Advice for pukers

[Sly1978]

This topic's been gone over several times, but it always comes up so I thought I'd start a new forum about it for anybody who needs the info.

I puked at least once during every block of training in Primary (it took me over 1 month to get through PAs), but today I'm about 7 fly days away from finishing up the advanced helo syllabus and getting my wings. I've been asked how I managed to do it when a lot of guys get attrited every year. So here's my advice to those who may need or know someone who does:

1. BE PREPARED FOR THE FLIGHT! This is good advice for anybody, but moreso for the pukers. Once you start getting sick, it's tough to keep your head in the game, so the more you prepare, the more automatic everything will be. The other thing about being well prepared is that you're going to come under a lot of scrutiny if you keep getting sick. The better you are, the more forgiving the squadron will be.

2. TAKE BACK THE CONTROLS. Sure, you're going to have to hand over the controls while you pull out your bag and hurl. Once you're done, though, take a drink of water, shake it off and get back on the controls. The best thing I had going for me was that I only incompleted one flight in Primary because of sickness. The farther you can get into the syllabus, the more forgiving they are.

3. DON'T GIVE UP. Like I said earlier, you're going to come under a lot of scrutiny. Make it obvious that this is what you really want to do still. Do everything they tell you to do. Try every remedy the docs and IPs tell you.

4. BE PROACTIVE. Kind of goes along with number 3. Don't sit around and let them decide your fate. Stay on top of things. Ask what you need to do. Come up with your own plan on how to remedy the situation and present it to your chain of command. If you want some suggestions, you can ask me. The more involved you are, the better your chances.

That's about all I have for now. If anyone has anything to add, it would be appreciated. I'm not going to say that there wasn't a lot of luck involved in my situation. There was, but it's funny how luck always seems to follow those who are actively looking for it.

 

[Brett327]

^^ Ahh, you are wise beyond your years. Aside from the vomiting stuff, your post contains the elements of what is required for a successful first tour in the fleet. Always be on top of your game, solve problems instead of creating them, and be enthusiastic. Congratulations on finishing up - you'll go far.

Brett

 

[Steve Wilkins]

Dude, the fact that you were able to stay motivated while you continued to puke says a lot. Sounds like you've got a few things figured out by going through this experience that others may not get till long after they get to the fleet. Like Brett already said....Congrats.

 

[Snacks]

Sly, I had the same problem as you, and I finally got over it too by doing what you suggested. One other thing to add is that I started eating a sandwich before I flew so that I had something in my stomach. Found out the hard way that I need to eat before I fly.

 

[goplay234]

I was a puker too. Also, take comfort in knowing the more you fly, the less sick you will get. I always found Whataburger did the trick for me...Who knew? After I figured that out, I didn't care if I had to brief at 7am, I had the Whataburger with cheese. For me, I guess it was grease in the belly. Oh, and I have heard it's good to eat bananas...Apparantly they don't taste too horrid coming back up. The big thing is not to let the airsickness dominate you.

 

[Sly1978]

I agree with everyone else here. I know a lot of guys that greasy food works well for. I wasn't one of them, but everyone's stomach is different. What actually helped me the most was eating Ramen or something similar before a flight. The important thing is that you MUST eat something before you fly if you don't want to get sick. Another helpful thing I found was Ginger Pills. You can buy them from any pharmacy. All they are is ground-up ginger put into a caplet. Just make sure that you get your flight doc's OK before you start taking them. There aren't any side effects, and there is no way of testing to see if you've been taking ginger pills, but the Navy's kind of particular about things we buy from pharmacies so CYA.

 

[Gatordev]

Good stuff. Just to add...

2a. Also take the controls because the more you fly, the better you'll feel. Just sitting there watching the needles do their thing while the IP flies doesn't make you feel better. The key is to be occupied, and that will distract you from the sickness. Works on boats/ships as well.

 

[Steve Wilkins]

Good stuff. Just to add...

2a. Also take the controls because the more you fly, the better you'll feel. Just sitting there watching the needles do their thing while the IP flies doesn't make you feel better. The key is to be occupied, and that will distract you from the sickness. Works on boats/ships as well.

Does this mean you're finally IP'ing studs down there in southern Alabama?

 

[TurnandBurn55]

A few other thoughts from the NFO side of the house.

Remember, a lot of people get airsick when they're not flying. Even Hornet pilots with many hundreds of hours, put them in the backseat in the bombing pattern or BFM, I've seen them hurl until they dry heave.

Admit it if you feel like sh!t. Your IP/IN won't wonder why you sound like a jackass on the radio or why you're not doing anything with the radar.

Think like a pilot. When you stop being an active part of the flight and turn into a sack of potatoes, you WILL get sick. Keep telling yourself "OK, I'm in a left hand turn, nose low, 3K to the deck, rate war, looking for XX airspeed, XX alpha..."

Don't fixate! SNFOs take longer to learn scans since they're not flying... so the tendency is to get caught heads down in the "drool cup" (radar)... see above...

Hydrate, eat, rest, and don't drink. Seriously. If you're flying Monday, I would avoid drinking Saturday night. You won't be hungover, but alcohol has longer term effect on the specific weight of your body fluids. Meaning that the water in your inner ear will tumble differently and f#ck up your gyro.

Have fun! People pay to do this...

 

[skizkit]

As unfortunate as all this sounds, I cant wait to experience it!!

 

[HH-60H]

Keep telling yourself "OK, I'm in a left hand turn, nose low, 3K to the deck, rate war???, looking for XX airspeed, XX alpha..."

What on earth does that mean?

 

[Sly1978]

TurnandBurn55 has some great advice. A lot of it is pretty advanced for T-34 land, but the idea is the same. Like he said, if you feel sick, tell your instructor. The instructor isn't going to care if he has to fly straight-and-level for 5 minutes so that you can get it out of your system. What will make him mad is if you don't say anything, your basic air work goes in the toilet, and then you tell him that you don't feel well. It's part of CRM. Let the guy in back know what's going on. Then get over it (whether that's just sipping water or actually puking) and get on with the flight. I would sometimes have to do that several times a flight.
That reminds me, forget the "sick sacs" that they give out in gear issue. They're worthless. Invest in some Zip-Loc Freezer bags. Quart size should suffice. You can fold 3 or 4 into the left thigh pocket of your flight suit for easy access and they won't leak. Plus, they're easily sealed after you've done your thing....and easily reopened and re-sealed should the need arise again later in the flight.

 

[Gatordev]

Does this mean you're finally IP'ing studs down there in southern Alabama?

For a while now.

 

[TurnandBurn55]

@Sly: Yup, I was thinking mostly in Advanced/RAG terms for SNFOs. We really don't do that much dynamic stuff in Primary/Intermediate compared to you all except for a few aerobatics in Fams and a little Tac Form.

@HH-60H: Sorry, again, thinking like BFM-- I puked several times in that phase until I figured out wtf the pilot was doing.

"Rate war"= two circle BFM fight... nose to tail, looking to maximize degrees/second. Always have a target airspeed and alpha to accomplish. Point being that recognizing the type of fight you're in is critical for pilots to fight good BFM... goes back to thinking like a pilot otherwise you're just a paid window-licker.

 

[HH-60H]

@HH-60H: Sorry, again, thinking like BFM-- I puked several times in that phase until I figured out wtf the pilot was doing.

"Rate war"= two circle BFM fight... nose to tail, looking to maximize degrees/second. Always have a target airspeed and alpha to accomplish. Point being that recognizing the type of fight you're in is critical for pilots to fight good BFM... goes back to thinking like a pilot otherwise you're just a paid window-licker.

I gathered your overall point from the rest of the post. I wasn't familiar with that term. Obviously, in helos we don't do too much BFM. I have done a little helo v. helo and with that little experience and your definition I am getting the "rate war" picture.
Another question: Does "two circle" mean each aircraft is in its own "turn circle"? Or does it mean both aircraft are going 720 degrees?
In HS we don't teach any formal helo v. helo where a two circle (whichever definition is correct) situation could arise.
In some courses of training we teach I guess what would be DACM, helo v. fw, obviously the helo is entirely defensive.

MODs feel free to split if this goes too far off topic.