Replying to all of you who think I am a troll. I would run 7 miles every day at work too. I guess that isn't going to convince anyone that I am healthy either. As long as you can sleep when you are off it is no problem. Pilot for 20 years, worked shifts for the 10 years prior. I have called in sick for myself once a year, and I don't work if I am sick. My cholesterol could be lower but no health issues otherwise. I fly with a lot of guys younger than me who eat M&Ms the whole flight, go out for crap food and never work out, and find they have no energy.

If only we had some science to back the idea that human performance is very poor when they’ve been up for 25 hours...

It’s funny you mention your running and good diet. I can’t help but think back to the stories of a few pilots that have passed away over the years that were said to have been incredibly fit and ate healthy. Bringing their bikes with them on layovers so they could train for another triathlon kind of thing. Only to die before the age of 60.

Diet and exercise are great but not a silver bullet against decades or hard core abuse to the body due to the demands of a punishing airline schedule.

It was discussed. It, and situations like it, were common.

You can make yourself lie in bed for hours in the afternoon but you can't make yourself sleep.

I did that type of flying for fifteen years. I am very glad to be away from it now.

Running doesn’t make the body not need to sleep AT NIGHT! Humans are not nocturnal. I don’t care how much you work out or how healthy you are. The human body needs to sleep at night. While you might get away with your insane schedule for a while (if you are even close to telling the truth, because everyone on the internet is truthful), it will come back to kill you.

Not that you care but I don’t believe it one bit. It’s biologically impossible to run a schedule like that and have no issue with fatigue. Had you said you were tired or that you slept 25 hours after those four days or something thereof, it would be more believable. Anyway, enjoy your early death.

Humans may be diurnal, but we HAVE been doing shift work for generations.

Yes, shift work is physically hard and has medically-proven downsides to both overall health, weight, and lifespan...but there are ways and opportunities to mitigate those effects for a pilot that doctors, nurses, police officers, factory workers, etc. simply don’t have.

I’d bet cargo pilots as a group are far healthier than 8-5 workers as a group.

Me? Don’t like hub turns, perhaps because I don’t nap well/easily in a sleep room. I personally prefer turns/out-and-backs that slide my body 4-5 hours vs. flipping day and night.

Avi8tor4life, pm sent

For the same company as I.....

Well, one of them. ABX for 12½ then ATI for 3½ (inclusive of three furloughs).

Some should read the accident report of the Kalitta DC8 at Gitmo to see what fatigue can do.

As compared to those of a similar socioeconomic/education level? I'll take that bet.

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