Pilot Needs a Bathroom??

T

tcr1016

Filing Flight Plan
Joined
Feb 14, 2011
Messages
5
Display Name
Display name:
tcr1016
I am wanting to start flying, BUT I have a phobia of not having a bathroom readily available. Yes this sounds wierd, but we all have phobias.

My question is, does anyone have a portapoty in their 4 seater? What do you do if you are at 10,000 feet and nature calls?? If I have a portapoty and need to go, but am the only pilot, what would I do?? I have a bathroom in all my vehicles, but want to know what to do in a plane.
 
Carry a "flightcase" box with a trashbag and some clumping litter. You'll need a plane with an autopilot.
 
tcr1016 said:
I am wanting to start flying, BUT I have a phobia of not having a bathroom readily available. Yes this sounds wierd, but we all have phobias.

My question is, does anyone have a portapoty in their 4 seater? What do you do if you are at 10,000 feet and nature calls?? If I have a portapoty and need to go, but am the only pilot, what would I do?? I have a bathroom in all my vehicles, but want to know what to do in a plane.
Click to expand...

Relief tubes (particularly in gliders that don't have the option of taking off after landing for a break) are not uncommon.

Alternatives include a variety of containers - from purpose designed urinals to whatever Gatorade bottle is handy. Even zip-lock bags are popular in some circles.

It would be very unusual to find a porta potty in a small 4 seat aircraft.
 
Pee, load the plane, pee again, do the preflight, pee just to make sure, go fly for 3-4 hours.
And don't drink a gallon of water 20 minutes before taking off.
 
My main phobia is having to go #2 when my stomach acts up. Sorry to be grouse, but that is my true phobia. This is the reason just a gateraid bottle will not work. Also how will I tell the instructor I need to have something if my stomach acts up, and my phobia??

Has anyone had the problem of #2 in flight??
 
you haven't lived til you had to pee, in a reclining chair, ifr, without a/p,.... in moderate, and rain pounding the airplane! Yeehaw!
 
I have a plastic bucket with a snap on seat and lid ( you can get at Gamder Mountion outdoor shop) with a trash liner. I store jumper cables and rags when not in use. So far none of my passengers have not had to use it, but it is there if they need it!
 
Fun story.

I'm flying north to Fort Collins, toward the Denver Class B airspace, when I'm suddenly cleared through the airspace without even asking. Outstanding!

Well, I literally cross the Class B boundary, and start to hit some turbulence and it hits me. I HAVE TO PEE! I apparently drank that last Dr. Pepper much too fast. I don't know how long I needed to pee without noticing, but I do know that this was pretty urgent.

"Its ok" I told myself, "I'm only about 40 minutes from Fort Collins, maybe less. I can do this."

5 minutes later, and a bunch of huge turbulent bursts later, I'm freaking out. I can't wait...I have to go now. Off to my left is JeffCo...but if I start asking for clearances and whatnot, there's no chance I'm going to make it down before I have a very bad accident.

I'm in pain....my thumb is hovering over the PTT, about to declare an emergency because I really felt this was a safety of flight issue....but then it occurs to me: I can't possibly be holding more than 12 ounces of pee, right?

I scramble for the empty Dr. Pepper can I just finished, aim very carefully so as not to cut my good stuff on the rim, and let it go.

And it went.

And it went.

And I was approaching 12 ounces, and started panicking. "What do I do now??"

Well, this particular Cherokee 180 has one of those awesomely functional 3 inch by 3 inch windows on the left side. I squeeze it off, and dump the contents out the window, careful not to spill any (the ash story was in my head, and I was very scared). I brought it back and continued.

Probably 2 cans worth later, I was finished. I had drifted off my assigned Altitude of I think 13,500ft but my heading was simply "west of I-40" (or east...can't remember). At this point, I found an interesting point of knowledge.

Pee freezes.

I had peecicles all the way down the left side of my Cherokee, and when I landed a little later, I had a nice puddle forming under the plane.

That's my fun story (probably the best "fun" story I have as a pilot). If you've ever been there, you know what I was feeling. If you haven't, don't get that far. It sucks.
 
tcr1016 said:
My main phobia is having to go #2 when my stomach acts up. Sorry to be grouse, but that is my true phobia. This is the reason just a gateraid bottle will not work. Also how will I tell the instructor I need to have something if my stomach acts up, and my phobia??

Has anyone had the problem of #2 in flight??
Click to expand...

One is rarely more than 10 or 15 minutes from the nearest airport. Dunno how much warning you get...

There are stick on bags like those used for the Voyager around the world flight - but I have no experience with them.

If you have an issue, just up and tell the instructor. If they can't deal with it, find another instructor. It's not like there is a national instructor shortage...

Good luck with your issue and with your flight lessons.
 
tcr1016 said:
My main phobia is having to go #2 when my stomach acts up. Sorry to be grouse, but that is my true phobia. This is the reason just a gateraid bottle will not work. Also how will I tell the instructor I need to have something if my stomach acts up, and my phobia??

Has anyone had the problem of #2 in flight??
Click to expand...

I jacked my stomach up after years of eating Green Chile, so I don't know if I'll ever poop normal again, so I can relate (not a joke).

While its never come up, I would imagine that a bucket with a lid available would work in an emergency situation, although holding it and putting up with the pain for a few minutes to get down at ANY airport might be better (even if it means pooping behind the bushes).

But I wouldn't let something like that stop you from pursuing the dream.
 
haha that was a great one nick.

You ought to know when urine icing conditions!

SkyHog said:
Fun story.

I'm flying north to Fort Collins, toward the Denver Class B airspace, when I'm suddenly cleared through the airspace without even asking. Outstanding!

Well, I literally cross the Class B boundary, and start to hit some turbulence and it hits me. I HAVE TO PEE! I apparently drank that last Dr. Pepper much too fast. I don't know how long I needed to pee without noticing, but I do know that this was pretty urgent.

"Its ok" I told myself, "I'm only about 40 minutes from Fort Collins, maybe less. I can do this."

5 minutes later, and a bunch of huge turbulent bursts later, I'm freaking out. I can't wait...I have to go now. Off to my left is JeffCo...but if I start asking for clearances and whatnot, there's no chance I'm going to make it down before I have a very bad accident.

I'm in pain....my thumb is hovering over the PTT, about to declare an emergency because I really felt this was a safety of flight issue....but then it occurs to me: I can't possibly be holding more than 12 ounces of pee, right?

I scramble for the empty Dr. Pepper can I just finished, aim very carefully so as not to cut my good stuff on the rim, and let it go.

And it went.

And it went.

And I was approaching 12 ounces, and started panicking. "What do I do now??"

Well, this particular Cherokee 180 has one of those awesomely functional 3 inch by 3 inch windows on the left side. I squeeze it off, and dump the contents out the window, careful not to spill any (the ash story was in my head, and I was very scared). I brought it back and continued.

Probably 2 cans worth later, I was finished. I had drifted off my assigned Altitude of I think 13,500ft but my heading was simply "west of I-40" (or east...can't remember). At this point, I found an interesting point of knowledge.

Pee freezes.

I had peecicles all the way down the left side of my Cherokee, and when I landed a little later, I had a nice puddle forming under the plane.

That's my fun story (probably the best "fun" story I have as a pilot). If you've ever been there, you know what I was feeling. If you haven't, don't get that far. It sucks.
Click to expand...
 
"Peecicles."

You da man, Nick!
 
Sporty's was selling Little Johns since before the Internet.
 
Zip lock bags work well. Used them in the glider a couple of times, although I'm not sure if "disposing" of the evidence violates FAR 91.15 :)
 
I went thru this with my father a number of years ago - he lived in Phoenix and spent the summer with me in Denver. When he was driving he had about a 2 minute warning concerning #2. In town it's not a big deal - there's always someplace to stop. But cross-country (ever driven I-17/I-40/I-25?) is another matter.

After extensive discussions with both his oncologist (he'd had surgery & radiation therapy for prostate cancer) and his internist (Type 2 diabetes) all agreed the remedy was diet management for these trips.

That meant for the 24 hours prior to the trip (either way) he ate low-fat, low-fiber. Do not load up the baked potato with all the butter and cheese you can find, just enough to provide flavor.
Avoid fried foods entirely.
Only broiled lean meats or fish pretty much every way (except fried)
Do not load up on high-fiber cereals (he loved oatmeal every morning!) or fruits.

Not only did it help intestinal management, he also got to a reasonable weight and was able to reduce the medication (he never took shots for the diabetes, only oral meds).

Another factor might be the gall bladder, which is Primo in the body for fat management thru the bile system. Take out the gall bladder (Dad had his out back in the day when it was serious surgery and not laproscopic) and you need to be on low-fat for the rest of your life. Too much fat (ice cream, cheese, etc) and you're likely to be in the 2 Minute Warning situation too often.

If this is just a phobia, perhaps chatting with a professional to uncover the real issue would be useful.

On the other hand, if this is not a phobia but you have a demonstrated history of the 2 Min Warning, then you really need to see a physician ASAP to find out what's really wrong with your body!

Dr. Bruce will probably be chiming in soon - pay attention to him!
 
SkyHog said:
I jacked my stomach up after years of eating Green Chile, so I don't know if I'll ever poop normal again, so I can relate (not a joke).

While its never come up, I would imagine that a bucket with a lid available would work in an emergency situation, although holding it and putting up with the pain for a few minutes to get down at ANY airport might be better (even if it means pooping behind the bushes).

But I wouldn't let something like that stop you from pursuing the dream.
Click to expand...

In the 5 years of having this phobia after a couple accidents, I have only used my porta pottys in my vehicles twice. But when I did not have it once (only time), my friend got sick and needed it (mexican food). Needless to say I always have it and the accidents people have do not help my phobia. But it could be worse, so I do not regret my phobia, just live with it.
 
SkyHog said:
Pee freezes.

I had peecicles all the way down the left side of my Cherokee, and when I landed a little later, I had a nice puddle forming under the plane.

That's my fun story (probably the best "fun" story I have as a pilot). If you've ever been there, you know what I was feeling. If you haven't, don't get that far. It sucks.
Click to expand...

Wasn't peesicles the answer to the "fireflies" question in the early manned space program?
 
C'Mon. You haven't lived until you've landed the plane with your knees clenched and trembling.
 
fgcason said:
Pee, load the plane, pee again, do the preflight, pee just to make sure, go fly for 3-4 hours.
And don't drink a gallon of water 20 minutes before taking off.
Click to expand...

... or during the flight (and that includes coffee and tea)
 
tcr1016 said:
In the 5 years of having this phobia after a couple accidents, I have only used my porta pottys in my vehicles twice. But when I did not have it once (only time), my friend got sick and needed it (mexican food). Needless to say I always have it and the accidents people have do not help my phobia. But it could be worse, so I do not regret my phobia, just live with it.
Click to expand...
You have probably thought about this already but is it possible that you have developed some sort of food allergy? When I was around 40 I found that my stomach was sometimes upset in the mornings. For a while I thought it was coffee, then I realized it was milk. Now that I don't drink it except in very small quantities I'm back to having a cast-iron stomach.
 
I think astronauts and bomber pilots go on "low residue" diets prior to starting really long missions. (Capt. Ron may want to chime in.)

I once had lunch with a B-52 check pilot, and asked him about the facilities on the BUFF. He said that yes, they had a head. However, it informally was for #1 only. Use it for #2, and you'll catch #2 for using it for #2.
 
mikea said:
C'Mon. You haven't lived until you've landed the plane with your knees clenched and trembling.
Click to expand...

Or when there are 3 people onboard all of which have fishies swimming around in their eyeballs about an hour from home..which is a mountain grass runway (read bumpy landing) that involves quite a bit of maneuvering to get into. Let's just say the prop was stopped and two of us were standing on the wing before the plane quit rolling somewhere near midfield. Run for the bushes, yea, right, that's a cute polite theory when you're sitting in a seat before the fishies start complaining about the water pressure.
 
mikea said:
C'Mon. You haven't lived until you've landed the plane with your knees clenched and trembling.
Click to expand...

I was lucky, I had a second Pilot with me.

I was unbuclking and unlatching the door in the Cessna as we rolled in, instructed him to get on the breaks with me... Hit "mixture, master, mags" as fast as I could and was out the door and running before the prop stopped moving.

A couple of weeks later the second pilot gave me a patch for my fight bag.

Outta my way
I have to PEE

:ihih:
 
A few weeks back when flying with my friend in his Cheyenne, he said "You watch the store for a few minutes, I'm going to go use the bathroom."

Gatorade bottles work well for me. Bring towels until you get the method down precisely enough that you won't make a mess. It works well, but probably is best when flying solo (dogs don't count).
 
General rule: You won't need to go bad until you're being vectored in a terminal area.

With lots of moisture rolling up the windshield.

Corollary: ATC is silent until you "have it out," and then they'll issue a re-route with readback required, to waypoints you don't know, and the turbulence will kick-up.

Do NOT ask me how I know.

Or, how ridiculous I looked (according to my wife).
 
Look not trying to be mean but taking a leak in a plane is challange enough. I can't imagine having to go #2 in a Cherokee or 172. I mean I really just can't see the possibility of it ending up well. Perhaps if it is really just a phobia and not a true biological issue with your digestive tract a bit of therapy will help clear up the phobia and then you won't have to worry about it.
 
I've never had to do #2, but I have pee'd. For us girls its a little more challenging.

We carry the Little John and the Lady J adapter. The adapter doesn't fit right on the Little John and you end up having to use two hands to ummmm... take care of business.

My port a potty kit has both of those items, plus a couple of 1 gallon Zip Locks and a couple of 2 gallon Zip Locks. baby wipes instead of TP. I've also included a couple of Travel John's, and several opaque plastic grocery store bags to carry the used items to the ladies room when we land.

One of these is in my purse, backpack or tank bag where ever I go:

http://www.go-girl.com/
 
AdamZ said:
Look not trying to be mean but taking a leak in a plane is challange enough. I can't imagine having to go #2 in a Cherokee or 172. I mean I really just can't see the possibility of it ending up well. Perhaps if it is really just a phobia and not a true biological issue with your digestive tract a bit of therapy will help clear up the phobia and then you won't have to worry about it.
Click to expand...

That scares the crud out of me. I'm pretty sure with what I have on board I could make the best of it (2 gallon Zip Lock and baby wipes), but I'm real careful about what I eat before I fly any long distances. No coffee, no pop, no greasy foods. :fcross:
 
mikea said:
C'Mon. You haven't lived until you've landed the plane with your knees clenched and trembling.
Click to expand...

I once shot the ILS to 15L at BWI in a driving snowstorm to a few hundred feet above mins after a 5 hour leg with a bladder on the verge of bursting. What made it worse is I had a porta-johnny in my flight bag on the back seat. But, it was what was in the right seat that made me leave the porta-johnny in the flight bag. Good thing it was a coupled approach because my hands were trembling I had to go so bad. After we landed, I told my passenger to stay in the plane until the Signature van arrived and I went out and cleared half the ramp of snow and ice.
 
I think I heard a Live ATC recording of a poor guy who needed a straight in at KOSH because he was desperate for the facilities. I'll try to find it.
 
Flying the airplane is priority one. If that means that someday you have to do something embarrassing then so be it. I can't imagine being able to use some kind of port a potty in a small airplane while trying to fly an ILS on a bumpy day. You'd be better off to hold it..or let it go..and keep a spare change of clothes in the airplane :)
 
Last edited:
jesse said:
Flying the airplane is priority one. If that means that someday you have to do something embarrassing then so be it. I can't imagine being able to use some kind of port a potty in a small airplane while trying to fly an ILS on a bumpy day. You'd be better off to hold it..or let it go..and keep a spare change of clothes in the airplane :)
Click to expand...

The one's I keep are the standard issue from Sporty's that are pretty easy to use and seal. They turn the liquid to a jell to keep it less of a spillage risk. In my case, I should have just used it an hour before I got to the ILS and then I wouldn't have found myself trying to keep the needles crossed with my eyes crossed. Lesson learned.

And back to the OP on the need for potty breaks - some of the most serendipitously fun experiences I've had at airports have been those that I hadn't planned to stop at but did because someone needed a bathroom. You can always just pull over at the nearest airport and let 'em go.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top