Flight Endurance

[pppatacki]

Ok, so I have enjoyed reading all the post and have learned a lot about CAP. 
I do have a question. I have read that some missions can last 3 or 4 hours. So............... Do you have bladders of steel? I can see 2 hours maybe even 3 if you are not drinking water but 4? So how do you handle this?

Thanks,

Pete

[jimmydeanno]

Go before you take-off.

[Al Sayre]

Avoid caffine and eat a salty snack like peanuts or chips.  Caffine is a diuretic, but the salt from the snack will help your body to retain water.  Drain your bladder immediately before departure even if you don't feel like you need to right then.

[Eclipse]

With some exceptions anything more than a couple of hours will be a high-bird sortie or similar, probably orbiting over or near an airfield. Most CAP planes run out of gas around the same time the people inside are "full".

The longest I've done was a 4-hour highbird as MRO and both the pilot and I were quite ready to pour fuel
when we finally landed.

AOBD's like to rotate aircrews, there are ORM issues with longer sorties, and aircrews duty-days they can't break, so long-duration missions are going to be fairly rare, but in a pinch, your water bottle can be used as
liquid storage, too.

[Flying Pig]

Take an empty bottle with you.  I use 1 qt size peanut container with cat litter in it.
Im going to write a book titled Memoirs of a Surveillance Pilot  Look for it.

[Hawk200]

Something that was mentioned during RSC was large Ziploc bags with a diaper inside.  Turn the diaper inside out so it will absorb better. I haven't tried it, but it seems like it works.

As for the bottles, the large mouth Gatorade bottles seem to be the best bet. Easier to hit when it's a little bumpy.

[bosshawk]

Rob: most of the time that I see you on a Sheriff's mission you are lounging on a couch, watching TV, and complaining that your target hasn't appeared.  Not much of an issue with the bladder there.

[Flying Pig]

Well, the problem is when I have to pee and its still several minutes until the commercial break....Shows what you know!

[Eclipse]

You could always invest in a "Stadium Pal"...

[pppatacki]

So far beyond the common sense suggestions, I like the bottle with cat litter the best. There is something a bit strange about the diaper idea 

[TXCAP]

Emptied water bottles always work.  If you want something a little more upscale I have found the Travel John packs work well.
http://www.sportys.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&did=19&product_id=299

[Flying Pig]

So far beyond the common sense suggestions, I like the bottle with cat litter the best. There is something a bit strange about the diaper idea 

YES! I WON :clap:

[MSgt Van]

GA-8 - camera window...

[EMT-83]

We do 4 hour patrols on a regular basis. I plan on limiting fluid intake before the flight and visiting the rest room just prior to leaving. I always bring a water bottle, and start drinking in the last hour of the patrol. I'm ready to it the head again when we land, but never worry about dehydration.

[Hawk200]

So far beyond the common sense suggestions, I like the bottle with cat litter the best. There is something a bit strange about the diaper idea 

That was suggested by Col Ed Lewis. He learned that trick while he was flying in the Air Force. I haven't tried it, but I've used Gatorade bottles before.

[PHall]

There's also a product out there called "Brief Relief". We use them at AT&T.
They have a powder in them that gels the liquid so spilling is not a problem. And they have a very good seal too.

[RiverAux]

Be sure you're either flying as a scanner or are REALLY comfortable with the guy (or gal) next to you in the front of the plane if you're going to try some of these moves.

[pppatacki]

RiverAux - Good point.

[Flying Pig]

Just take a helicopter.  You can literally pee right there.

[bosshawk]

One of my funniest stories involving aviation revolves around a good friend of mine who was flying with me from Rapid City, SD to Ogden, UT in my Bonanza.  He had a 1 hr bladder on a three hour flight, so decided to use his "Piddle Pac", which he thought was in the back seat.  He climbed over the seat and discovered that said pac was really in the baggage compartment and then took a half hour to find it.  Then, he had trouble locating certain other plumbing and getting it to function.  When he finally climbed back over the front seat into his seat, we were less than a half hour out of Ogden.

You had to be there to hear the language over the noise of the engine.