US Air Force Planes Get ‘Bladder-Relief’ Tech So It’s Easier To Go Mid-Flight
Image via US Air Force
The US Air Force will be receiving new technology that will enable its fighter pilots, especially female officers, to urinate more easily in flight.
The device, named the Omni Gen 3 Skydrate, will feature a new “bladder relief” system with a larger bag, different hose lengths, and an improved flow rate. Plus, pilots can operate the device with just one hand, making it easier to use while up in the air.
According to Insider, the Air Force had sought new ideas from a ‘Sky High Relief Challenge’ last year, asking inventors to come up with “an improved bladder relief system that would allow female aviators to hydrate adequately and relieve themselves during flight without interfering with operations or compromising flight safety.”
In fact, routine flights for these pilots can stretch up to 10 hours long, in which they’ll definitely have to relieve themselves a few times in order to stay hydrated. The Air Force said its existing devices were not optimized for such long hauls, and that its aviators “were routinely dehydrating themselves to delay the need for bladder relief.”
As these pilots face incredibly strenuous tasks inflight, including withstanding G-force, dehydration is a serious ailment that could trigger various health issues. For example, being dehydrated would decrease an officer’s G-tolerance by up to 50%, which increases the risk of fainting or cognitive impairment mid-flight.
Currently, 30 female aviators have trialed the new system, which can also be used by male pilots. Sharon Rogers, the lead test engineer for the 46th Test Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, said she felt this was a good way “of using a ‘fly, fix, fly’ method to prioritize female aircrew feedback and speed up the testing process to field the device quicker.”
Major Nikki Yogi, an F-35A pilot who struggled with the previous system, said the new device allowed aviators to “be focused on taking the flight to the enemy, not on whether their bladder relief device is going to work to be comfortable to use.”
The Skydrate system is expected to go out to pilots by the spring of next year, with the Air Force looking into other designs so it can offer an array of choices for aircrew to choose from in the future.
[via Insider, cover image via US Air Force]
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