[personal opinion mode=on]
Any pilot who resorts to drink to make him sleep due to a heavy roster is several times over an idiot.
Reasons?
- Alcohol does not make you sleep. It is not a soporific, but a stimulant. Any sleep you get from alcohol is the wrong type of sleep - read any book on Human Factors
- Endangering your career by drinking when due on duty is just plain stupid.
- Endangering your aircraft, passengers and crew by operating when under the influence of alcohol is criminal stupidity.
- If your roster does not allow you to get enough or adequate rest and there is a danger you will be fatigued, there is a simple get-out clause in any UK-based operator's FTL scheme. If notice is not taken, then you can file a CHIRP report, talk to your FOI, talk to your FSO, talk to your BALPA rep, or just call in sick.
[personal opinion mode=off]