The Comair crash reminds me...

John Gaquin wrote:
wrote in message

Plus it was a 0600 flight, which meant awakening at around 0430.
With a muggy motel room listening to countless AC units hum, I
wonder what their sleep situation was ??

It was clearly reported shortly after the crash that their rest period had
been "well in excess of" the required amount. An 0430 wake up should not
be problematic for a flight crew - its normal. You just hit the rack by 8
or 9 PM. Same deal for 0200, or 2300 for that matter.

They were all out of town based according to news reports:

"Bornhorst would not say whether the crew had experience flying into
and out of the Blue Grass Airport. The first officer and flight
attendant had been based out of New York, the pilot out of
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, according to the
airline.
Bornhorst did say that the crew was well rested and had spent the night
in Lexington in preparation for the early-morning takeoff."

You can hit the hay at 9pm, but falling asleep with motel noises is
another matter...JG


As to the picture you paint of shabby, low-grade accommodations, all I can
say is that its highly unlikely. Even 25-30 years ago flying regional, we
stayed in reasonable places such as Ramada, Hampton, or HI. A simple
search showed that within 5 miles or so of the field there are about 11
national name hotels that offer good reasonable quality, and very often free
stuff for flight crews, iirc. It would be very easy to ascertain exactly
where they stayed.

wrote in message

You can hit the hay at 9pm, but falling asleep with motel noises is
another matter...JG


Well, I guess for 22 years of flying I was the beneficiary of incredibly
coincidental good luck.

The only time time I stayed in noisy hotels was long, long ago when I was
travelling on the cheap, and it had less to do with the hotel than the
surrounding neighborhood..

John Gaquin wrote:

The only time time I stayed in noisy hotels was long, long ago when I was
travelling on the cheap, and it had less to do with the hotel than the
surrounding neighborhood..

For the last 13 years I have traveled just about every business week.
Early on I learned to carry with me a Sharper Image travel-sized white
noise radio. This device, which omits white noise similar to a waterfall
when switched on, has been responsible for many a restful night's sleep,
including one week at a very loud Brooklyn, NY, hotel.

I would suspect that most experienced travelers, including airline pilots,
do something similar.

--
Peter

Peter R. wrote:
John Gaquin wrote:


For the last 13 years I have traveled just about every business week.
Early on I learned to carry with me a Sharper Image travel-sized white
noise radio.

How big is it (I don't check luggage, so I'm very limited on space).
And more importantly, will it drown out interstate traffic just outside
the hotel window?

In article ,
Emily wrote:

For the last 13 years I have traveled just about every business week.
Early on I learned to carry with me a Sharper Image travel-sized white
noise radio.

How big is it (I don't check luggage, so I'm very limited on space).

mine is about twice the volume of my PDA. Plus the AC adapter (or
use batteries)

And more importantly, will it drown out interstate traffic just outside
the hotel window?

Maybe, especially if the volume is cranked.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

Emily wrote:

How big is it (I don't check luggage, so I'm very limited on space).

My device is similar to this one at about 5 inches long by 2.5 inches high:

http://tinyurl.com/rra65

I did note that this new model does not appear to offer white noise as one
of its twenty sounds, however, unless they renamed the sound.

And more importantly, will it drown out interstate traffic just outside
the hotel window?

Interstate traffic is tough, depending on how close it is to your window
and whether the roads are wet. I will say that the device would make it
much more tolerable, as the white noise will drown out most of the variable
sounds outside your window. It probably won't do anything with the noise
of trucks as they downshift right outside your window, though.

If it is that bad, you have no choice but to demand of the hotel management
to put you in a room away from the highway if they desire your recurring
business. I had to do that once in a hotel in Buffalo, NY, that was
literally right along the highway in the city.

After tossing and turning all night to the din of trucks and cars hitting
the pavement cracks, I demanded a room that week and every week thereafter
on the "quiet" side of the hotel or else my weekly room revenue would be
given to another hotel.

--
Peter

Peter R. wrote:
Emily wrote:
snip

Interstate traffic is tough, depending on how close it is to your window
and whether the roads are wet. I will say that the device would make it
much more tolerable, as the white noise will drown out most of the variable
sounds outside your window. It probably won't do anything with the noise
of trucks as they downshift right outside your window, though.

If it is that bad, you have no choice but to demand of the hotel management
to put you in a room away from the highway if they desire your recurring
business.

Hahaha...I tried that last month in a certain hotel that must have been
100 feet from the interstate. Unfortunately, it appears that when your
company forces you on the road with less than 12 hours notice, you're
kind of stuck with the room the hotel gives you.

It didn't help that I was so tired when I got there that I didn't even
notice the trucks until the next morning or that I'm used to sleeping
with an air filter on. Might have to keep looking for something with a
white noise feature.

"Emily" wrote in message news:E-

Hahaha...I tried that last month in a certain hotel that must have been
100 feet from the interstate.

Why don't you stay elsewhere?

Peter R. wrote:
John Gaquin wrote:


The only time time I stayed in noisy hotels was long, long ago when I was
travelling on the cheap, and it had less to do with the hotel than the
surrounding neighborhood..


For the last 13 years I have traveled just about every business week.
Early on I learned to carry with me a Sharper Image travel-sized white
noise radio. This device, which omits white noise similar to a waterfall
when switched on, has been responsible for many a restful night's sleep,
including one week at a very loud Brooklyn, NY, hotel.

I would suspect that most experienced travelers, including airline pilots,
do something similar.

I find earplugs are useful for getting sleep in noisy environments. I
worked this out when I was a college student, and hence would avoid
getting out of bed before 10am if at all possible, and there was a baby
staying in the house. Earplugs worked well. Ever since when working
nights during vintage they have been the go, and I always travel with
them. Infact people have commented that I sleep like I am dead!!

James wrote:

I find earplugs are useful for getting sleep in noisy environments.

I have tried earplugs and, as strange as this is going to read, I found
that my internal noises, like breathing and swallowing, were actually loud
enough to be distracting with them in. You don't realize how loud our
normal functions are until you block out all external noises.


--
Peter