Too heavy to work

[james1984]

Hi just looking for some advice, one of my ex students told me the other day that he was told that he was to heavy (FAT) for a particular job in charter.(Unfortunatley for him he is not that over weight just a big guy.) i have never heard of this happening before just wondering if this happens often. Thank you

[the wizard of auz]

I know of it happening in one company. the guy was employed by a different company for a very short period, and asked to loose weight and reapply.

[Di_Vosh]

It happened to me once.

I applied for a charter job (95% of the job was scenics) and was speaking with the CP. He asked me how much I weighed (90kg) and he said that I was too heavy, and that he preferred his pilots to be around 70 - 75 kg.

This because with a lighter pilot he could fit in (possibly) one more pax into his a/c C207 for the scenics

DIVOSH!

[flog]

90kg is a bit harsh - I'm 6'3" and was 90kg way back when I was about 16 years old. Tip it in at 100kg these days which is still heavy for this industry but...

[Howard Hughes]

Geez I way 88kg's and I'm only 5' 6", never weighed less than 75kg's my entire adult life, even when I was on the 'lean' side!:eek:

I believe the only way that you can be discriminated against by weight, is if your weight affects you functioning in the position (eg: to large to go out the emergency exit).

[18-Wheeler]

1.97 metres (6'6") for the oldies here and 110kg.
Currently on Metro's and it's a bit of a squeeze but I can fly them for a couple of hours without too much discomfort.

[ozangel]

At 90kg, I was told exactly this by a 250hr 40kg 6bar top gun w*nker in BME.

His boss shared the same view... :hmm:

[the wizard of auz]

I'm a healthy 100kg and 6 foot. I manage to not get told anything. :}
I personally have never been questioned about my weight, but have seen others who weighed less than me, but were shorter, thus looked heavier, get questioned. I have only ever seen one person dismissed or refused employment due to a weight issue though. His was more of a control interference with stomach problem.

[tail wheel]

I'm not over weight. Just six inches too short! :{

[tipsy2]

I'm a healthy 100kg and 6 foot

Missing out on your Macca's Wiz?:E

Me, I'm a stately 188cm and a 'cuddly' 120ish KG's.

Obviously too much KiteKat for dinner.:eek:

Oh and Taily, I know one of youse who is as big as me, and the other that is as broad as he is tall:=

[the wizard of auz]

Me, I'm a stately 188cm and a 'cuddly' 120ish KG's.
Mate, sounds like you been picking up what I have been missing out on. :eek:

[blade root]

Just to add to the thread, i'm 6'2" and weigh in at 103kg.

At my last medical the DAME asked me if I had ever considered stomach banding to lose weight.

I thought he was taking the p!ss.

He was actually started writting the details of who to see about getting it done.

No thanks. I'll just walk the dog twice a day instead of once..

[tail wheel]

Tipsy comment:

...and the other that is as broad as he is tall.

:{ :{

Now where did I leave that big Red Ban Button??? :confused:

http://www.emailgoodies.faketrix.com/content/pix/signs/original-files/funny-sign-free-dead-cat-on-highway.jpg

[sms777]

Jeeezus HH,... I always thought you were my hero. 6'4" tall, broad shoulders, six pack, 90 kg max, long blond hair. I am devastated.

Makes me feel good looking in the mirror in the mornings though! :E

[Stationair8]

But what about Skypig when he was CP at Air North in the late 80's, or his love child junior Skypig at Ossies mob?

A certain tourist operator in the NT has told a few large people over the years that he wouldn't employ them.

[Phlap1]

I swear this is true. In PNG about 1974 a certain Chinese trade
store owner had an Islander.
He had a store in the highlands selling the usual cans of fish
and rice stuff to the locals.
I think he operated from Madang.
He placed an add for a pilot in the Moresby paper
PILOT WANTED MAXIMUM 120 lbs.
We all laughed but he was serious, he wanted to
get max payload into his store in the hills.

[Desert Flower]

But what about Skypig when he was CP at Air North in the late 80's

OMG - saw him trying to get out of an aircraft once & as he was doing so his tracky daks were heading south. Not a good look - BIG CRACK! :{

DF.

[sixtiesrelic]

Pity we don't have a photo of Jason Hazzard.
He was an Ansett legend for bulk.
Never saw him myself but have a recollection of stories about his not being able to fit behind the seat of some airliners.
I can see the reasoning... suppose it ensures the lizards get a job.
They'll get fat in their turn.

[Hempy]

I'm pretty sure the BMI tables etc the military use are flawed against big (tall) people. I'm 193cm/98kg. I was sick a while ago and got down to 87kg...everyone told me I looked like skin and bone and how sick I looked. Yet at 95kg (and playing 1st grade Colts Rugby at the time), the RAAF told me I was at the far end of the BMI table and would have to lose weight...Maybe a better test of "fatness" would be "take off your shirt and give us a gander at you".

[flog]

Hempy I was the same years back - 6'3" 98kg and rowing in the Olympic training squad for Atlanta. Went to the doctor for my first Class 1 medical and was told I was overweight.

My regular GP and the trainers had me on a special diet at the time as I was down to < 4% body fat and they wanted to see me "fat up" a bit more as they were scared I was going anorexic.

BMI my arse.

[Howard Hughes]

Don't worry Hempy the BMI tables are slewed against people of all heights! Many years ago, when I went for my police medical they said I needed to get down to between 62+71 kg's!:eek:

At the time I weighed 76 kg's with a body fat measurement of less than 7%.

My understanding (told to me by a medico some years ago) is that the tables are from around the 1940's. Try having a look at a news reel with people from that era and imagine trying to look like that today! Even in movies from the 70's people are a completely different body shape.

The exercise crazed 80's and the excesses of the 90's have done much to change the average body shape, just have a look at some young people that you know, they are mostly taller and more muscular than their parents thanks to better nutrition!

Unfortunately with modern calorie laden foods it is also very easy to over indulge!:E

[flying-spike]

Really...... what a slur on my parentage. I must admit I had never heard that one before but I must just be picky about who I associate with.:=

[SystemsAreGo]

Overweight?? nah.. I'm just a few meals ahead and a few sh!ts behind :}

[soseg]

hah this is interesting
ive started power lifting as a side hobby recently and ive just broken 90kg and planning to easily get to 100+ within the next 2 years...

always wondered what employers would think especially in GA with small a/c

would this be a problem regarding instructor jobs? (152s aside)

[inthesoup]

And how ironic after scrolling down to the end of this post, there's an advertisement for a weight loss program:

Ads by GoogleLose Weight Now
No Crash Diets, No Drugs, Just Results. 100 Kg Lost. View Photos.
www. JonGabriel. com. au/ Dieting

:}:}

[capt.cynical]

Thanks for that, I ROFLMAO:D

I intend to use your excuse whenever snide remarks are made about my "solid " figure':ooh:

5' 10"--102kg's :eek:







Has any one seen a healthy vegitarian ? :yuk::p

[who_cares]

I used to be a gym junkie in my early 20s. Im 5'9 and was in the upper scale for my BMI and less than 9% bodyfat.
My doc explained the BMI as an index of how hard your heart has to pump the blood around your body. Thats why obese people and lots of body builders suffer heart attacks.

[AussieNick]

As Who Cares stated, BMI is a great way for people and health professionals to gauge how hard your heart has to work in order to pump blood throughout your body, but it is absolutly useless as a way to gauge if a person is a healthy weight, or indeed overweight or obese. It doesn't take into account the weight of your muscle mass, and as pointed out is biased when used with taller people. You take the avegage AFL player, at their peak fitness and do a BMI test on them and i can guarentee it'll come back obese.

A pinch test is a much more accurate way to determine a persons healthy weight range.

Hell, i'm 192cm, 115kg, run 5 kms 4 times a week and lift weights at the gym for 2 hours 5 nights a week, yet my DAME told me i am obese and need to lose weight, funny, with a BF% of 10....

[Sqwark2000]

Out of interest, in Oz do you use actual weights of pax or standard weights? If you use standard, then your actual weight would not be an issue...

In NZ, we use 1 or the other, never mix. So it was easier to work on standard weights, 77KG for crew, 82kg for pax and 93kg for a sportsteam member. These may have changed since my GA days, I just let the electronic loadsheet prepared by someone else give me the figures. Worked for me, cos when I was in GA I tipped in at 105kg...

S2K

[Ovation]

There is (or was) a certain ATO at Adelaide who might be in trouble.

[tipsy2]

I've worked out how to beat this BMI rubbish, instead of loosing 15 kilos I'm going to grow 2 foot taller.

That'll confuse them:E:E

[distracted cockroach]

Good story around Paraparam a few years back was that if a couple of well known flying brothers got into a C152, it was over max weight before any fuel was added!
Maybe a slight exaggeration, but a good story.
BMI is known to be flawed when used for "athletes"....most of the All Blacks, Kiwis, Kangaroos and Wallabies would be classed as either obese, or morbidly obese. Any half-way decent doctor would know this and discount it.
WRT standard weights, Air NZ increased theirs recently....Pacific Islands flights use a higher std weight also. Remember the pax weight includes carry-on bags. Have you seen the stuff some people get away with? Crazy!

[rmcdonal]

Some helicopters have max seat loading that does not allow for the larger individual. Hence if you where over say the 100kg mark it would be illigal to fly them.
I can see how some employers may wish to have a lighter pilot for payload, after all 100-70kg is a 30kg box of goods you could have shipped.
I did some spinning for my Instructor rating a while back, being squished in beside the 100+kg instructor in a 152 was not what I would call enjoyable.

[dhavillandpilot]

For all you guys that thinks you are too fat you should ask any one who trained in Mudgee in the 60's & 70's. The local flying school was run by George Campbell (a real gentleman). The aircvraft type was a Cessna 150 (not even a 152) - George was somewhat rotund at around 20stone (130kgs +) and when he got into the aircraft it always leant to oner side.

You can all imagine this small aircraft taxi-ing out with George on the right and a small dimunitative student on the left. How the aircarft ever got into the air we never imagined - but the one thing was all of Georges students liked him and went on to have illustrious careers.

SO WHO IS TOO FAT????

[Aerodynamisist]

sqwark2000, standard weights here in oz but there is a caap (Civil Aviation Advisory Publication 235-1) recommending use of actual weights for aircraft 7 seats or less.

[Stationair8]

Remind's me of a flight test in a C172 with the late Mr Mark Perret from the then CAA MB office.

Just put me down as 77 kg's on the trim sheet young fella, that will be fine for the purposes of the flight test!!!

RIP Mark.

[VH-XXX]

If you are too heavy you should lose weight.

Other than looking good, feeling good an picking up hot(ter) women, you will probably live longer and place less strain on our already fledging public and private health systems.

Losing weight is not that hard and you will be thankful to yourself for it afterwards.

[glekichi]

I once taught an All Black to fly in a C152... And I weighed about the same as the AB (No where near as much muscle though :suspect:). That poor little plane.:eek:

[sms777]

You may want to come and convince some of my mates to give up smoking(i do not).
It is not that hard, hey...... bwaaaahhhaaahhah.
You better bring your baseball bat.....:E

[Tmbstory]

I recall years ago, a charter operator at a mining town in Western NSW, who operated Austers, who had a weight limit for prospective employees.

No drama then!

Tmb