{"id":18878,"date":"2022-06-29T07:03:55","date_gmt":"2022-06-29T11:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/?p=18878"},"modified":"2022-06-29T07:03:55","modified_gmt":"2022-06-29T11:03:55","slug":"the-dos-and-donts-of-controlled-rest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/the-dos-and-donts-of-controlled-rest\/","title":{"rendered":"The DOs and DON’Ts of Controlled Rest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fatigue and tiredness are big topics in aviation, and something we definitely need to have more conversations on.\u00a0Particularly with some CEOs who are helping add the ‘ZZs’ into their airlines name…<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

But today we are focusing on just one thing: In-flight rest.<\/strong> Actually, we\u2019re focusing on three things to do with in-flight resting. Basically, the what to do <\/i>in flight when you find yourself in those “I’m tired, getting tired, think I might get tired, probably should have gone to bed earlier before my flight but now it\u2019s too late”<\/em> type situations.<\/p>\n

You’re there, in the airplane and are tired, so what can you do about it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s not too late.<\/h4>\n

Actually,<\/strong> it is too late to not get into that position.<\/strong> If we could zoom back in time and somehow sleep better then that would be great, but for obvious reasons (the lack of time machine) we can\u2019t.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, complaining about being tired, moaning about how your airline pushes FTLs to the limit, preparing a ranting post for PPrune, or lecturing the other pilot (because they\u2019re the tired one) on better sleep management are not going to help.<\/p>\n

Why not? Because they aren\u2019t going to change the fact that right then, sat in that flight deck, you\u2019re tired<\/strong> and do still have to eventually land the damn thing.<\/p>\n

But, good news, it isn’t totally too late to try and fix it.\u00a0<\/span>So, here are some things that might help, right then and there:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Take your allocated rest, and make the most of it<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. Take some controlled rest (if you\u2019re allowed)<\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. Some other things which other pilots say also help.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This isn\u2019t a \u201ctreat your body as a temple\u201d post.<\/h4>\n

    If you\u2019re looking for diet tips, exercise info or any of that, move on. That\u2019s not what this post is about. It also isn\u2019t a \u2018Let\u2019s learn about sleep science and Circadian Rhythms and Fatigue Risk Management\u2019 post. If you want all that then you can read the ICAO thing on it here.<\/a><\/p>\n

    Allocated rest strategies.<\/h4>\n

    Right, let\u2019s start with these.<\/p>\n

    These are the things all operators have to let you do if you fly over a certain length of time.<\/strong> If you have more than two crew onboard for a flight and one or two of them are referred to as \u2018augmenting\u2019 crew<\/strong>, then you can take some allocated rest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    How you take it depends on the strategies your operator publishes and also what works best for you.<\/p>\n

    Don\u2019t be that <\/i>captain that hogs the entire cruise for themselves. Not cool. The aim here is to split the rest fairly (doesn\u2019t always mean evenly) between the crew. The focus is on making sure the operating crew are best rested<\/strong> because they\u2019re the ones who are going to have to land the airplane. So most recommend they take the last rest period, and wake up about an hour or so before landing<\/strong> so they\u2019re fresh and ready for it.<\/p>\n

    Now, to get these really right, you do need to plan it before you even get on the airplane because you\u2019ll need to manage your sleep, think about those timezones and all that joyous stuff. We\u2019ve posted some pretty generic ones for you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    If you are reading this for the first time and work for an airline or operator that uses different strategies and you like \u2018em, then tell us about them! We won\u2019t share your info, just the strategy details to help others.<\/p>\n

    ‘How to do it’ – generic strategies<\/h4>\n