Drinking while flying...

Maxnr said:
What is the connection with radials and relief tubes? Since, I have had my close calls in the usual collection of Cessnas, Pipers and Mooneys. None with relief tubes.
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I flew a Piper Navajo Chieftain that had a relief tube. I found it stuffed under the floor matting under the pilot seat one day while looking for a pencil I dropped. It was flattened, stiff and had many cracks in the hose. I am afraid using it would have made a big mess under the pilot seat. But it was an option for Piper, or at least that model Chieftain.
 
I only take up plastic water bottles with the flip tops. If I spill water inside, nobody cares. I don't want to deal with the potential of spilling soda, and I've never developed a taste for coffee. Never understood it.
 
The 206 has factory cup holders by the fuel selector that are usually stocked with iced tea and couple water bottles in the pax seatback pocket.

Chalk me up to being one the ones who can’t go 2 hours without a drink.

When I was driving everyday the cupholders in my Kenworth sucked so I used a full roll of duct tape. Just lay it flat on the floor and add your favorite drink cup.
 
BTW, hard candy is easy to mange in the cockpit and will alleviate thirst, though of course it won’t help with dehydration. It might not be a bad idea to have a bag of Jolly Ranchers somewhere in he cockpit.
 
We were looking at a wine decanter once that was oddly shaped. Margy commented that it looked like a Little John with the Lady J adapter. We decided not to purchase it.
 
If you fly a Cirrus, for only $1,274.00 your problem is solved. How much more for A&P to install using an authorized Cirrus screw driver, enter it into the air frame log book and reweigh the aircraft per Cirrus instructions I cannot say.

https://buycirrusdirect.com/eCirrus/default.aspx?appname=Store&tabname=Products&PartID=70689_4X2_KIT
GetThumb.ashx
 
Always wondered if it was an urban legend or true: guy takes a sealed thermos of hot coffee on a flight in an unpressurized airplane, flies into the teens, and upon opening the thermos - given the lower boiling point because of lower air pressure - the coffee flashes into steam.
 
Bottled water.

Kept in a shoebox on the passenger seat, along with checklist, flashlight, rag, and any small items I might need in flight.
 
NoHeat said:
Bottled water.

Kept in a shoebox on the passenger seat, along with checklist, flashlight, rag, and any small items I might need in flight.
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90% of my flights my wife is in the passenger seat so can't put anything there. My dog is usually in the back so anything left there is subject to chewing or slobber.
 
Rich Holt said:
I 'member back in the day in the mole-hole of an E-2. I'd bring a 40 oz thermos full of coffee with me. It'd be 140 F on the flight deck and I still be drinking coffee. People always asked how I did that. I always wondered, how they didn't. There were two drawers that were in between the three stations aft that I'd stuff with the thermos and various other snacks.

Not sure what I'm going to do in this Grumman though. On the center console behind the trim wheel maybe?
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Same thing on my tank. The temp gauge wasn't for the crew but for the ammo. It would often top 120 and I still had my coffee. Pop out of the hatch while moving and get the 100+ degree wind in the face and yes, still coffee. I was on CNN once in 04 and my parents saw me. I was not on my tank but behind a machinegun on a truck. The reporter was talking about an attack and my folks knew it was me because I had the flat bottomed coffee cup that my Dad gave me for the dash of my car. Coffee.... it is the life blood of those that have random sleep schedules. ;)
 
I have both cup holders and a relief tube…. I haven’t used them but they are there… :goofy:
 
I have a 2 hour butt or a 2 hour bladder. Whichever comes first dictates that I am most likely landing.

Having said that, I don't drink anything before heading to the airplane for a trip and will normally only drink something if we are within 30 minutes of landing. On occasion I have wanted a cup holder and found that the center consoles you can find in the auto parts stores seem to work well.
 
Large bottle of Gatorade, yellow flavor is the best. Kidding….

When I take something, it’s a screw top Nalgene with water. I keep a peanut jar in my flight bag for emergencies, good size and wide mouth.
 
Groundpounder said:
Because people finally realized that getting dehydrated isn't the most healthy thing ever?
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You get dehydrated in two hours (while seated, comfortable, at normal temps)? No need to answer, as I'm a doctor, and I already know the answer.
 
Country Flier said:
You get dehydrated in two hours (while seated, comfortable, at normal temps)? No need to answer, as I'm a doctor, and I already know the answer.
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In the summer, I feel (but medically I probably am not) dehydrated by the time I finish my run-up and go full throttle for takeoff. "Normal temps" for me happen for a month in Spring and for a month in Fall. Other than that, it's either too hot or too cold lol.
 
Chrisgoesflying said:
In the summer, I feel (but medically I probably am not) dehydrated by the time I finish my run-up and go full throttle for takeoff. "Normal temps" for me happen for a month in Spring and for a month in Fall. Other than that, it's either too hot or too cold lol.
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I think actual dehydration, vs "fad health/diet" dehydration which I can only assume @Groundpounder references, answers my original question.
 
FZpsmfv.jpg


It was in the plane when I got it. I laughed the first time I saw it but I'll be damned if I wasn't using it while taking this picture 2 hours later! They're less than 10 bucks on Amazon and fold flat when not in use so they're out of the way. Also works pretty good to hold a cell phone.
 
FredFenster said:
FZpsmfv.jpg


It was in the plane when I got it. I laughed the first time I saw it but I'll be damned if I wasn't using it while taking this picture 2 hours later! They're less than 10 bucks on Amazon and fold flat when not in use so they're out of the way. Also works pretty good to hold a cell phone.
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Just ordered. I'm not screwing that into the plane, but I'll make some kind of hook or bracket to hang it from the sidewall. I like that it folds up. For less than 6 bucks it's worth a shot.
 
FredFenster said:
FZpsmfv.jpg


It was in the plane when I got it. I laughed the first time I saw it but I'll be damned if I wasn't using it while taking this picture 2 hours later! They're less than 10 bucks on Amazon and fold flat when not in use so they're out of the way. Also works pretty good to hold a cell phone.
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I picked up 4 of these custom cupholders from Sporty's. Only $24.95 each. For an extra ten bucks a piece I could have had them add a Beechcraft logo but I didn't feel like splurging.


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I picked up a couple of suction cup cup holders from Amazon. I put them on the side windows with the base of the cup holder resting on the door/sidewall edge where it rolls over to the window. That way the suction cup really isn’t carrying any load. Then I use one of those thermos cups that won’t spill - important when there’s turbulence.

I try not to drink too much on cross countries, but even then, when I stop for fuel, the closer I get to the FBO, the more I gotta “go.”
 
I put my drink on the floor between the seats. My version of the PA46 took out the cupholder between the seats for the USB and 110V ports. Newer ones got it back, but, oh well. I have hundreds…. probably more hours with a drink sitting on the floor and never spilled. I am sometimes surprised at how much turbulence I get without the drink spilling. You should be coordinated in flight, and turbulence is just up and down. On takeoff I put it in front of the spar, and landing behind the spar to handle those accelerations, because they will spill the drink. Still want my cupholder back though.
 
Coffee must be fully processed and downloaded prior to flight and plastic water bottles are easy to smoosh under the seat or wedged into any crack within arms reach.

I recently aborted an entire leg of a long flight because most of the water was going inside the cockpit instead of my mouth, due to turbulence.

Restrict water consumption to the last 20 or so minutes of a flight to avoid the obvious consequences...
 
I fly with the insulated straw flip ups. Take a sip and put it back in my flight bag or wherever I have it stowed. On longer trips I’ll usually bring a Gatorade to sip also. Don’t overdo hydration. I’ve never had to land to run to the head. Except once. Was split timing a flight with a friend and the headwinds were hellacious on return. We alternated finding an “outhouse” at an airport without services in 40 mph (exaggeration) winds.
 
Last year, I took the clubs Arrow to drop in on friends at a couple of different airports nearby. I bought a Grande sized Starbucks on the way and forgot it on the back seat, sitting next to my flight bag.

It survived 2 take offs and landings without tipping over or spilling a drop. It was just barely luke warm by the time I remembered it. Which is just as well, because by the time I landed at the 2nd airport, I was looking for a bathroom.
 
I don’t drink anything other than water in flight. I have a water bottle from a convenience store with a flip top that I can handle easily with one hand. Even that is against my grain. I virtually learned to drive in Germany. A German has more hours of training for a drivers license than an American does for a pilots license. One of their main principles is to FOCUS ON DRIVING! You will rarely or never see a German drinking anything while driving. That’s why I feel uncomfortable even getting a swig of water n flight.

My lovely wife OTOH insists on bringing her Yetti in the plane and it is a distraction worrying about her spilling it or something weird like it getting loose and jamming the rudder pedals or something.
 
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