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Commercial pilots eating in flight
Does this happen on trips to the north sea oil rigs and back with 2 pilots for example? From what I've seen the routes are 60-90 minutes each way so it's probably not necessary
In the UK are there mandatory breaks after so many hours flying for refreshments when working single pilot, say load lifting? I have a minor peanut allergy, with a report from an allergy specialist who said I can fly solo no problem but the AME has given me an OSL (OML equivalent). So my thinking is, no eating in flight = 0% chance of any issues. (pax eating around me is no problem) I'm trying to word a letter to appeal to the CAA.. I would have posted this in the medical section but I'm only interested in helicopter ops. Thanks for any help! |
In the offshore world, there is something called "sterile cockpit procedures"-it usually means that there is no action allowed other the ones necessary for the safe conduction of the flight....
This usually applies below 5000 ft (or whatever is specified in the Ops Manual). But i consider it very bad airmanship if a pilot eats during the flight (except for long distance flights, of course)... |
Thinks have changed a bit since I was on the North Sea. The early morning trips to the Thistle were rewarded with the biggest breakfasts ever.
My company used to provide the meal trays and knaffling spanners for our helicopter crews. |
I would assume rig meals are still a normal part of North Sea ops. I was there at a similar time to FED, and flew with him, and round trips to the East Shetland Basin with RR refuel in Sumburgh each way could easily be over 7 hours. Even shorter flights like the Beryl (4:15?) or Brae (3:45) would be tied to another flight, the total hours would be quite high. So getting a decent full fried was the main attraction!! In the Southern North Sea it was bacon and egg rolls in the morning - much shorter sectors but still back to back trips could add up to several hours. |
I ate a pasty in a Bolkow once.
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Originally Posted by 212man
(Post 10261141)
I would assume to meslsxste still a normal part of North Sea ops. I was there at a similar time to FED, and flew with him, and round trips to the East Shetland Basin with RR refuel in Sumburgh each way could easily be over 7 hours. Even shorter flights like the Beryl (4:15?) or Brae (3:45) would be tied to another flight, the total hours would be quite high. So getting a decent full fried was the main attraction!! In the Southern North Sea it was bacon and egg rolls in the morning - much shorter sectors but still back to back trips could add up to several hours. You seemed to omit the lovely nosh served up in Nigeria! |
You seemed to omit the lovely nosh served up in Nigeria! |
Originally Posted by hueyracer
(Post 10261108)
But i consider it very bad airmanship if a pilot eats during the flight (except for long distance flights, of course)... Oh dear: is this a sign of the Brave New World? Eating during flight is a prerequisite of a well rounded aviator :p |
Originally Posted by DeltaNg
(Post 10261152)
I ate a pasty in a Bolkow once.
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I remember my ole instructor Buck Ryan forcing me to peel Oranges for both of us to eat on Navex flights during my student Pilot days, so legs wrapped around the Cyclic. Taught You many skills like both hands for folding maps on surprise diversions etc. :ok:
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I remember my ole instructor Buck Ryan |
Originally Posted by megan
(Post 10261325)
Can't have been our Oz Buck Ryan, you're far, far too young VF.
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Aaaah ...... those Forties breakfasts! What a sterile (yup, seems to be the right word) life it must be now.
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But i consider it very bad airmanship if a pilot eats during the flight (except for long distance flights, of course)... |
The Boys on the Clyde produced breakfasts that would kill a civvie! However this reminds me of Mike Tingles chocolate eclair story............the best HOFO food anecdote ever. |
I remember picking up a bunch of miserable looking bears from a platform on a non-scheduled flight. As they boarded the HLO also provide plated meals which we scoffed (in turns) as soon as we could after departure. Only after we had finished did one of the pax reach forward and hand us a piece of paper - It was a note from the Offshore Medic to his doctor advising that he and multiple others had been suffering from a severe outbreak of food poisoning (Hence the extra flight ) which should be investigated immediately! Thanks for telling us in good time boys!
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If you don’t eat in flight flying offshore, you won’t eat! Generally done in the cruise so regularly 2000 feet inbound. Other pilot manages aircraft and radios. Once one done, swap around! No time on turnarounds which may be rotors run. |
If you don’t eat in flight flying offshore, you won’t eat! I watched a captain one day spill a nice chicken curry all over his nicely pressed white shirt in the cruise!, I just lifted my eyebrows looked over and smiled as he carried on with the expletives, was very funny indeed. :{ |
Late seventies. A British Airways Helicopter doing a double to the Claymore. After leaving the Claymore on the first one the crew complained to the radio operator that a sandwich wasn't enough. The operator apologised and told them that the camp boss had decreed that was all they could have.
They replied stating that as they hadn't received a proper lunch then they would shut down for an hour at Aberdeen in order to do so. The word got around the platform and the camp boss was nearly lynched by the second rotation. |
Originally Posted by 212man
(Post 10261176)
Believe me - the Forcados Terminal sardine and egg sandwich in soft sweet bread, wrapped in cling film while still warm, was in my mind as I wrote it He agreed they were weird combinations of ingredients so said he would check. True to his word the next time I ran across him he said it was apparently our AQM's that had told the catering staff we wanted these sandwiches. Must have something to do with most of us giving our sandwich to the AQM's rather than eating them. |
It was a traditional.
Some pilots SMOKE in flight :eek: |
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Originally Posted by Vertical Freedom
(Post 10261227)
I remember my ole instructor Buck Ryan forcing me to peel Oranges for both of us to eat on Navex flights during my student Pilot days, so legs wrapped around the Cyclic. Taught You many skills like both hands for folding maps on surprise diversions etc. :ok:
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Thanks for the insight into commercial ops and the stories! Keep 'em coming :ok:
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In Australia most of the rigs give food bags to the crews, what they don't eat we engineers demolish, usually sandwiches, fruit, maybe chocolates - Mars Bars etc (left for the Engineers to stay in their good books), biscuits and a drink .
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Belly Tank
Apropos chicken curry go to waste.
My FO was looking forward to his homemade curry , piping hot. For some strange reason a lot of pilots were I work choose to use the Teck Log as a table, a hard plastic cover job. That day the crew -coordination was not good . And as the Cabin Crew let go of the dish it started sliding towards the center pedestal. In slow-motion, the Fo compensated with a hard right bank on the glass dish to avoid total avionic meltdown. Now it was heading towards his crotch, which he deftly avoided by a hard left bank and nosedown with the Log as the dish promptly left and did a forward half Lomchewack or something like that and impacted the floor inverted. Clean up operation continued well into the descend. Nothing to do with helicopters , except maybe for the split second the dish auto-rotated inverted. This all took place at 37 000 feet some were over France. Regards Cpt B |
In no particular order: North Sea shuttle, SP in a 212 and lunch was served during a running refuel: airborne to discover a (very) large plate full of rice and curry along with eating tools. Only solution was to drop the window and turf the lot :sad: Rig support off Eire where a chance comment to the cook that the smoked salmon sandwiches yesterday were much appreciated, led to a routine sandwich with more smoked salmon than bread. We'd take the lot back to the hotel and have a proper feed later! Nigeria where the ice cream from the American rig was to die for, but no room for anything else ;) Bombay High where the curries were akin to a nuclear sunset: to be consumed at your own risk. 10 hour day flying SP in a Wessex from northern WA to just off Timor-est and back, sandwiches and lots of liquid in 37C :cool: 12 hour days on fires throwing water at the ground where any food and water is welcome, often provided by supporting locals who value the work done to protect their homes. That's always humbling. Lots more spring to mind, but anyone who considers eating in flight to be 'poor airmanship' is living in a dreamworld. |
anyone who considers eating in flight to be 'poor airmanship' is living in a dreamworld. There is one particular Bristow S-58T crewman, later he went on to SAR duties, that if he knew how many smoked Salmon sandwiches I ordered up (he would only eat boiled ham sarnies and would invariably hand up his Salmon feasts to me, he would beat me to death. One has to be aware of choking hazards during single pilot ops....or perhaps spoilage concerns if the food items are saved for the. next ground stop if Ambient Temps are high. But....as that Eacott fellow says....in a most polite way....if you really think eating is bad form....you have lived a very cloistered life. |
Originally Posted by hueyracer
(Post 10261108)
But i consider it very bad airmanship if a pilot eats during the flight (except for long distance flights, of course)...
Take off at 0700, report at 0600, leave house at 0530, breakfast (if you can face it that time if the morning) about 0515-ish? land at 1000, rotors running turnround, off 1045–ish, to land again at about 1330/1345-ish. Without eating anything at all since 0515. I would consider it “very bad airmanship” to not eat something during that period. |
Forcados gave up giving fodder years ago TF.... |
Griffo.....if you consider that which was offered up by Forcardos.....fodder....you are sickerr than I ever thought.:=
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Originally Posted by hueyracer
(Post 10261108)
But i consider it very bad airmanship if a pilot eats during the flight (except for long distance flights, of course)... |
pilot1234567. After your 12 hours without shut down,was there any lub oil remaining ?
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Originally Posted by cafesolo
(Post 10261711)
pilot1234567. After your 12 hours without shut down,was there any lub oil remaining ?
Soo, breakfast and lunch while you are flying is mandatory just about. Pilot1234567 is right. JD |
Certainly a very illuminating and entertaining thread so far!
However, I have not yet read anything about any (minor ;)) peanuts so far, please correct me if I'm wrong? Come on guys and gals, a fellows career plans seem to be challenged by mundane bureaucracy here. Lets take it a bit serious if possible. This whole peanut deal seems a bit bizarre to me, to be honest. |
from cold Army C-Rations |
The Combining Transmission had a horizontal ledge that worked a treat for heating C Rations....or just put them into the Exhaust of the engine and motor the starter for a bit. The engine starters were hydraulically driven thus no time limit on motoring.
We carried a five gallon Igloo Water can filled with water and a big block of ice so we had cold sodas and beer to go along with the C Rations. |
Originally Posted by cafesolo
(Post 10261711)
pilot1234567. After your 12 hours without shut down,was there any lub oil remaining ?
Despite constantly dripping oil, the 212 will work all day, every day without complaint. I check the oils when I'm out taking having a pee, but as long as they are at the appropriate levels at the start of the day there are generally no issues. |
Originally Posted by cafesolo
(Post 10261711)
pilot1234567. After your 12 hours without shut down,was there any lub oil remaining ?
Going even further OT, RN Sea Kings on extended ASW exercises would only shut down briefly every couple of sorties (8 hours running) for an oil sample to be drained for SOAP analysis, again never any need for lubes to be topped up even after the few millilitres were drained for the sample :ok: |
You guys saw the thread title, right?
"Commercial pilots eating in Flight". Not "Utility pilots", not "military pilots". Those days of 12-hour flying time is long gone even for Offshore-pilots...... Again i bring up the term "sterile cockpit procedure"-if you´re doing short hops, you dont eat-period. If you´re doing long legs, you usually get a break in between nowadays.... If one of my engineers would call me, saying "we have to ground the helicopter tomorrow, as we need to pull the radios out to remove the spicy chicken soup one of the pilots poured over it", i would kick this pilots ass.. |
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