Urine-collecting underwear for pilots

Air-force pilots will no longer have to hold in their pee or risk their plane crashing when they want to go for a quick wizz, as a company has now introduced "piddle-packs", in which pilots can pee without leaving their seats.

The special underwear has a pouch for men and a sanitary napkin for women, and uses a system called "Advance Mission Extender Device" which when peed in, drains the urine into a collection bag by pumping it through a hose that is connected to the underwear.

Over the years, pilots are known to have used bottles and bags, have held it in, or dehydrated themselves before their flights -- all of which have dangerous consequences.

Flying began in the 1900's, it surprises me that it has taken them over a 100 years to devise a solution for this problem!

This product seems like it's specifically for air-force pilots, which makes me wonder about the peeing situation for pilots in normal carrier planes -- excuse my ignorance but is there a toilet in the cockpit?

Kent, enlighten us?

[Via Boing Boing]

Filed under: Gear, Airlines, News