Pilot fatigue

Look it up! It’s a thing! It’s actually a big thing we are facing all the time in the industry. Time zone changes, red-eye flights, maintenance delays, the list is long. Even with many breaks in place it is almost unavoidable because the nature of the business. I can mainly speak for the helicopter industry of course given my extensive background there vs airline flying. August is pretty much the toughest month in my business with the long days and the high fire danger. Hot windy conditions and utility aircraft without air-conditioning aren’t helping either. Now combine that with the typical Type A personality and our “Can be done” attitude and we are setting ourselves up for trouble. Who of you in here flying for a living can honestly say they have never been there or allowed themselves to push the limits every now and then?
Not me, I can tell you for a fact.

But the FAA is starting to look into exactly what is happening to Chuck here. They are finding out that a lot of us are not using their rest time properly. Instead of going to bed, reading a few pages out of a novel and then sleep, we are getting carried away playing around on social media half the night.

I wouldn’t be surprised if there will be regulations on this sort of thing sooner or later once the first big accident can be directly linked to a gaming, social media, or a Pokemon Go addiction …

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9 comments on “Pilot fatigue
  1. Tampa says:

    I do recall these flights that just “occurred” out of nowhere and there I was having spent 12 hours flying from somewhere near Dallas all the way to Toronto while trying to find the lowest gph that Piper would do. Ending up somewhere in the Pacific trying to spot New Zealand or Hawaii and nearly missing. Flight Simulators can be a lot of fun and strangely even the dreadful parts are somewhat exciting. I suppose we are just prone to getting addicted to basically everything.

  2. Quill says:

    I thought Chuck was an X-plane guy? I guess he plays both, nothing wrong with that, I suppose each has it’s pros and cons. I myself use FSX, never tried X-plane. Also, in regards to Tampa’s comment – it’s true that just about anything can be addicting. I’ve found myself wasting away designing stuff in Autodesk Inventor, a professional CAD software (I’m an engineering student), I find that as addicting as any video game I’ve ever heard of. Guess I chose the right profession though.

  3. Tony McGurk says:

    I work at a Dairy Factory packing yogurt. I wonder if there’s a Yogurt Packing Simulator X so I’d have an excuse for being tired at work.

  4. Andrew says:

    @Tony. In fact a yougurt packing simulator might be interesting to Roost Air boss Hans Ubergrossenbacher (he managed a yogurt factory in the past), although I guess that what he urgently needs is some basic aeronautical knowledge.

    @Stef & Mike. We might see Hans dealing with FSX, X Plane or even FlightGear in the future? That might help him understand what Chuck and Julio are talking about when they deal with the Roost Air fleet.

  5. Merijn @ home says:

    @Tony and Hans Ubergrossenbacher,
    Perhaps playing Hay day can be a starter!
    My kids love it!

  6. jan olieslagers says:

    Should Hans’ last name read Uebergrossenbacher or even Übergroßenbacher?

  7. Andrew says:

    @Jan. I like the “Umlaut & Eszett” version. But perhaps Hans’ last name was intentionally “americanized” for convenience? Like Steinweg vs. Steinway, etc.

  8. L says:

    True. But wouldn’t the American-bastardized name then read Youbergrowsenbaker? 🙂
    Many of my clueless ‘murcan co-workers read Uber as Youber and some still read it as Oober. The education system and even parents have failed these kids. *sigh*

    But wait, why would Chuck say “playing FSX”? Surely he would not call it a game. Not Chuck!! 🙂

  9. Andrew says:

    @L. Yeah, that sure would be a pretty “hard” americanization. 🙂 Who knows, perhaps Hans’ Großvater (or whoever from his family went to the US first) just got his name slightly misspelled by the immigration office. Btw, I know for sure that there are folks who would read “Youber” even when the Umlaut was there!

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