You're best off to sip a little at a time. So bring a couple of water bottles into the cockpit and drink regularly while you're flying, and keep safe!
Specifically, the Federal Aviation Administration rulebook states that a pilot may not use alcohol within 8 hours of a flight and cannot have a blood alcohol content above 0.04%.
Pilots may not use alcohol “while on-duty or within 8 hours of performing flight crew member duties.” The regulations also require that crew members submit to blood alcohol tests when requested by law enforcement officials authorized to ask for those tests.
The FAA alcohol rule states that a pilot and any crew member may not consume alcohol within 8 hours of flying and may never have a BAC exceeding . 04 percent when reporting for duty and while operating a plane. It places no limitations on alcohol consumption other than that.
DO PILOTS EAT IN THE COCKPIT? Yes, pilots can and do eat in the cockpit during a flight, however, pilots in the cockpit do not eat at the same time and take it in turns to enjoy their food whilst the others are in control of the plane.
One of the popular current methods used by pilots requires them to unstrap from their harness and gear, which can take nearly an hour, to urinate into a bag collection system, according to the press release, and can be unsafe in the case of a sudden in-flight emergency.
Airline pilots take it in turns to use the bathroom nearest the cockpit during a flight. There are no bathrooms installed in the cockpit. For airplanes with a single pilot, diapers, catheters, or collection devices are used if they are unable to land to use the airport bathroom.
Alcohol tests
The testing device must meets Australian Standard AS3547. If your first alcohol breath test is positive, our tester will do another test to confirm the result. If the second test is positive (0.02 grams of alcohol per 210 litres of breath or higher), you must stop doing SSAAs.
A more conservative approach is to wait 24 hours from the last use of alcohol before flying. This is especially true if intoxication occurred or if you plan to fly IFR. Cold showers, drinking black coffee, or breathing 100% oxygen cannot speed up the elimination of alcohol from the body.
Yes, pilots are allowed to smoke cigarettes because they are a legal substance, just like pilots are allowed to have a beer when they're not on duty. However, some airlines will not hire pilots who disclose that they are smokers.
Typically, short distance sectors are manned by two pilots, while long-haul flights can have three or four pilots. One of the two pilots manning the cockpit is allowed to take rest or sleep inside the cockpit by sliding the seat back and locking the harness. This practice is known as “controlled rest”.
The cockpit door automatically locks, but a keypad outside allows a flight attendant to insert a security code to gain access. A buzzer sounds, and the pilots must switch the door control inside the cockpit to “unlock” to release the door after verifying the crew member through a peephole or video surveillance.
Water cannon salutes are a mark of respect in both the civilian aviation industry and the military aviation enterprise when a senior pilot retires, an aircraft retires, the arrival of a new aircraft to an organization and the final flight of an aircraft from an airport.
While cigarette smoking is not prohibited by the FAA, it has several hazardous side effects and many health conditions caused by smoking are medically disqualifying. A smoker typically carries a carbon monoxide blood level of about five percent.
Generally, airlines do not permit pilots or crew to have any tattoos that are visible while they are wearing their uniforms.
Easier Navigation
Navigating at night can actually be much easier than during the day. Large conurbations and their associated street lights can be seen from miles away. Making it easy to pinpoint them and fly towards them. Roads are also much easier to pick out against the surrounding terrain.
Night flying brings its own set of challenges. Fatigue becomes a potential issue for pilots even when they are relatively used to flying at night. Poor lighting in the aircraft can cause issues for navigation during night flights as well. The night sky makes it hard to read instruments and discern surface features.
The pilot can sleep for no more than 40 minutes, and must wake up at least half an hour before the descent for landing. They get the first 15 minutes after the nap to fully awaken, during which they can't resume actually flying the plane, unless they need to help deal with an emergency.
In some cases, the breathalyzer may detect alcohol for up to 12 hours. In other individuals, the breathalyzer test may work for twice that long. Although the average person metabolizes about 1 alcoholic drink per hour, this rate varies.
As with most safety-related jobs, professional pilots get drug tested for employment. Airline and charter pilots are also subject to the same Department of Transportation random drug testing programs that other industries have.
Airline pilots are generally well aware that they are subject to the FAA's longstanding 8-hour prohibition against pre-duty alcohol consumption. Of course, airline pilots must comply with their employer's policies, which may impose longer prohibitions against pre-duty alcohol use.
U.S. airlines are required to use procedures designed to prevent the behavior that allegedly caused a fatal crash this week in Europe. The rules require two crew members to be present on the flight deck at all times — a measure making it harder for a renegade pilot to lock another flight officer out of the cockpit.
Peeing into a tube doesn't work for everyone for some obvious physical reasons, so today's fighter pilots urinate into “piddle packs," plastic packs that convert urine into a gel for disposal, but the method involves partially undressing while sitting strapped in a tiny cockpit and flying a multimillion-dollar jet.
Airline pilots take turns using the bathroom nearest the cockpit during a flight. There are no bathrooms installed in the cockpit. For airplanes with a single pilot, diapers, catheters, or collection devices are used if they are unable to land to use the airport bathroom.