-coffee-drinking male, that doesn't cause too much discomfort (in 15 or 20 years, the legs might have to be a lot shorter). I deliberately dehydrate myself a bit before a flight, and bring along water to drink gradually later on, when landing is only a couple of hours away.davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15194758376900990105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-58591286653730760482008-11-13T22:43:00.000+00:002008-11-13T22:43:00.000+00:00@Kevin DeGraafNot meaning to speak for Aviatrix, b...@Kevin DeGraaf<BR/><BR/>Not meaning to speak for Aviatrix, but aircraft command is a leadership position, and as such, comfort becomes secondary to the mission for reasons of business and professionalism. The pax might sympathize with an unscheduled pit-stop, but also might later question whether or not their pilot meets their needs for reliable transport.<BR/><BR/>If she thought that her bladder distracted her concentration to the extent that it put the aircraft in real jeopardy, that's one thing. Anything short of that is just a private sort of hell.dpiercehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03397601206317363858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-85980104845328007702008-11-13T22:02:00.000+00:002008-11-13T22:02:00.000+00:00First off, anyone who hits the comments and tells ...<I>First off, anyone who hits the comments and tells me, perhaps citing Tycho Brahe, that people have died from holding their pee, are full of it.</I><BR/><BR/>To be fair, "holding it" can be <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KDND" REL="nofollow">fatal</A> if it is performed in conjunction with the consumption of a ridiculous amount of water (although this is clearly different from your situation).<BR/><BR/><I>There's nowhere convenient to land, and even if I were passing directly over an airport, I can't just say, "ladies and gentlemen, we now have an unscheduled stop.</I><BR/><BR/>This is just my humble opinion, offered with all due respect, but I wonder if the customers might have preferred an unscheduled delay to the prospect of their pilot being incapacitated by bladder-based agony during the approach and landing phases.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-50622858129046430072008-11-13T21:29:00.000+00:002008-11-13T21:29:00.000+00:00The seated position makes it so much worse. I can...The seated position makes it so much worse. I can't count the number of times just getting out of the seat and standing up makes the urge go away.dpiercehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03397601206317363858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-51553452085542172892008-11-13T21:06:00.000+00:002008-11-13T21:06:00.000+00:00The urge to go increases exponentially as you get ...The urge to go increases exponentially as you get closer to your destination.<BR/><BR/>I wonder if descending from 10,000' to ground level, the increase in air pressure exaggerates the situation.<BR/><BR/>This happened to me once, except I couldn't hold it long enough to hit the bathrooms. After tie down, I used the airplane as a wind-break and "watered" the ramp.<BR/><BR/>Guess one of the advantages of being a male ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-85748779040412354352008-11-13T20:53:00.000+00:002008-11-13T20:53:00.000+00:00Ok. I laughed hysterically when I read this post. ...Ok. I laughed hysterically when I read this post. I am amazed that you were able to hold it so long-- and keep your focus. I saw something recently about needing to "go" being one of the biggest (and easiest to resolve) stress inducers to flying. My Husband and I have had to land several times for me to have an unscheduled break-- and I've also had to ask my flight instructor to land once. It was pretty embarassing... but oh so much easier to focus on my approaches afterward!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com