What soaring foods do you eat?

[ContestID67]

I have been trying to determine what foods work well for extended cross
country flying. It needs to taste good, give you energy, easy to eat
in flight, not too messy, filling, doesn't melt, etc.

What does everyone use?

- John

[Ray Lovinggood]

Granola bars, soft or crunchy.
Peanuts (shelled, of course)
Maybe a banana and/or apple

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA

At 23:00 18 May 2005, Contestid67 wrote:
>I have been trying to determine what foods work well
>for extended cross
>country flying. It needs to taste good, give you energy,
>easy to eat
>in flight, not too messy, filling, doesn't melt, etc.
>
>What does everyone use?
>
>- John
>
>

[CguLL]

On 18 May 2005 15:49:53 -0700, "ContestID67" >
wrote:

>What does everyone use?

GU http://www.gusports.com/ washed down with Gatorade.

[Paul M. Cordell]

Current in-flight menu includes a small sandwich composed of meat
(salami or ham) and cheese and basil on a WASA crisp bread, a mixed nut
medley of peanuts, almonds and pecans. Desert is a Boomi bar. This
weeks favorite is the pineapple ginger with pinenuts.
http://www.boomibar.com/

I'm still interviewing in-flight food service staff/ballast

Paul
Nimbus 3D

[BTIZ]

Any standard trail mix or granola bars minus chocolate.. some trail mix does
include chocolate chips.. that melts out here.. its going to be 100F+ this
weekend. Also consider bagels.. raisin cinnamon works great.. stays moist
in a plastic bag but dries out fast when opened.. it's 0-4% humidity out
here

BT

"ContestID67" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>I have been trying to determine what foods work well for extended cross
> country flying. It needs to taste good, give you energy, easy to eat
> in flight, not too messy, filling, doesn't melt, etc.
>
> What does everyone use?
>
> - John
>

[Bill Daniels]

"ContestID67" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> I have been trying to determine what foods work well for extended cross
> country flying. It needs to taste good, give you energy, easy to eat
> in flight, not too messy, filling, doesn't melt, etc.
>
> What does everyone use?
>
> - John

Great question.

I have found Pemmican concentrated food bars to be great.
http://www.mealpack.com/

They last a months while sealed and don't crumble or make my fingers sticky
when I eat them. I keep two or three in my survival vest. They taste good
too.

Bill Daniels

[01-- Zero One]

I am confused about the responses to this message so far.

Perhaps if you are simply wafting around the sky to make your 5 hour or
are "leisurely" goin' somewhere there will be time for nourishment. But
most of my significant cross country is in a contest setting. And I can
tell you the there are precious few times in a 5-6 hour contest flight
when the concentration on the clouds, other gliders, speed maximization
tasks, thermal optimization, evaluating lift streets, etc. allow for a
break in concentration to open a package and eat something. I even, at
times, feel the concentration load is such that I will defer peeing or
drinking from the water tube until I get to the next flight regime.

Wonderingly,

Larry Goddard
"01" USA



"ContestID67" > wrote in message
:

> I have been trying to determine what foods work well for extended cross
> country flying. It needs to taste good, give you energy, easy to eat
> in flight, not too messy, filling, doesn't melt, etc.
>
> What does everyone use?
>
> - John

[ttaylor at cc.usu.edu]

Larry,

If you neglect to eat, drink, etc. you are at risk of beginning to
loose your ability to focus on all those other tasks you are talking
about. Most people need food every 2 to 4 hours to maintain peak
concentration and we have all seen the effects of dehydration too many
times. I have lost at least one friend to that here in the west.

That is why most of us find food that we can eat with little effort. I
tend to use soft granola bars (the hard ones dehydrate me and are
messy), I like apples because they tend to settle my stomach and
provide moisture as well.


Tim

[01-- Zero One]

Tim,

I completely agree with you about the hydration issue. I did not mean
to imply that I did not drink. Actually, depending on the day, I drink
quite a bit... with the concomitant peeing. I simply meant to make the
point that proper concentration is not always enhanced by diverting
attention to water spouts or ziplock baggies full of granola, or peeing,
for that matter.

Another issue that I was alluding to is that of "level of
concentration". It is very easy to be driving down the interstate at 75
mph, negotiating traffic, talking on the cellphone, and, when we reach
our destination in one piece, to say "Man, I am a multitasking dude!
Driving, talking, negotiating deals... and I am obviously safe... see, I
made here without a scratch!"

The fact is that I may have simply had the minimum of concentration
necessary to negotiate the driving task successfully. When it comes to
contest and serious cross country, "adequate concentration" is going to
give you mediocre results at best.

I can hear it now... "But darlin', I got the bowl of ice cream because I
need to concentrate on the football game... and it's been 2 hours since
dinner time!" :-)

Larry




"ttaylor at cc.usu.edu" > wrote in message
:

> Larry,
>
> If you neglect to eat, drink, etc. you are at risk of beginning to
> loose your ability to focus on all those other tasks you are talking
> about. Most people need food every 2 to 4 hours to maintain peak
> concentration and we have all seen the effects of dehydration too many
> times. I have lost at least one friend to that here in the west.
>
> That is why most of us find food that we can eat with little effort. I
> tend to use soft granola bars (the hard ones dehydrate me and are
> messy), I like apples because they tend to settle my stomach and
> provide moisture as well.
>
>
> Tim

[Eric Greenwell]

01-- Zero One wrote:
> I am confused about the responses to this message so far.
>
> Perhaps if you are simply wafting around the sky to make your 5 hour or
> are "leisurely" goin' somewhere there will be time for nourishment.

No, but my recreational and record attempt flights generally require
less concentration than a contest flight.

> But
> most of my significant cross country is in a contest setting. And I can
> tell you the there are precious few times in a 5-6 hour contest flight
> when the concentration on the clouds, other gliders, speed maximization
> tasks, thermal optimization, evaluating lift streets, etc. allow for a
> break in concentration to open a package and eat something.

In your situation, it makes sense, but that is not the case for me, even
in contests. Clearly, you are flying in different contests than I do.
It's been a long time since I flew in a contest that had a 5 or 6 hour
task; generally, the regionals are about 3 hours, and the Nationals
(some years ago) were more like 4 hours. In the olden days, 5 or 6 hours
was more common.

My non-contest flights are significantly longer than my contest tasks,
so I do take food along: a handful of mixed nuts, some dried fruit
(raisins, cranberries, cherries), a few strips of beef jerky, and a
high-fiber muffin).

> I even, at
> times, feel the concentration load is such that I will defer peeing or
> drinking from the water tube until I get to the next flight regime.

Same here, but there are times during almost all my flights where I am
just cruising for 5-15 minutes towards the only good choice, which is
plenty of time eat something. Perhaps you are so busy because of where
you fly, perhaps you are better at seeing things that need to be
analyzed, or perhaps you need to relax a little <:).

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

[PeterK]

I was turned on to string cheese by friend (Dr)Jim Skydell a few years ago.
The ones that come in neat little individual packages you can just peal back
like a banana. I will eat one in about an each hour.It offers a lot of
protein in a small package and it is easy to store. PeterK
"ContestID67" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> I have been trying to determine what foods work well for extended cross
> country flying. It needs to taste good, give you energy, easy to eat
> in flight, not too messy, filling, doesn't melt, etc.
>
> What does everyone use?
>
> - John
>

[[email protected]]

Bill Daniels wrote:
> "ContestID67" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > I have been trying to determine what foods work well for extended
cross
> > country flying. It needs to taste good, give you energy, easy to
eat
> > in flight, not too messy, filling, doesn't melt, etc.
> >
> > What does everyone use?
> >
> > - John
>
> Great question.
>
> I have found Pemmican concentrated food bars to be great.
> http://www.mealpack.com/
>
> They last a months while sealed and don't crumble or make my fingers
sticky
> when I eat them. I keep two or three in my survival vest. They
taste good
> too.
>
> Bill Daniels

[[email protected]]

Hi Bill, Excellent suggestion - I have been using the meal packs
for over 20 years. I crewed for Bruce Brockhoff and Brad Edwards
from Australia in our 15m Nationals at Hobbs in 91 - I suggested
to Brad that he try the meal packs - he tried them and liked them
a lot - and won the 15m World Championships at Uvalde using meal
packs the whole time. I used the meal packs during my glider flying
at Bitterwasser, Namibia (Africa)- so far I have flown 23 flights of
1000 km or more during the past 8 seasons - nearly all with meal
packs as my mid day meal. Again, great suggestion for the ras
readers. Regards, Ralph Woodward

Bill Daniels wrote:
> "ContestID67" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > I have been trying to determine what foods work well for extended
cross
> > country flying. It needs to taste good, give you energy, easy to
eat
> > in flight, not too messy, filling, doesn't melt, etc.
> >
> > What does everyone use?
> >
> > - John
>
> Great question.
>
> I have found Pemmican concentrated food bars to be great.
> http://www.mealpack.com/
>
> They last a months while sealed and don't crumble or make my fingers
sticky
> when I eat them. I keep two or three in my survival vest. They
taste good
> too.
>
> Bill Daniels

[Nyal Williams]

I put a raw carrot and some dried fruit (usually apricots),
and some cheese in baggies in the side pocket. Not
messy, and without salt. I've tried power bars, trail
mix, apples, candy, sandwiches, etc. All are messy.

Here's a trick if you can make it work in your crowded
space (I'm a small guy). The large Camelbaks have
a pocket in the back and a large mouth cap for the
water. Put ice in the Camelbak and your food in that
back pocket. It will keep the food cold and much less
messy. As the ice melts you can drink it. With the
right proportions of ice and water you can have a cool
drink most of the day and keep the food cool and firm.
Works for chocolate, even.


At 03:00 19 May 2005, wrote:
>Hi Bill, Excellent suggestion - I have been using
>the meal packs
>for over 20 years. I crewed for Bruce Brockhoff and
>Brad Edwards
>from Australia in our 15m Nationals at Hobbs in 91
>- I suggested
>to Brad that he try the meal packs - he tried them
>and liked them
>a lot - and won the 15m World Championships at Uvalde
>using meal
>packs the whole time. I used the meal packs during
>my glider flying
>at Bitterwasser, Namibia (Africa)- so far I have flown
>23 flights of
>1000 km or more during the past 8 seasons - nearly
>all with meal
>packs as my mid day meal. Again, great suggestion
>for the ras
>readers. Regards, Ralph Woodward
>
>Bill Daniels wrote:
>> 'ContestID67' wrote in message
>> oups.com...
>> > I have been trying to determine what foods work well
>>>for extended
>cross
>> > country flying. It needs to taste good, give you
>>>energy, easy to
>eat
>> > in flight, not too messy, filling, doesn't melt,
>>>etc.
>> >
>> > What does everyone use?
>> >
>> > - John
>>
>> Great question.
>>
>> I have found Pemmican concentrated food bars to be
>>great.
>> http://www.mealpack.com/
>>
>> They last a months while sealed and don't crumble
>>or make my fingers
>sticky
>> when I eat them. I keep two or three in my survival
>>vest. They
>taste good
>> too.
>>
>> Bill Daniels
>
>

[Bert Willing]

Even during contest flying or "serious" x-country, there is always time to
eat, drink and pee.

--
Bert Willing

ASW20 "TW"


"01-- Zero One" > a écrit dans le message de news:
...
> Tim,
>
> I completely agree with you about the hydration issue. I did not mean to
> imply that I did not drink. Actually, depending on the day, I drink quite
> a bit... with the concomitant peeing. I simply meant to make the point
> that proper concentration is not always enhanced by diverting attention to
> water spouts or ziplock baggies full of granola, or peeing, for that
> matter.
>
> Another issue that I was alluding to is that of "level of concentration".
> It is very easy to be driving down the interstate at 75 mph, negotiating
> traffic, talking on the cellphone, and, when we reach our destination in
> one piece, to say "Man, I am a multitasking dude! Driving, talking,
> negotiating deals... and I am obviously safe... see, I made here without a
> scratch!"
>
> The fact is that I may have simply had the minimum of concentration
> necessary to negotiate the driving task successfully. When it comes to
> contest and serious cross country, "adequate concentration" is going to
> give you mediocre results at best.
>
> I can hear it now... "But darlin', I got the bowl of ice cream because I
> need to concentrate on the football game... and it's been 2 hours since
> dinner time!" :-)
>
> Larry
>
>
>
>
> "ttaylor at cc.usu.edu" > wrote in message
> :
>
>> Larry,
>>
>> If you neglect to eat, drink, etc. you are at risk of beginning to
>> loose your ability to focus on all those other tasks you are talking
>> about. Most people need food every 2 to 4 hours to maintain peak
>> concentration and we have all seen the effects of dehydration too many
>> times. I have lost at least one friend to that here in the west.
>>
>> That is why most of us find food that we can eat with little effort. I
>> tend to use soft granola bars (the hard ones dehydrate me and are
>> messy), I like apples because they tend to settle my stomach and
>> provide moisture as well.
>>
>>
>> Tim
>

[Tim Mara]

I'd go for the Burger King Enormous Omelet Sandwich, maybe two of them......
but seriously......everyone has great suggestions, mostly if you can digest
straw.....the one thing you really don't want to do (hence my suggestion ;o)
is change radically anything in your diet just for the day you go
soaring.....you're possibly going to, especially with all the fibrous
suggestions I've seen here, end up landing sooner....and running toward the
head if it's not already part of your daily ritual...so.eat what you might
normally....no sense in grazing just cause you're in a
glider!......drink....and pee....
tim
Wings & Wheels
www.wingsandwheels.com


"ContestID67" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>I have been trying to determine what foods work well for extended cross
> country flying. It needs to taste good, give you energy, easy to eat
> in flight, not too messy, filling, doesn't melt, etc.
>
> What does everyone use?
>
> - John
>

[Sid]

ContestID67 wrote:
> I have been trying to determine what foods work well for extended cross
> country flying. It needs to taste good, give you energy, easy to eat
> in flight, not too messy, filling, doesn't melt, etc.
>
> What does everyone use?
>
> - John
>
Carrots!
Tasty, munchy, surprising moisture content, and the all important
clincher, good for you. ;)

[Eric Greenwell]

Tim Mara wrote:
> I'd go for the Burger King Enormous Omelet Sandwich, maybe two of them......
> but seriously......everyone has great suggestions, mostly if you can digest
> straw.....the one thing you really don't want to do (hence my suggestion ;o)
> is change radically anything in your diet just for the day you go
> soaring.....you're possibly going to, especially with all the fibrous
> suggestions I've seen here, end up landing sooner....and running toward the
> head if it's not already part of your daily ritual...so.eat what you might
> normally....no sense in grazing just cause you're in a
> glider!......drink....and pee....

Fiber doesn't act that nearly that quickly, so that shouldn't be a
concern; nonetheless, I agree that a radical diet change during flying
is probably not a good idea. I do suggest that if adding some fiber to
your diet is a "radical change", then it's probably what you consume on
the ground that needs changing!

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

[MC]

"Balance Bars" are great. There are different flavors, but avoid Balance Bar
Gold, they have a chocolate coating that will melt.

Mike


"ContestID67" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> I have been trying to determine what foods work well for extended cross
> country flying. It needs to taste good, give you energy, easy to eat
> in flight, not too messy, filling, doesn't melt, etc.
>
> What does everyone use?
>
> - John
>

[Robin Birch]

In message . com>,
ContestID67 > writes
>I have been trying to determine what foods work well for extended cross
>country flying. It needs to taste good, give you energy, easy to eat
>in flight, not too messy, filling, doesn't melt, etc.
>
>What does everyone use?
>
>- John
>
Bananas. Slow release energy, reasonably nice taste, not too messy,
doesn't increase thirst, good for you.

Robin
--
Robin Birch

[For Example John Smith]

Cliff bars
"ContestID67" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> I have been trying to determine what foods work well for extended cross
> country flying. It needs to taste good, give you energy, easy to eat
> in flight, not too messy, filling, doesn't melt, etc.
>
> What does everyone use?
>
> - John
>

[Z Goudie]

At 18:30 20 May 2005, Robin Birch wrote:

>Bananas. Slow release energy, reasonably nice taste,
>not too messy

Good grief John, have you never accidentally crushed
a banana in a cockpit pocket! An absolutely disgusting
mess if I recall. Get yourself some Fair Trade Geobars.

Z

[ContestID67]

I tried them. Kind of dry for me. But then that makes me drink.

[ContestID67]

Report from the front - After my recent contest experience I tried all
sorts of things. Dried fruit seemed to work best for me. Dried
pineapple was my favorite. Apricots were good but kind of sticky.

A close second is Twizzlers. Tastes good, sugar for energy, not messy.

[Eric Greenwell]

wrote:
> Hi Bill, Excellent suggestion - I have been using the meal packs
> for over 20 years. I crewed for Bruce Brockhoff and Brad Edwards
> from Australia in our 15m Nationals at Hobbs in 91 - I suggested
> to Brad that he try the meal packs - he tried them and liked them
> a lot - and won the 15m World Championships at Uvalde using meal
> packs the whole time. I used the meal packs during my glider flying
> at Bitterwasser, Namibia (Africa)- so far I have flown 23 flights of
> 1000 km or more during the past 8 seasons - nearly all with meal
> packs as my mid day meal. Again, great suggestion for the ras
> readers. Regards, Ralph Woodward

How long do unopened bars last on the shelf? I'm assuming leaving them
in the glider during the hot months is not a good idea.

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

[Bill Daniels]

"Eric Greenwell" > wrote in message
...
> wrote:

> How long do unopened bars last on the shelf? I'm assuming leaving them
> in the glider during the hot months is not a good idea.
>
> --
> Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly
>
> Eric Greenwell
> Washington State
> USA

If you read their web site, they have a "consume by date" on the individual
package. I examined one that had somehow escaped such consumption and had
resided in a pocket of my survival vest for a year. It was still edible
though a bit dry and shriveled. At ~ 1$ each, they're a cheap lunch.

Bill Daniels

[Eric Greenwell]

Bill Daniels wrote:
> "Eric Greenwell" > wrote in message
> ...
>
wrote:
>
>
>>How long do unopened bars last on the shelf? I'm assuming leaving them
>>in the glider during the hot months is not a good idea.
>>
>>--
>>Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly
>>
>>Eric Greenwell
>>Washington State
>>USA
>
>
> If you read their web site, they have a "consume by date" on the individual
> package. I examined one that had somehow escaped such consumption and had
> resided in a pocket of my survival vest for a year. It was still edible
> though a bit dry and shriveled. At ~ 1$ each, they're a cheap lunch.

I'll stop at REI and pick up a few to try. They seem well suited to our
purposes, and 4 months is plenty long enough.

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

[David Norinsky]

I usually eat a decent breakfast early, a bunch of Cantelope before I take
off, bring plenty of water and eat Cliff bars in flight (Chocolate Chip are
my favorite).
The cliff bars are filling and taste decent (it ain't a RibEye but it'll
do). 1 bar every 2-3 hours and I'm good for however long the flight is.

Dave Norinsky

"ContestID67" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Report from the front - After my recent contest experience I tried all
> sorts of things. Dried fruit seemed to work best for me. Dried
> pineapple was my favorite. Apricots were good but kind of sticky.
>
> A close second is Twizzlers. Tastes good, sugar for energy, not messy.
>