Wing Tape - Does Thickness Affect Performance?

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.

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. I'll keep
alert for signs, though.

-John

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

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

jcarlyle wrote:

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?


I use the same guidance I give the kids before car trips, etc., when
they always complain, "But, I don't have to," and that I've used in
forty years of all kinds of flying:

I say, "Go when you CAN, not when you have to."

Safety, schedules, and health are all better maintained that way. Why
push it, and why build habit patterns that will make it tougher to
adjust when your body does begin to show the common problems of aging?


Jack

"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

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