What to pack?

[bike21]

What do you guys bring on say a 3 day trip? Mainly what I'm wanting to know, is can you get by on one pair of uniform pants? Or should I really take the another pair in case I get in a mustard fight or something?

I have Eagle Creek Tarmac 22" bag, which is really sweet, but the bottom of it can be a little on the thick side. I had a hard time fitting it on the RJ (even under row 13) during my first 4 day trip. Yes, I've learned better how pack since then! I got all the traditional rubbing from my Captain and F/A about how much crap I brought along

[FlyChicaga]

I pack an extra of everything. One complete extra set of clothes, ie. extra pants, shirt, undergarments, socks. That way if I get stuck somewhere for an extra day, or spill, etc., I can have clean clothes. I get by on one pair of jeans and two sweaters a trip usually. Some go with less.

[Kristie]

Doug literally packs a fairly empty bag.. for a 4 day trip, he takes maybe 2 shirts & one pair of uniform pants (if he's not wearing them).. one button down shirt, one tshirt (to wear under if it's cold), an all weather jacket (nautica sailing type that folds down really nicely) and his jeans...he's a minimalist at heart.

he used to pack an extra everything but got tired of having to haul it everytime (esp if he wasn't going to use it)

[CapnJim]

Add tennis shoes and a fleece pullover, and that's my rollaboard exactly.

I've noticed a trend with the Captains who pack 40lb. PNS's: They're single. Lotsa trendy shoes, lotsa fancy shirts. Gotta look good for all the ladies at the hotel Appleby's I suppose...

[bike21]

Thanks for the tips! Hopefully I can meet in middle of the minimalist and over-prepared mindset. I tend to lean toward the latter, so I need to tone down the amount of crap I bring!

[TheFlyingTurkey]

Being on reserve I never know what will happen. All of my trips have been 2-3 days. So I pack 1-2 pairs of pants and a shirt for each day, 1 pair of jeans t-shirt/sweater. The problem is this week I got extended from 3 days to 5. My clothes were getting pretty raunchy, but I got lucky because the hotel had a washer and dryer so my last day I had clean threads.
They say when on reserve pack for 6 days. I think I will from now on.

[B767Driver]

Here's a tip I learned by accident. For a couple of trips the clothes in my bag were smelling really fresh and nice. I couldn't figure it out. Turns out a bar of soap had lodged behind the lining in my bag. I no longer keep a bar of soap in my bag but I put a few sheets of dryer fabric softener in it. Not only does it keep it smelling nice...but the sheets will remove a bad case of static cling.

[FlyChicaga]

I will add I bring my own shampoo and soap now, because the hotel stuff was drying me out so bad. It was gross. That adds some weight and takes up space.

Get tossed in a pool with all your clothes on once or twice (or three times) and you'll start bringing and extra set of clothes.

[JEP]

Originally Posted by FlyChicaga

.....

Get tossed in a pool with all your clothes on once or twice (or three times) and you'll start bringing and extra set of clothes.

You mean that happens in places other than Vegas?

[Doug Taylor]

Any tips for the inevitable stench of "Type-IV" during the winter season?

I had to walk thru a puddle of it a few days ago and I just know Kristie's going to exclaim, "Eww! You smell like de-icing fluid!" when I get home tomorrow!

[OldTownPilot]

Well, Jet fuel always gets rid of type-IV, but then you reek of kerosene for longer than you would the de-ice stuff.

Blue juice on the other hand.....

We sould start a thread about the nastiest aviation chemicals around....

To keep this on topic, I end up going to CVG for 5 days at a time for various training things and found that I can take 4 pairs of pants, 5 shirts, a windbreaker, and a pair of tennis shoes no problem in one of Dad's semi-broken TravelPros. Also works for long non-rev trips. I also carry a laptop bag with my computer. On the other hand I am a light packer, so I think I could make the transition to pilot lice out of a bag pretty easy.

[MQAAord]

Originally Posted by Doug Taylor

Any tips for the inevitable stench of "Type-IV" during the winter season?

I had to walk thru a puddle of it a few days ago and I just know Kristie's going to exclaim, "Eww! You smell like de-icing fluid!" when I get home tomorrow!

Febreeze makes travel-size bottles. Spray your glycol-ed clothes down with that and they'll smell better.



Smell is an amazing 'reminder' sometimes. I was sitting on the floor the other day when Bill got back from a trip, and his bag was on the floor next to me. All of a sudden I caught a whiff of 'airplane', the nylon bag strap had absorbed enough airplane smell to actually be able to smell it. You know, the smell of the -88. Dozens of memories flashed through my mind all at the same time. Just because I smelled airplane. Creepy.

[Doug Taylor]

88's stink for some reason. I'm not quite what the hell that is, but the -90's and the -88's smell differently and there's not a whole heck of a lot of difference between the two. The -88 has like a sour rotten sandwich smell -- kind of a little vagrant, a little chinese restaurant garbage bin with a splash of cheap coffee.

But passenger cabin.... Oh man, that smell sticks with you like a rotting corpse.

Thanks for the febreeze suggestion. Problem is, whenever I smell febreeze I think "Man, I'm nursing this hangover pretty darned well!"

[MQAAord]

I think they have different 'scents' of febreeze nowdays. Maybe one wouldn't make you think of hangovers

You describe the -88 smell perfectly. Too perfectly.... The F-100s were similar, but the the smell was just a touch less revolting.

I remember walking onto a brand spanking new 737 at AA. It had that new-airplane smell and everything. I think it had literally been on the line 2 weeks. What a beautiful thing. There was no writing in the galley, no skid marks from the carts, the carpet wasn't ragged at the edges, we all just walked around it before the pax got on, taking it all in.

[Looking4Lower]

Originally Posted by bike21

I got all the traditional rubbing from my Captain and F/A

Traditional 'rubbing' from the Captain and F/A? Your crew gives you a massage?

I'll take the rubbing from the F/A, but the Captain can keep his hands to himself.

[bike21]

Originally Posted by Looking4Lower

Traditional 'rubbing' from the Captain and F/A? Your crew gives you a massage?

I'll take the rubbing from the F/A, but the Captain can keep his hands to himself.

Yep, set myself up for that one

[Doug Taylor]

The only "new airplane smell" I've ever smelled was CRJ. And you know where that got us! Yuk yuk yuk...

Speaking of jets, I was amazed when I started flying the 727 at how much graffiti there was on the engineer's panel. Even in the cargo bins. Sometimes funny, sometimes slanderous.

[FlyChicaga]

I sometimes don't get it! Who are these people that bring Sharpie markers to work??

[OldTownPilot]

Grafiti in the bins...Don't even get me started. We would have week old jets come in and they would already be covered in grafiti. I think sometimes I am the only one in the world that does not bring a marker with them when they stack the bags.

As far as bin smells, I had one that a bottle of baby powder erupted all over everything. Fresh flowers smell like avacados, and hockey gear ... is, well hockey gear (very rancid). Oh yea, the used diaper that leaked its gel all over the place was a fun one as well.

[Casper]

Im a woman when it comes to packing...though im on the corp side so i never know where i might be headed to next.

But work slacks (if im not flying the owners), jeans if i am...shorts if its warm where i am, tshirts, long sleeves, jacket, workout clothes. thats about it.

[scoobs]

So how do the long haul pilots pack for two weeks?

[CapnJim]

B767Driver- good tip about the softener sheets in the bag, I think I'll try that.

I'm guessing the long haul pilots either check a bag or they have larger crew closets. But I don't know for sure. Good question!

[MQAAord]

Originally Posted by scoobs

So how do the long haul pilots pack for two weeks?

Same as above, just add small bottle of detergent for washing underpants in hotel sink.


Actually, I can pack for two weeks in my old crew bag. That's with clean underwear & socks for everyday. I just wear the clothes a couple times, but you'd be amazed the volume of clothes you can fit when you pack well.

[CapnJim]

Originally Posted by MQAAord

...you'd be amazed the volume of clothes you can fit when you pack well.

Any tips? I pack terribly...

[MQAAord]

Well, I do wear jeans & sweaters at least twice, sometime 3 times if necessary. Shirts I'll wear at least twice as long as they haven't gotten stained/dirty. Some people are really grossed out by wearing something more than once, but as long as you use deoderant and aren't rolling in dirt, it's perfectly acceptable in my book to wear something more than once. Re-wearing is really at the heart of packing well, with the exception of underwear. (I have heard of guys turing them inside out, but I want no part of that.)

Go light on bulky items, only pack as many jeans/sweaters as necessary.

Is sleepwear necessary? If you can sleep in shorts/t-shirts do so and forgo dedicated sleepwear.

Roll clothes instead of packing them folded. Shirts, especially, compact very nicely rolled.

I carried small bottles of shampoo, etc. Target has small little plastic bottles that I could get several weeks worth of product in, and not have to carry full-size, or even compact size manufacturer bottles.

Go easy on extra shoes. I had my uniform shoes, and ONE other pair (usually leather casual shoes) in my bag.

There's probably more, but I'm being attacked by a toddler demanding a hug, so I'll have to add more later.