Daughters v Sons

[Rigex]

Robert Hardman has an article in today's (4. July) Daily Mail (I know, I know) in which he postualtes that Wills & Kate will have a daughter. This is based on the fact(?) that Wills flies helos, and helo pilots have a far greater ratio of daughters to sons. Apparently its not only helo pilots, but aviators generally.
Any comments from you magnificent men...?

[Thomas coupling]

I heard about this phenomenon many years ago by an American helo driver colleague of mine. He said that 'most' men helo drivers have as their first born - a girl...wait for it....due to the vibrations experienced from flying helo's for all those years and the effect those vibes have on the sperm count???

I have a girl first born, he does and about 70% of those I can think off - the same :eek:

[OafOrfUxAche]

I have a girl first born, he does and about 70% of those I can think off - the same


Probably because 70% of helicopter pilots are wet and should have tried harder at school. Different story in the FJ world:ok:

[Wander00]

ISTR that was said of Javelin aircrew

[teeteringhead]

Works for me - one Son-and-Heir sandwiched (chronologically) between two Teeterettes.

Heard it many times before and there does seem to be something in it - if anything 70% seems an underestimate. As for 70% being "wet", can he mean sarbuoys?? ;) Not that many surely

As for "trying harder at school", I think it was AT school that I last heard "wet" used as an insult ........ :ok: But then I'm only a helicopter pilot - and a Grammar School Oik to boot .....

[Two's in]

Probably because 70% of helicopter pilots are wet and should have tried harder at school. Different story in the FJ world

You mean they are all gay and don't have any children?

[Wensleydale]

If a population is to survive, then it is beneficial to produce more female offspring if the environment deteriorates - more females to males can increase population size quicker once the environmental factors are favourable again.

Flying in aircraft is not a benign environment.... there are many theories whether it is lower levels of oxygen, lower pressure, lower temperatures, an environment rich in electromagnetic waves, or even more applications of "G" that produce the hostile environment. It is also thought that the "male" carrying sperm of the father are not as vigorous as the "female" carrying sperm when subjected to the hostile environment - the result is a propensity for daughters.

Moral of the story.... if you are aircrew, and you want to improve your chances of having a son, then do not fly in the days before conception. (The second bang after the door closes following a detachment will get you a daughter).

W (with 2 x daughters, no sons and over 9,000 hours airborne).

[BEagle]

Remember the old saying?

"Fighter pilots always have daughters.............



............................................................ ......and I've just had yours!"

:E

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Twice as many daughters than sons for the aircrew on the FJ outfits I've been on. It's a well recognised phenomenon. Deep sea divers have more daughters too.

[High_Expect]

Many hours sitting behind an AI24 and in FJ in general here. Two boys with a third on the way. I call B******t.

[500N]

I wonder if Adrenalin has anything to do with it ?


And if the same situation occurs say, in Racing car drivers
or other sports where some or all of the factors mentioned
come into play ?

[NutLoose]

I heard you were more likely to have Daughters if you suffer from premature ejaculation, so all of this makes sense now....

[langleybaston]

and the more accurate sort of met man:

3 to 1 in my case.

All that drawing isobars and associating with aircrew.

[Herod]

500N. I've heard that it does apply to racing drivers as well, and someone has already mentioned deep-sea divers. I always translated it as : real men have daughters. (two of, 39 years an aviator)

[albatross]

That's just God getting revenge on us all and having a good laugh too!

[Wwyvern]

Teeteringhead

Not only a helicopter pilot, but a gentleman as well. I always THOUGHT you were Cranwell-trained.

I heard the "fighter pilot - daughter" thing whilst on Hunters in 1960.

[matkat]

3 daughters to one son so guess its true:)

[Sun Who]

For anyone interested in the science behind this, it's a (sort of) well understood phenomenon, usually ascribed to the fact that aviators are exposed to slightly higher levels of non-ionising radiation than the general population.
For the insomniacs amongst you: The sex ratios of offspring of people exposed to non-ionising radiation. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1128991/) provides a perspective.

Yours in science,

Sun.:ok:

[kintyred]

7000+ hrs on helos.....3 sons. I must be exceptional!

[smujsmith]

Kintyred,

Nah, you must be "all shook up":eek:

Smudge

[Ken Scott]

I was always led to believe that it was due to your 'package' being trussed up by a five point harness, the resulting higher temperature producing more sperm of the 'pink' variety than 'blue' ones. Truckies by virtue of their armchairs & more relaxed seatbelts didn't suffer from the same effect as those who flew more 'sporty' types.

I knew several chaps from mulitis who produced a succession of boys & my own experience of only producing male heirs would seem to bear that out. I would say from those I know that there is a statistically significant higher proportion of girls born to FJ/ RW & training aircrew but the children of ME types fitted the national norm.

[Easy Street]

FJ pilot here with 2 boys. Having lots of daughters seems to be a Nav thing from what I can gather - perhaps the radar sidelobes cancel each other out in the front seat?!

It's a not-so-well-known fact that you can influence the sex of your offspring through your own coital habits. If you're at it like rabbits all the time, you're more likely to have girls. If you save it up for a well-timed golden shot, it's more likely to be a boy. The reason is that 'male' sperm swim faster but die quicker (a bit like the fully-grown version, in fact). Here endeth the lesson.

Applying that scientific rationale to the observed ratio of offspring, I conclude that navs and helicopter pilots have more regular sex than FJ pilots or multi-engine crews!

[500N]

"I conclude that navs and helicopter pilots have more regular sex than FJ pilots or multi-engine crews!"

Really ??????

Must be a tight squeeze in the cockpit :O

[Ken Scott]

FJ pilot here with 2 boys

Guess you'll be part of the 30% then.....!

[smujsmith]

Damian,

Whose daughters ?:eek:

Smudge

[NutLoose]

Maybe Smudge it's because they got the engineers to do it for them, they got them to do do most other things :ok:

[Tankertrashnav]

If we're blaming vibration for a surfeit of daughters I think we ought to ask a few Shack blokes as well - 40,000 rivets flying in loose formation, etc!

TTN ( 2 sons, 1 daughter, all while I was on Victors).

[charliegolf]

usually ascribed to the fact that aviators are exposed to slightly higher levels of non-ionising radiation than the general population.

Is the radiation level that much higher at 50'?

CG (Pumas, daughter)

[diginagain]

Is the radiation level that much higher at 50'?No, but the risk of nose-bleeds is.

dg - 1 daughter, 1 son, in that order. Bowser Mong, Chap-with-the-map, Lynx stick-stirrer. Perhaps it's the AVTUR?

[airborne_artist]

Tyro RW driver turned TA hooligan.

Three daughters :cool:

[Union Jack]

For anyone interested in the science behind this, it's a (sort of) well understood phenomenon, usually ascribed to the fact that aviators are exposed to slightly higher levels of non-ionising radiation than the general population.

How very interesting, observing that the "daughter syndrome" is well known in the submarine world, one in which there is a greatly reduced risk of non-ionising radiation, and a greatly increased risk of ionising radiation.

I'd still go for the pressure link, whether increased or reduced rather than normal atmospheric pressure.:ok:

Jack

[Danny42C]

In the '60s, one theory was that the much higher noise frequencies in the "new" jet engines (in comparison with the old pistons) led to a higher proportion of "F"s.

D.

[The Oberon]

It's strange the the " non ionising radiation " reason has cropped up amongst flying types as it was always the reason given for the majority of daughters fathered by the Fairy trades, especially Air Radar bods.

[500N]

I'll throw this in from left field although it may have already been
covered before.

What about the radiation given of by the dials on gauges like
Tritium gives off ?

Some might say it would kill all the sperm :O

[The Oberon]

Easy Street

I was aware of the difference in strength between M & F sperm. It could follow that to increase the odds for a boy you need to be horizontal and for a girl perpendicular.

It could just be that submariners, FJ types and fairies prefer a "knee tremble".

[oxenos]

Union Jack,

Would that be diesel boats,or nuclear?

[teeteringhead]

If you're at it like rabbits all the time, you're more likely to have girls. :) Girl boy girl for me :) QED

..... and that's just the ones I know about! :E

[cliver029]

Well this Radar bod helped produce 3 sons who then went onto produce handfuls of really beautiful daughters, so what does that do to the theory?:}

Mind you I did always wonder about the ones who sat in front of the H2s scanner in the bay before going on leave!

[Danny42C]

The Oberon,

I'm sure the Karma Sutra had an idea to suit your #38 (long time since I last read it)

D.

[ShyTorque]

RW tours produced 3 sons. A quick FW tour then produced a daughter. All with the same wife, I might add and yes, I'm certain they're all to do with my efforts. So what does this prove or disprove?

I think it's in the beer.... as my sons, Grolsch, Bitburg and Watney and my daughter Stella, would agree. :E

[Union Jack]

Would that be diesel boats, or nuclear?

Oxenos - Nuclear in particular, where, curiously enough in view of 500N's comment:

What about the radiation given of by the dials on gauges like
Tritium gives off?

individuals' watches are checked for radiation before being allowed to be kept onboard.

Jack

[NutLoose]

Well this Radar bod helped produce 3 sons who then went onto produce handfuls of really beautiful daughters, so what does that do to the theory?


Sounds like a classic Doppler effect :)

[500N]

UJ

What about the old dial gauges on jets before they all went digital ?

I seem to recall some warning I was on a gauge.

[Danny42C]

In the old AN-MPN-1 Bendix GCA sets, you didn't view the tubes directly, but from a reflection on a half-silvered mirror. IIRC, the idea was that the potentially damaging X-rays (?) passed through harmlessly, while the visible spectrum was reflected back to the operator.

D.

[Exascot]

Long haul multi engine pilots do not know what they have got, or how many :E