5 ms·

Honestly this isn't something people select for at all--by the time you've made it through that many rounds of selection you aren't going to let GI issues keep

by scarier 6mo ago

Honestly this isn't something people select for at all--by the time you've made it through that many rounds of selection you aren't going to let GI issues keep you from the finish. I've heard of some creative solutions to the problem involving safing the ejection seat and getting out of your gear, but I don't really believe any of them. If you think it's a significant risk, you basically have two options: talk to the squadron flight surgeon and get medically grounded, or wear a diaper. Almost everyone is too proud to do either of those things, so a number of pilots have call signs related to shitting themselves in flight. Yes, everyone will make fun of you after the fact--if you're a decent person, you'll at least clean out the cockpit yourself.

WalterBright 6mo ago
I suppose you could avoid eating hours before a mission, and not eat gassy foods.
- the_af 6mo ago
  I wonder if hunger can affect your focus and reflexes though.
  - WalterBright 6mo ago
    If missing a meal causes that, I suspect we would have died out as a species long ago.
    - the_af 6mo ago
      The context is piloting a fighter aircraft in a multi-hour combat mission though. I think missing meal might matter for mission critical, uh, missions. I'm not talking doing menial work while skipping lunch.
      - WalterBright 6mo ago
        A full gut makes you sleepy and lethargic, as the blood moves to your gut to help digest. There's a reason many societies have a siesta after lunch. A full belly can causes problem if you get wounded. Besides, I doubt our ancestors went on the hunt with full bellies. I go jogging, but never after a meal. If I'm busy, I also do not notice being hungry, even if I haven't eaten in 16+ hours. One more thing. I hitched a ride with autocross racer. While I was strapped in tight, when he'd make a hard turn my guts would slosh over to the side, which was rather painful. The fix was to bear down hard on my abdominal muscles. I expect it would be much worse with a full belly, and a fighter pilot is going to be pulling lots of g's.
        the_af 6mo ago
        Oh, believe me, I know about the need for siestas. But surely there's a middle ground between "heavy lunch" and "skipping lunch entirely" for a multi hour combat sortie? Many people cannot focus (especially over long periods of time) on an empty stomach. > If I'm busy, I also do not notice being hungry, even if I haven't eaten in 16+ hours. Combat sorties are hours of boredom where you have to keep attention just in case, followed by an explosion of frantic action. Unless you're a combat pilot I'd say your experience doesn't apply here?
        WalterBright 6mo ago
        I'm not a combat pilot, but my dad was. Flying over enemy territory requires constant alertness, for many hours at a stretch. You can be attacked at any time, by flak or enemy fighters, who love to catch an enemy napping. A favorite Luftwaffe tactic was to come up from behind, catch the tailgunner unawares, and rake it with cannon fire and get an easy kill. If the tailgunner was awake, he'd fire a few rounds of tracers (while out of range) to let the 109 know he was on the bounce, and the 109 would usually back off. His cohort suffered 80% casualties. > Many people are not fit to be combat pilots. The AF is very selective. (I didn't qualify, as I wear glasses.) They work hard to weed out slackers, people of low intelligence, sloppy people, unhealthy people, dishonest people, etc. They'll even reject you for a speeding ticket.
    - Teever 6mo ago
      spurous reasoning because it relies on performance being a binary thing and not a gradiant.
- scarier 6mo ago
  That's one option, although for longer missions your preparation generally needs to start the night before and I wouldn't recommend flying on an empty stomach (unless it works for you, but it makes most people more susceptible to airsickness). There isn't one consistent method that works for everyone--I think the book Sled Driver has a section where they talk about physiological preparation for SR-71 flights, and the only consistent habit the crew had was NOT eating the "traditional," low-residue steak-and-eggs breakfast. Good news for gassy food lovers is the cabin pressure changes make everyone fart, there's no one else in the cockpit to hear or smell you, and even if there was it'd be loud and they'd be wearing an oxygen mask. Little victories.
  - WalterBright 6mo ago
    I don't pack liquids when flying as the lowered air pressure forces the liquid out of the container. Factory sealed is ok.
- mr_toad 6mo ago
  in WWII they had to avoid serving gassy foods to bomber crews because at high altitudes intestinal issues could go from uncomfortable to lethal.
  - WalterBright 6mo ago
    I didn't know that! But I do know that crews got eggs before flights. Nobody else did. When RAF pilots went to the Soviet Union to help the Soviets, when the first frost came the pilots were horrified when the women brought out big vats of fat and ladled it out. But after flying in those cold temperatures, they realized the fat was just the thing to keep them warm!
- cpgxiii 6mo ago
  Imodium also does wonders for slowing things down and avoiding bowel movements, provided you use it carefully and infrequently such that you don't totally mess up your normal gut functioning.

by scarier 6mo ago

WalterBright 6mo ago

I suppose you could avoid eating hours before a mission, and not eat gassy foods.

the_af 6mo ago
I wonder if hunger can affect your focus and reflexes though.
- WalterBright 6mo ago
  If missing a meal causes that, I suspect we would have died out as a species long ago.
  - the_af 6mo ago
    The context is piloting a fighter aircraft in a multi-hour combat mission though. I think missing meal might matter for mission critical, uh, missions. I'm not talking doing menial work while skipping lunch.
    - WalterBright 6mo ago
      A full gut makes you sleepy and lethargic, as the blood moves to your gut to help digest. There's a reason many societies have a siesta after lunch. A full belly can causes problem if you get wounded. Besides, I doubt our ancestors went on the hunt with full bellies. I go jogging, but never after a meal. If I'm busy, I also do not notice being hungry, even if I haven't eaten in 16+ hours. One more thing. I hitched a ride with autocross racer. While I was strapped in tight, when he'd make a hard turn my guts would slosh over to the side, which was rather painful. The fix was to bear down hard on my abdominal muscles. I expect it would be much worse with a full belly, and a fighter pilot is going to be pulling lots of g's.
      - the_af 6mo ago
        Oh, believe me, I know about the need for siestas. But surely there's a middle ground between "heavy lunch" and "skipping lunch entirely" for a multi hour combat sortie? Many people cannot focus (especially over long periods of time) on an empty stomach. > If I'm busy, I also do not notice being hungry, even if I haven't eaten in 16+ hours. Combat sorties are hours of boredom where you have to keep attention just in case, followed by an explosion of frantic action. Unless you're a combat pilot I'd say your experience doesn't apply here?
        WalterBright 6mo ago
        I'm not a combat pilot, but my dad was. Flying over enemy territory requires constant alertness, for many hours at a stretch. You can be attacked at any time, by flak or enemy fighters, who love to catch an enemy napping. A favorite Luftwaffe tactic was to come up from behind, catch the tailgunner unawares, and rake it with cannon fire and get an easy kill. If the tailgunner was awake, he'd fire a few rounds of tracers (while out of range) to let the 109 know he was on the bounce, and the 109 would usually back off. His cohort suffered 80% casualties. > Many people are not fit to be combat pilots. The AF is very selective. (I didn't qualify, as I wear glasses.) They work hard to weed out slackers, people of low intelligence, sloppy people, unhealthy people, dishonest people, etc. They'll even reject you for a speeding ticket.
  - Teever 6mo ago
    spurous reasoning because it relies on performance being a binary thing and not a gradiant.
scarier 6mo ago
That's one option, although for longer missions your preparation generally needs to start the night before and I wouldn't recommend flying on an empty stomach (unless it works for you, but it makes most people more susceptible to airsickness). There isn't one consistent method that works for everyone--I think the book Sled Driver has a section where they talk about physiological preparation for SR-71 flights, and the only consistent habit the crew had was NOT eating the "traditional," low-residue steak-and-eggs breakfast. Good news for gassy food lovers is the cabin pressure changes make everyone fart, there's no one else in the cockpit to hear or smell you, and even if there was it'd be loud and they'd be wearing an oxygen mask. Little victories.
- WalterBright 6mo ago
  I don't pack liquids when flying as the lowered air pressure forces the liquid out of the container. Factory sealed is ok.
mr_toad 6mo ago
in WWII they had to avoid serving gassy foods to bomber crews because at high altitudes intestinal issues could go from uncomfortable to lethal.
- WalterBright 6mo ago
  I didn't know that! But I do know that crews got eggs before flights. Nobody else did. When RAF pilots went to the Soviet Union to help the Soviets, when the first frost came the pilots were horrified when the women brought out big vats of fat and ladled it out. But after flying in those cold temperatures, they realized the fat was just the thing to keep them warm!
cpgxiii 6mo ago
Imodium also does wonders for slowing things down and avoiding bowel movements, provided you use it carefully and infrequently such that you don't totally mess up your normal gut functioning.