I guess this is more directed to the real pilots out there (airline pilot's preferred). I was flying back to MPLS from KATL this weekend and upon pushback had one of those crazy thoughts that most of us have from time to time. What does a 'Pilot In Command' do after pushback and engine start, ready for taxi when this problem occurs, Your sitting there ready to throttle forward to leave the terminal area and you start to have a bad case of diarrhea. Or let's say your right there ready to taxi onto the active and your stomach is about to blow all of a sudden. I know I've been in the car driving and had diarrhea come on me and had to pull into the first gas station I could find. This is not possible in an airliner do to the fact that both the pilot and co-pilot need to be in the cockpit during critical stages of flight. Imagine if your a pilot and had diarrhea problems throughout the whole flight which left one person to fly the whole route by themselves. Is 'Pepto' or 'Imodium AD' provided in the First Aid kit on airliners??? I know it

LMAO!!! http://www.pepto-bismol.com/Regards, MichaelKDFWhttp://www.calvirair.com/mcpics/PBTMCa.jpgCalVirAir International VACalVirAir International

HOLY !T that is funny - (pun intended)I've actually, as nuts as this sounds, had the same thought. I've had an "overactive intestine" on a few occasions while driving, and damn if that's not the most miserable feeling. ESPECIALLY in traffic. I've always made sure I was on "empty" before flying, AND making sure I do NOT have Taco Bell or other influencial foods the night before a flight, so I have been blessed with no need for Number 2 on an airline.Too funny (and serious at the same time!)...-Greg

>What does a 'Pilot In Command' do after pushback and engine>start, ready for taxi when this problem occurs, Your sitting>there ready to throttle forward to leave the terminal area and>you start to have a bad case of diarrhea. Or let's say your>right there ready to taxi onto the active and your stomach is>about to blow all of a sudden. I'm not an airline pilot, but I am a real pilot. I'm pretty sure that the flight crew would tell the controllers that they need to return to the gate. Basically, something like this (bad diarrhea) would probably be considered incapacitating to a required crewmember, and because of that, they'd have to return to the gate and fetch a replacement crewmember. There are FAA regulations governing the legality of flying while your faculties are impaired. If this happened in the middle of a flight, and there is still a long distance to go, I suspect that the crew would divert to another airport. If you're flying over the Atlantic, that may not be an option. When I used to ride on LOT Polish Airlines back and forth between Warsaw and Chicago, there always seemed to be a relief pilot sitting in business class, but I don't know if that is a standard or regulation.>I know I've been in the car driving and had diarrhea come on>me and had to pull into the first gas station I could find. >This is not possible in an airliner do to the fact that both>the pilot and co-pilot need to be in the cockpit during>critical stages of flight. Imagine if your a pilot and had>diarrhea problems throughout the whole flight which left one>person to fly the whole route by themselves. Is 'Pepto' or>'Imodium AD' provided in the First Aid kit on airliners??? I>know it

I wanna know how pilots stay awake.Believe me, I've had LOTS of coffee and after a while, you get used to it. No-Doz and so forth make me feel ill.I know pilots have fallen asleep, I've read those stories. But I'm interested in finding out how they stay AWAKE.Andrew

"But I'm interested in finding out how they stay AWAKE."On eastbound transatlantic hops, they wait until the pax fall asleep. Usually this happens just after passing Gander. Then they roll inverted, get the blood back rushin' to their head, set things upright and repeat as needed until the pax start to stir...At least this is what my senses tell me when I try to snooze on transatlantic hops :)-John

I guess the last time I had aero-gastrointestinal distress was in conjunction with two engine failures about 30 seconds apart on an extended downwind leg (a C-141 out of MacDill, AFB was in the pattern), below a thousand feet, with no where to go. Two sucessful restarts and a very high final approach later the sensation eased. It was close though!Leon

LOL !That situation would give me aero-gastrointestinal distress too !:D

Thats what flight bags are there for.Empty the charts & do the business http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/contri...y/smilies10.gifhttp://www.avishop.at/images/jep-fc-u.jpg

Here you can read, what pilots do, if they get another urge feeling inflight. ;-)http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...03451&mode=fullWolfgang

I'm not an airline pilot, but I am a real pilot. I'm pretty sure that the flight crew would tell the controllers that they need to return to the gate. Basically, something like this (bad diarrhea) would probably be considered incapacitating to a required crewmember, and because of that, they'd have to return to the gate and fetch a replacement crewmember. There are FAA regulations governing the legality of flying while your faculties are impaired. If this happened in the middle of a flight, and there is still a long distance to go, I suspect that the crew would divert to another airport. If you're flying over the Atlantic, that may not be an option. When I used to ride on LOT Polish Airlines back and forth between Warsaw and Chicago, there always seemed to be a relief pilot sitting in business class, but I don't know if that is a standard or regulation.I guess that what they mean when they tell you, their diverting due to Mechanical Failure :-)

I know I never could be a real pilot. I usually don't get upset stomaches but what about just a quick number 1 break? I have to drink lots of water because I have a fast metabolism so I'd be running to the restroom every 30-40 mins! Not possible when you're piloting an aircraft. Oh well looks like that reason and the cost are why I never can fly except in flight sim

Most airliners have lavatories. Go.

"Most airliners have lavatories. Go."But what if one or two trips doesn't do the trick??? You can't go if you've just been cleared for takeoff and/or a landing approach...

>I know I never could be a real pilot. I usually don't get>upset stomaches but what about just a quick number 1 break? I>have to drink lots of water because I have a fast metabolism>so I'd be running to the restroom every 30-40 mins! Not>possible when you're piloting an aircraft. Oh well looks like>that reason and the cost are why I never can fly except in>flight simThere are a lot of really funny stories from real life pilots on this subject. Here's my own:I was flying back home by myself one night. After being in the air for about 50 minutes, I had landed back at my home airport. Instead of parking the plane, I decided to go back up for a couple more night landings to maintain my night currency. Well while I was on the downwind for my first landing, I suddenly realized that I had to go #1 fairly bad. Not sure why I didn't discover this until then. Anyway, it gradually got worse. By the time I was on final, I was holding it real tight. Man, the veins were popping out of my forehead and my legs were shaking. I was trying my best to fly the plane and not screw up the landing! I made the landing okay (perfect short field landing), turned off on the first exit... taxied as fast I could safely taxi to the ramp. Got to the ramp, swung the plane around 180 degrees... Turned off the avionics master, yanked the mixture, turned off the ignition, slapped all the switches off... kicked open the door and started running for the nearest hangar (the FBO was closed at the time). I didn't quite make it. I should have just peed right on the tarmac! ;)Anyway, these days I always make sure I have a "pilot relief" bottle with me on flights more than 30 minutes long... just in case.