Fit to Fly

Every day before we fly we (daily) inspect our glider, we’d all agree it’s an important part of our flight.  But what about the pilot? Clearly, it’s the same, however, every day we as humans perform, react and feel different every day we wake up.  Diet, sleep, work, relationships, and a whole range of external factors affect our moods and levels of arousal. If we have a headache, fatigue from a poor night's sleep, or feeling slightly ill, we might even take some medication or have an energy drink to help fade the feelings away.  The question begs though, are we fit to fly?

Stress

There’s no doubt about it, we’re all different and we all react differently to external stimulation or pressure. There is also no doubt in my mind, that stress is highly detrimental to our performance. What we don’t want to see, is the stress from home or work tipping one over the edge in a flying-related situation. It’s easy to say we’ll leave the problems at home or work, but to take this advice is quite a different story.  Mental overload situations are a bad thing, we all know what the end result can be, especially in aviation.  

Eating

Have you ever heard of the saying, “you are what you eat?”.  Fast food can be highly detrimental to your performance, it’s loaded with fats and sugars, which conveniently fixes our feelings of hunger. Other good (poor!) examples of these sugars and fats come from biscuits, some (not all) muesli bars, naturally sugary lollies, and soft drinks. These give a good boost of energy, but the other side of the coin is that once the sugars die off, you end up with less energy and focus, something we want to avoid when we are in the sky or dealing with a stressful situation requiring concentration.  

Drugs and alcohol

This is an easy one, you wouldn’t fly with someone who is under the influence, so it’s the same for you.  Drugs and alcohol erode your judgment and decision-making, not to mention impairing your balance, vision, etc.  Even hours after our blood alcohol level has returned to zero, our performance can still be affected, not to mention becoming more and more fatigued by poor night's sleep from drinking too much alcohol. 

Illness

Primary senses are what we need as a pilot, even a mild illness can affect these. Severe ear and sinus discomfort is something that quickly comes to mind, this is caused by mucus blocking our sinuses.  Even a low circuit can cause severe discomfort, pain, and disorientation. Don’t be fooled by thinking you can fly low with a cold.  Eye irritations can occur too, all these things are stacking up to saying, stay on the ground, rest up to fly another successful and safe flight next weekend.

Medication

The pilot wasn’t kept in mind for over-the-counter medication, while they work great on the ground, their side effects in the sky could be a disaster. Dizziness, stomach pains, drowsiness, and the suppression of our primary senses come to mind.  If you intend to fly, then be sure to tell your pharmacist, remember to state as a pilot, rather than a passenger.  (Editor note; here is a link to the FAA's rules on over-the-counter medications and fit to fly.  If you take a "NO GO" medication the package instructs you to use every 12 hours then your NO FLY TIME is 60 hours after the last use.)

To sum all the above up, if you’re feeling unwell, it’s best to listen to your body and mind, refrain from flying this day or days, rest up and live to tell another tale, or avoid an insurance claim.  If you become unwell in flight, it’s best to land as soon as possible, we can’t be sure how the situation will develop, or that you’ll need your concentration to deal with a stressful situation in the circuit later for example.

Banner photo by Sean Franke

 Adam Woolley was born into the gliding world, being the 3rd generation in his family. Going solo at 15, his thirst for efficiency in soaring flight & quest for a world championship title to his name has never wavered. One big passion is sharing his experiences & joy with other glider pilots all around the world. Adam is an airline pilot in Japan on the B767 & spends his off time chasing summer around the globe. He has now won 7 national Championships & represented Australia at 5 WGC's & 1 EGC.