Wing Tape - Does Thickness Affect Performance?

jcarlyle wrote:
Udo, Marc, Eric - thanks for your inputs. I looked up "symptoms of
dehydration" with Google and found this:

Symptoms
* Dry or sticky mouth
* Low or no urine output; concentrated urine appears dark yellow
* Not producing tears
* Sunken eyes
Signs and tests (from a physical exam)
* Low blood pressure
* Blood pressure that drops when you go from lying down to standing
* Rapid heart rate
* Poor skin turgor (pinched skin doesn't spring right back into
position)

Udo, I can sleep for 8 hours without a bathroom visit, but my father
couldn't starting at about 70. Marc, you say "noticably dehydrated" -
what symptoms did you exhibit? Eric, my last bathroom visit before
flight usually produces a goodly amount of pale urine and I don't have
a dry mouth, so I don't think I'm dehydrated before flight.

How about after the flight? If it's still pale, and there is plenty of
it, you might be fine. Still, the same doctors tell me you might not be
aware of the loss in ability, both physical and mental, so I'd suggest
you talk to a soaring physician about it. I know you are reluctant to
give up the convenience of flying without urinating, but 6 hours (!) is
a long time between urinations, and suggests you aren't hydrated enough,
even though you feel fine.


--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly
* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

On Jan 25, 12:30 pm, "01-- Zero One" wrote:
Dehydration, whether you need to pee or not, is a killer. Drink
_plenty_ of the right liquids, pee when needed. Period.

And... a hard landing (or crash) with a full bladder can also be really
bad when it ruptures.

-Tom

jcarlyle wrote:
Udo, Marc, Eric - thanks for your inputs. I looked up "symptoms of
dehydration" with Google and found this:

Symptoms
* Dry or sticky mouth
* Low or no urine output; concentrated urine appears dark yellow
* Not producing tears
* Sunken eyes
Signs and tests (from a physical exam)
* Low blood pressure
* Blood pressure that drops when you go from lying down to standing
* Rapid heart rate
* Poor skin turgor (pinched skin doesn't spring right back into
position)

For me, the key symptoms of significant dehydration are cramps (in my
legs and fingers), a dryish mouth, and a persistent headache by the end
of the flight. I used to think this was due to being mildly hypoxic,
but over time I learned that these symptoms directly correlate with the
amount of water I consume. If I let things go to far, my landing will
usually be, uh, interesting...

Marc

Larry, Jack, Eric, Tom - Thanks (again) for responding. You've
convinced me I'm pushing my luck (and that my luck isn't going to
remain the same fro much longer, anyway). I'll get another Camelbak to
have more than 48 ounces of water on board this season.

But the urine removal system is a problem, as it's my understanding
that the Texas condoms use adhesive - and I'm allergic to adhesive! I
guess I'll be bring some freezer bags with shredded Depends in them,
and figuring out the acrobatics necessary to "go" into a bag while in a
butt low, semi-reclined position. What fun....

Anyone have any good advice for "on-board" storage systems and
in-flight use of same (so I don't fly into the ground, unharnesed, with
lowered trousers, holding the wrong stick)?

=John

"jcarlyle" wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks, Nyal. My seat is reclined, but perhaps the "changes" I can look
forward to haven't yet happened.

Hartley, I'm sure I wouldn't like a ruptured bladder. But if one
doesn't "have to go" then there shouldn't be any danger, correct? I've
had 5 hour flights where I drank as described, landed, disassembled the
glider and put it away, driven an hour to get home, had dinner, and
only then did I feel the "urge". Just lucky? Or pushing it?

-John

On Jan 25, 1:12 pm, "HL Falbaum" wrote:
You would not like the results of a ruptured bladder if you crash on
landing!
It can be (and has been) fatal, as it is sometimes not detected till too
late.


John:

The "urge" has little to do with anything important. The bladder gets the
"urge" when the wall distends (stretches) a certain amount--different for
different people. If the mild urge is ignored, the bladder wall muscles
relax somewhat, and the sphincter (a muscular valve--visualize an O-ring
that can contract and become thicker in wall and smaller in diameter)
tightens. The urge goes away for a while, and comes back later as the cycle
is repeated. The sphincter, however, is slow to relax, and the tighter it
has become, the longer it takes to allow flow. This is the cause of
"hesitancy" ( slow starting stream) and decreased force and volume of
stream.

At the end of one of these flights, (starting with an empty bladder and pale
urine) is the volume over 200cc ( about 6 oz) and is it pale? If so, you
are pushing the bladder volume envelope. If not, you are pushing the
dehydration envelope.

There are usually no symptoms to dehydration at first. Thirst begins when
you are about a quart low. The kidneys have an "obligitory" loss rate, and
30 cc per hour is required just to balance that. In addition, there is an
"insensible" loss rate of about one liter per day at std atmosphere--i.e.
15deg C and sea level and at rest. Higer temp and altitude and more rapid
breathing increase it. It is water in exhaled air, and evaporated from the
skin without feeling wet. It takes a while for water to be absorbed from the
intestine and distributed through the body. Hydrate well the night before
and the morning of the flight. BTW alcohol and caffiene are
diuretic--causing water loss. So Beer, even the "good stuff" doesn't count.

Hartley Falbaum

But the urine removal system is a problem, as it's my understanding
that the Texas condoms use adhesive - and I'm allergic to adhesive!


Some have adhesives but not all. I just bought some Kendal (brand
name)Texas catheters that use an "elastic foam strap" instead. See
http://tinyurl.com/24cdrm . I'll be giving it a try when the season
starts in northeast US.

Tony V

John,



Another option would be to use one of the "Dick Sticks"... a turkey
baster bulb with the top cut out (forming a sort of funnel) fitted to a
rigid tube that you push down through a small hole in the fuselage...
but only when you need it. You pee directly into the bulb and it is
sucked out by the airflow around the tube.



Others here can give you further info about this option. I use the
external catheter and drain method. Never had a problem with it...
except for the time fire ants crawled up inside the tube before
takeoff.... But that's another story!! :-)



Larry

"01" USA





"jcarlyle" wrote in message
oups.com:

Larry, Jack, Eric, Tom - Thanks (again) for responding. You've
convinced me I'm pushing my luck (and that my luck isn't going to
remain the same fro much longer, anyway). I'll get another Camelbak to
have more than 48 ounces of water on board this season.

But the urine removal system is a problem, as it's my understanding
that the Texas condoms use adhesive - and I'm allergic to adhesive! I
guess I'll be bring some freezer bags with shredded Depends in them,
and figuring out the acrobatics necessary to "go" into a bag while in a
butt low, semi-reclined position. What fun....

Anyone have any good advice for "on-board" storage systems and
in-flight use of same (so I don't fly into the ground, unharnesed, with
lowered trousers, holding the wrong stick)?

=John

Water is cheap, increase in insurance premium is not.

I normally carry (3) 100oz camal packs. 2 for flying 1 for landing out.

My S.W.A.G. is that the extra drag from the peetube is far less than
the points given up at the end of the contest because you are getting
dehydrated and fatigued over the period of the contest.

My 2 cents

On Jan 25, 3:08 pm, "jcarlyle" wrote:
Anyone have any good advice for "on-board" storage systems and
in-flight use of same (so I don't fly into the ground, unharnesed, with
lowered trousers, holding the wrong stick)?

For years I've used "Travel John" as sold by Sporty's and other places.
Finally this year took the plunge and set up a catheter system to an
onboard bag.

Travel John advantage is the very small package, nice plastic funnel
and once filled and allowed to gel, I just chuck it forward by my feet.
Be sure to always have at least 3 - just in case! It's a real bummer
if you have nowhere to go if you drink a bit too much in flight.

Disadvantage is that it takes a bit of practice to use it well and it
is a bit distracting for about a minute or so between prep, peeing and
cleanup. Seems I always have to go when I'm low or in crowded
airspace. It also helps if the ship will fly itself for a few turns.
My ASW-20B and ASH-26E are nice stable platforms so that helped.

With the catheter system, I really didn't want to hack on the ship for
external drainage, so am using an old CamelBack bag in one of my pants
legs. It's 72oz capacity means I should never completely fill it in a
day's flying Be sure to wear loose pants.

-Tom

The turkey baster solution is the best one, but there
is a better way to make it work.

Our Discus came with this arrangement; we were persuaded
that the urine would migrate along the bottom of the
fuselage and over time would find its way up into the
bottom of the rudder post and oxidize the metal, making
it lose material and strength. We used a long flexible
tube attached to the turkey baster and ran the tube
beside the stick down into the wheel well and attached
it to the inside of one of the gear doors. It is just
long enough to touch the ground and it retracts with
the gear door (be sure that it is routed such that
it does not bind during the retraction process).

The problem is to remember to lower the gear, and then
to raise it again. Those still worried about the rudder
post could slip a little to the side opposite the tube's
gear door. An advantage of this tube is that you can
hear the Bernoulli effect as it suctions all the urine
out of the tube. Be sure that the tube and baster
reach far up enough to give some flexibility, and hold
the baster up a bit when finished so that there is
no air trap in the upper part of the tube.

At 00:30 26 January 2007, 01-- Zero One wrote:
John,



Another option would be to use one of the 'Dick Sticks'...
a turkey
baster bulb with the top cut out (forming a sort of
funnel) fitted to a
rigid tube that you push down through a small hole
in the fuselage...
but only when you need it. You pee directly into the
bulb and it is
sucked out by the airflow around the tube.



Others here can give you further info about this option.
I use the
external catheter and drain method. Never had a problem
with it...
except for the time fire ants crawled up inside the
tube before
takeoff.... But that's another story!! :-)



Larry

'01' USA





'jcarlyle' wrote in message
roups.com:

Larry, Jack, Eric, Tom - Thanks (again) for responding.
You've
convinced me I'm pushing my luck (and that my luck
isn't going to
remain the same fro much longer, anyway). I'll get
another Camelbak to
have more than 48 ounces of water on board this season.

But the urine removal system is a problem, as it's
my understanding
that the Texas condoms use adhesive - and I'm allergic
to adhesive! I
guess I'll be bring some freezer bags with shredded
Depends in them,
and figuring out the acrobatics necessary to 'go'
into a bag while in a
butt low, semi-reclined position. What fun....

Anyone have any good advice for 'on-board' storage
systems and
in-flight use of same (so I don't fly into the ground,
unharnesed, with
lowered trousers, holding the wrong stick)?

=John