Night freight and wear on the body
09-09-2007, 08:20 PM
#11
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2006
Posts: 3,333
GliderCFI - from a fellow glider pilot (and a cargo pilot) - everything you heard about night flying is correct. Night flying sux and you'll die soon after you start flying night. Don't even contemplate a cargo career; at least not until my friends (and freightguppy's friends) work here.
Remember, you will die soon after you start that dreadful career. As a matter of fact I just di....
Remember, you will die soon after you start that dreadful career. As a matter of fact I just di....
09-09-2007, 08:21 PM
#12
Freightmama!
Joined APC: Dec 2005
Position: 757/767 FO
Posts: 2,880
GliderCFI - from a fellow glider pilot - everything you heard about night flying is correct. Night flying sux and you'll die soon after you start flying night. Don't even contemplate on a cargo career, at least not until my friends (and freight guppy's) work here. Remember, you will die soon after you start that dreadful career. As a matter of fact I just di....
09-10-2007, 04:28 AM
#13
Reserve Sucks
Joined APC: Jul 2007
Posts: 189
Do some research on circadian rythyms and the disruption of. I believe it was Fedex that did some studies and it is not good for your body. Yes you are taking years off of your life. As people have mentioned, proper diet, exercise, and limiting alcohol intake will help. I guess I am screwed.
Do a google search on circadian rythym and you will find all the info you need grass hopper. Now let the student become the teacher.
Do a google search on circadian rythym and you will find all the info you need grass hopper. Now let the student become the teacher.
09-10-2007, 01:31 PM
#14
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Oct 2006
Position: Brown 747-400
Posts: 524
Flying at night hasn't bothered me a bit. I'm kind of a "night owl" anyways, and generally keep "bartender's hours" as my normal sleep cycle. That being said, going to bed at 3 or 4 in the morning is pretty "normal" for me, as is waking up in the late morning.
If you're the kind of guy that likes to go to bed at 10pm and wake up at 6am, then flying for UPS or any other cargo outfit is probably going to be hard on your body. If your wife and kids don't respect the fact that you work "different" hours, and need uninterruped sleep, then you're going to look like a zombie in a very short period of time. You can't fly all night till 5am, drive home, attend your kid's soccer game, and then start in on the "honey do" list. You're going to feel and look like crap.
The very worst kind of trip that I have flown at UPS is the night flight into SDF (arrive 0200L), go to the hotel, wind down, go to sleep around 0400L, sleep for 8 hours, have the rest of the day off, then have a 0130L pickup (the following morning) for an all nighter back to the west coast arriving at 0900L in ONT. I'm not tired enough to go to sleep before the 0130L pickup, but I try anyways. I'm usually pretty tired by the time I get home, and that night is always a very important recuperative sleep period for me. I'll crash hard for 10 hours, then I'm back to normal again. Getting those uninterrupted sleep hours has been the most important thing for me to get back to my normal routine.
If you're the kind of guy that likes to go to bed at 10pm and wake up at 6am, then flying for UPS or any other cargo outfit is probably going to be hard on your body. If your wife and kids don't respect the fact that you work "different" hours, and need uninterruped sleep, then you're going to look like a zombie in a very short period of time. You can't fly all night till 5am, drive home, attend your kid's soccer game, and then start in on the "honey do" list. You're going to feel and look like crap.
The very worst kind of trip that I have flown at UPS is the night flight into SDF (arrive 0200L), go to the hotel, wind down, go to sleep around 0400L, sleep for 8 hours, have the rest of the day off, then have a 0130L pickup (the following morning) for an all nighter back to the west coast arriving at 0900L in ONT. I'm not tired enough to go to sleep before the 0130L pickup, but I try anyways. I'm usually pretty tired by the time I get home, and that night is always a very important recuperative sleep period for me. I'll crash hard for 10 hours, then I'm back to normal again. Getting those uninterrupted sleep hours has been the most important thing for me to get back to my normal routine.
09-10-2007, 01:58 PM
#15
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2007
Posts: 181
From NASA:
"To document the psychophysiological effects of flying overnight cargo operations, 41 B-727 crew members (average age 38 yr) were monitored before, during, and after one of two typical 8-day trip patterns. During daytime layovers, the average sleep episode was 3 hr (41%) shorter than nighttime sleeps and was rated as lighter, less restorative, and poorer overall. Sleep was frequently split into several episodes and totaled 1.2 hr less per 24 hr than on pretrip days. Each trip pattern included a night off, which was an effective countermeasure against the accumulating sleep debt. The organization of sleep during daytime layovers reflected the interaction of duty timing with circadian physiology. The circadian temperature rhythm did not adapt completely to the inverted wake-rest schedule on duty days, being delayed by about 3 hr. Highest subjective fatigue and lowest activation occurred around the time of the temperature minimum. On duty days, reports of headaches increased by 400%, of congested nose by 200%, and of burning eyes by 900%. Crew members also reported eating more snacks. Compared with daytime short-haul air-transport operations, the overnight cargo trips included fewer duty and flight hours, and had longer layovers. Overnight cargo crews also averaged 5.4 yr younger than their daytime short-haul counterparts. On trips, both groups lost a comparable amount of sleep per 24 hr, but the overnight cargo crews had shorter individual sleep episodes and more broken sleep. These data clearly demonstrate that overnight cargo operations, like other night work, involve physiological disruption not found in comparable daytime operations."
"To document the psychophysiological effects of flying overnight cargo operations, 41 B-727 crew members (average age 38 yr) were monitored before, during, and after one of two typical 8-day trip patterns. During daytime layovers, the average sleep episode was 3 hr (41%) shorter than nighttime sleeps and was rated as lighter, less restorative, and poorer overall. Sleep was frequently split into several episodes and totaled 1.2 hr less per 24 hr than on pretrip days. Each trip pattern included a night off, which was an effective countermeasure against the accumulating sleep debt. The organization of sleep during daytime layovers reflected the interaction of duty timing with circadian physiology. The circadian temperature rhythm did not adapt completely to the inverted wake-rest schedule on duty days, being delayed by about 3 hr. Highest subjective fatigue and lowest activation occurred around the time of the temperature minimum. On duty days, reports of headaches increased by 400%, of congested nose by 200%, and of burning eyes by 900%. Crew members also reported eating more snacks. Compared with daytime short-haul air-transport operations, the overnight cargo trips included fewer duty and flight hours, and had longer layovers. Overnight cargo crews also averaged 5.4 yr younger than their daytime short-haul counterparts. On trips, both groups lost a comparable amount of sleep per 24 hr, but the overnight cargo crews had shorter individual sleep episodes and more broken sleep. These data clearly demonstrate that overnight cargo operations, like other night work, involve physiological disruption not found in comparable daytime operations."
09-10-2007, 04:10 PM
#19
Freightmama!
Joined APC: Dec 2005
Position: 757/767 FO
Posts: 2,880
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