Best Practices - Personal Belongings
 

Just got picked up by a regional and am looking for some uncommon advise (at least uncommon to these boards that I can see). I am an ultra-light backpacker and love carrying just the bare necessities with everything in close reach. What strategies have you come up with for managing your personal belongings while flying? I am thinking of sewing plastic sleeves into my passport to hold my certs, DL and a credit card... What size luggage? Which items have made all the difference and which are easy to do without?

Thank you,

I would refrain from modifying your passport. Might invalidate it. Dont know for sure but worth looking into. Google "passport holder", looks like some would meet your needs.

Oh lord. Please for the sake of your fellow crew members pack clean shirts, underwear, socks etc.; washing them in the hotel sink doesn't cut it.

Agree on the passport, apparently it's not a good idea to use it as a notepad and for writing down phone numbers in the back…had a heck of a time going through customs one time. Also, don't use a passport holder, they hate those things. Try to act like you've been there before, just use a wallet and keep your passport in a pocket on your suitcase. That works for most, if you like to travel frequently in and out of the country on days off, you will kick yourself real quick if your a keep your passport in your flight bag kind of guy. If I'm going anywhere, so is my suitcase. So, I just keep the must have things always in my suitcase. Good luck and enjoy the ride!!!

https://www.travelproluggageoutlet.c...ot-rollaboard/ <-- Plenty of pockets for storage. (THEFLYINGPINTO15) <-- 15% off coupon too

https://www.amazon.com/eBags-Crew-Co...s=ebags+cooler

I will save that for the back country.

How well do freezer bags hold up in air travel? If I am going trough the extra effort of packing fresh clothes, I better keep the dirty clothes sealed off.

Thank you!

Um...Where did you say you were working?

22in luggage works suitcase...and something appropriate to carry your EFB or your charts and other required documentation around.

You're a pilot now...not a nomad. :)

I mean, as long as you can manage to shower everyday and avoid pi$$ing or $hitting yourself over the course of 3 or 4 days, then you can just place your worn clothes in another compartment of your bag or in an old grocery plastic bag till you get home.

Don't touch the passport. Just get a leather cover for it that has pockets. When ever you go through customs just take it out. It's all of a 2 second ordeal.

If you don't have a case the cover tends to start trying to tear which makes the passport invalid. I've had my holder for 16 years and it's still in good condition. My monogram name is the only thing starting to wear but that's not a big deal.

Just bring an extra shirt or two depending on the trip length and set of overnight street clothes. I normally pack two pilot shirts, two undershirts, a pair of jeans, two button down shirts, socks for every day and underwear for everyday. If it's winter I have a light shell jacket that go in for the overnights.

I typically only pack 3oz bottles of toiletries. As it makes dealing with the TSA easier if I decide to go sans monkey suit for my commute.

I have a small cooler that snaps onto my bag. I put some microwave soups and snacks in the main cooler. Some overnight hotels don't have food in or nearby, especially small BFE airports. Since this bag fits beside my seat I put anything personal I might need it its upper compartment. Like my ear plugs, TOLD cards, gum, extra pens, etc...

Last but not least I have a brightline flight bag for my headset and EFB. I also have my portable GPS/ADSB puck incase the weather is ****. But you didn't hear me say that.....

I could easily get rid of the flight bag if I chose to use the company headsets. Hope this helps!

Hotel laundry bags make great receptacles for dirty clothes. I usually take one from my first overnight on a trip, and keep adding dirties to it until I get home. Get a multi USB charger for your electronics, and carry one unit all your cables plug into. Anker makes some great ones. Also, do the forget a good backup battery, Anker also makes some good ones.

For a REALLY light packer;

FlightCrew 5 19" Slim Rollaboard

Aurora 17" Rolling bag - New Series

Most hotels provide plastic laundry bags

Do most regional airlines not provide luggage?

If you coming to Republic, we get flight works for free at Indoc. They don't ship them though until after you pass your ride though.

or just an industrial size bottle of Hai Karate.

No sir....

Buy your toothpaste in the half sized shampoo bottle. Small tubes are annoying and large ones can get pulled if you forget and commute in a polo one day.

Put everything in the same compartment every time.

When you unplug any thing charging, unplug from the wall not the device.

Leave a compartment open if it's items aren't in it. When you go to close you will remember why it was open to begin with.

Use the hotel hair conditioner as shaving cream.

Pack the same clothes every time. Suitcase, washer, dryer, suitcase. Buy two of everything you need so your suitcase has a dedicated toothbrush, razor, charger, etc..

Don't set your flashlight or sunglasses down in the plane, in your hand or in your bag. You will get up during an aircraft swap and leave them.

Pack a polo for your commute home so you can drink in first class.

Pretty sure I would not be able to handle toothpaste that tastes like shampoo. Maybe that's just me.

Not sure about the unplug from the wall advice? My charger goes in a pocket, as well as the cables. The devices I use. Wouldn't want cords dangling from them as I use them.

It's regular tooth paste, just sold in a vertical bottle the size of a stick of deodorant, and doesn't have a screw top, it has a flip top like hair shampoo.
TSA doesn't flag those.

The wall issue is it forces you to pack it. If you unplug from the device you will be in the airport van remembering you left your charger plugged into the wall behind the night stand.

I think the wall charger advice was more of a way to remember to pack your charger.

THIS THIS THIS. Don't ever put anything down outside of your bag. You will lose it.


Not sure how I feel about packing the SAME clothes every time. Probably a good idea to just pack the same amount of clothes.

OK,
So you are a professional pilot, how do you think you should appear/smell.
Clean under/tshirt, underwear and socks for each day. White pilot shirt
good for 2 days. Uniform pants good for trip. Shaving kit. Casual/running
shoes. One outfit for going out to dinner/movie/etc. One workout/running outfit that can be rinsed out in hotel tub.
22 inch roller bag does the job plus bag for headset/EFB/misc. in cockpit.

No offense to the mentally handicapped, but good lord, are you retarded? Pack some shct in your bag, including toiletries and clean undies, and don't leave your shct in the plane or room.

Ahhh, gotcha on the charger. I guess I mostly do that. But when I am done charging, my charger and cords go into the bag straightaway.

So the reason I had such a bad idea about your post? Once upon a time, my S.O. decided to get clever and ship me some MnMs. Emptied, rinsed & dried a shampoo bottle, filled with the candy, topped off with some cotton. By the time I got them a week later, they tasted so strongly of shampoo I couldn't eat them.

There are only two kinds of pilots. Those who have left things behind, and those who will.

Good advice here.

Be methodical.

Be consistent.

Keep your certs and medical on your badge lanyard. Makes it hard to forget that stuff.

Buy professional luggage (suitcase + toiletries kit, and probably a modular flight bag with cooler and laptop/notebook storage). A standard 22" unit will work fine for a four day, and if you really cram you could go six. Since we only have max four day trips, if I get a back-to-back trips of more than four days total I'll stash clean clothes at my base and swap them out between trips.

I use a freezer bag for dirty gym clothes, but just roll up socks/undies in used t-shirt. As other have said, you need clean t-shirt, socks, skivvies daily, white shirt every other day.

I rinse gym clothes in the sink if I'm going to use them more than once. Wring out, roll them tightly in a towel to remove excess water, and then hang dry. May need to hang near heat/AC vent if it's humid.

I only carry running shoes, those double as civvy shoes if I go out. Some people also bring flip flops.

Carry a light civilian jacket. If you need a serious jacket in civvies, take the bling off the airline jacket, which is presumably suitable for whatever climate you're in.

Have a personal checklist, mentally run it EVERY time you stand up, exit an airplane, hotel room, van, restaurant, etc.

Mine goes like this: Wallet, Badge, Cell Phone, Glasses, Jacket, Laptop, EFB/Flight bag, Kindle. I use this all the time, even when not at work, keeps me from leaving my wallet or jacket in various places. It becomes second nature after a while, and requires no effort (but saves plenty of hassles).

I don't include cheap stuff (like chapstick, comb) in the checklist, keeps it minimal and focused on important stuff. So I lose combs sometimes (but I carry extras in the luggage)

Don't set important things down in the plane. I leave snacks and magazines in the plane all the time, because I set them down and don't see them in the dark. But I never leave wallet, sunglasses, cell phone in the plane.

Has anyone had any luck combining a cooler with an EFB bag? Paper's going away (finally) and I'd like to combine the two bags. The flight bag/cooler would need to be able to hold my trusty old David Clarks.

I was wondering the same thing. Would be nice if there was an all in one solution.

There are a variety of modular flight bags, including coolers with EFB sleeves.

Aerocoast Pro Cooler II. Love mine. Won't hold my headset, so I will probably get another small bag to handle that and the EFB.

Looks like they have it on overstock in 25" too. https://www.overstock.com/Luggage-Ba...5/product.html

I find that I can get a good pair of knitted wool underwear last a few months before the Pthirus pubis and dust mites get out of hand.

I'm an outdoor enthusiast, do a good bit of hiking, trail running, camping etc...
I once had a friend who is into ultra-light camping tell me how "lame" I was for using a rollaboard at work and looking like every other stooge. She said I should be using my trekking backpack. I could not convince her otherwise.

Point is, your outdoor hobbies are cool, but they are separate from your job as an airline pilot. You don't have to buy the exact same bag as everyone else, but you do need to pack clean clothes and all the associated amenities to keep up your appearance and hygiene. You can minimize these if you never plan on leaving your hotel room.

As for me, flip flops in the summer and Vans slip ons in the winter save space. Also, having black work shoes that actually look good with jeans help. For a four day I pack four white under shirts, 4 dress socks, 4 briefs. The rest is whatever you need.

Going commando saves luggage space.

Anyone remember GOING_STERILE? His videos would be perfect for this guy LOL.

Definitely go with a fanny pack. You should always wear your pilot hat as well. It makes for some free storage inside it. Forget an extra jacket for the overnight. The airline trench coat works wonders and has loads of pockets for storage as well.

Do not do anything to a passport. Illegal! I got hassled by Immigration in China because of a few small pen marks on the data page. They said my passport was "mutilated"

These are were all caused by TSA/ CBP agent who use passports as a clipboard for convenience while they are scrawling on Boarding Cards and that is no longer tolerated by Cruz Clearance!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ahhhh,the child molester trench coat ....classic.
Just get a 1980s van with no windows to complete the ensemble.