Alcohol

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avcraig
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Alcohol

Post by avcraig »

Hi all,

As a pilot and in terms of keeping that Cat 1 Medical, how many of you at the airline level drink alcohol once in a while? Has it affected your medical results before?

I'm just about done my Commercial and I've really dedicated myself to this industry. I definitely don't drink as much as a lot of people but I do have a few beers every few weeks. Probably average about 3 beers a month all spaced out and once or twice a year or so if I'm with a few friends and it's a special occasion I'll have a few more than that, but last time that has happened was in January of this year (I don't go to many parties).

Do I need to worry about maybe losing my medical in the future with my current drinking habits as mentioned above? Is this considered mild drinking or is this actually already too much? I'm not addicted to alcohol so I can definitely cut back.

Before you ask, no I never have a beer right before flying and I've never allowed alcohol to take over my mind. If for example I planned on having a beer tonight, and I was not supposed to fly tomorrow but a flight slot opens up for 7am, I've always had the mindset of forget the beer for today and study/rest and go fly. I'm also very conscious about the legal aspect of it and allow myself at least 2 days before a flight before consuming a beer just to make sure I'm 100% feeling well and ready to go.

Thanks.
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digits_
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Re: Alcohol

Post by digits_ »

There's plenty of pilots that drink more than that.
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photofly
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Re: Alcohol

Post by photofly »

Is this really beer we're talking about, or is it being used as a euphemism for mainlining novocaine?
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DanWEC
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Re: Alcohol

Post by DanWEC »

You're going to have to get that number up a lot to be even considered acceptable for aviation.
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digits_
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Re: Alcohol

Post by digits_ »

DanWEC wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 10:09 am You're going to have to get that number up a lot to be even considered acceptable for aviation.
Ah come one. Plenty of pilots that don't drink (much) either. Let's not enforce the stereotype that you need to be an alcoholic to fly planes!
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Taxivasion
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Re: Alcohol

Post by Taxivasion »

Some of the best drinkers i've ever met were commercial pilots. TC isn't checking CCTV from the bar, Only what you tell them. Cheers.
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ant_321
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Re: Alcohol

Post by ant_321 »

Taxivasion wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 1:46 pm Some of the best drinkers i've ever met were commercial pilots. TC isn't checking CCTV from the bar, Only what you tell them. Cheers.
:lol: :lol:

I probably drink 5 times as much at work (relax, on layovers) than I do at work. I’ll go weeks not drinking at home but as long as the layover is long enough you better believe I’m having a beer with the crew.
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homesick
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Re: Alcohol

Post by homesick »

Yes please!!
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Yycjetdriver
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Re: Alcohol

Post by Yycjetdriver »

You’re overthinking it. As long as you arrive to work sober and rested they really don’t care what you do on your time off. The big reason they ask on your medical for weekly drinks is it allows them to monitor for other possible medical conditions down the road. There’s no set hard limit on drinks, if you answer that amount on your medical and boom medical pulled. It’s more of a long game for them, something they monitor over a period of time among other things.
There’s many pilots who spend the majority of their time off drinking, are able to manage it with their work schedules and remain healthy and transport doesn’t care. Heck they probably assume whatever amount you admit to is a lie and assume it’s more.
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