Ideal Bite

This makes perfect sense. Also, remember, a liter of water has a mass of 1KG (2.2 lbs). So, if you go before you go, and pee about a half liter, assuming you'd probably do so anyway if you were up to a full liter, you save a pound of takeoff weight. Multiply this by the rest of the flight, and this could make a difference in the amount of fuel burned during the flight. On a packed 747, it could save lifting and pushing an extra 425 pounds the whole way. Whether it's in you or in the loo makes no difference to the engines. So, pack lightly and yes, go before you go.

That is very interesting but fortunetly not true for almost all aircraft flown. Modern commercial airliners, like the one my boyfriend flies, use an energy efficient and eco-friendly system in flight. The vacuum you hear and see when you flush in-flight is provided by utilizing the differential pressure between the cabin altitude which is approximately 8000 feet and the outside environment which at cruise is somewhere around 35,000 feet. The difference is about 7-9 psi depending on the design of the pressurization system. When you are on the ground and there is no pressure differential is when the vacuum pump is used. It is only active when there is no air to produce vacuum from either the engines or the auxiliary power unit, such as when you are shut down at the gate. Further, on most of the airplanes he flies, the pump is not even installed on the airplane because the cost of maintaining it and the fuel spent carrying its weight is not worth the very little use it gets during the boarding process. If you really want to save CO2 while in flight pack light! It cost a lot of fuel to carry weight, the heavier the plane is the more fuel it burns to fly. So pack light and happy high altitude peeing!!!

Love these kind of facts. Thanks

Kara Phelps, What about my comment about reducing the takeoff weight of the aircraft by not carrying the half liter of pee on board? I think that one is still relevant. Also, if what you say is true, how does the airplane lavatory work when it is on the ground or at very low altitude where the pressure gradient is low? I really am just genuinely curious, not being argumentative.

yeah, okay for short domestic trips. but who's gonna hold their pee on an 6 or 7-hour international flight. even if you go beforehand, we ladies are copious tinklers.

arousiak, I think this is just a recommendation to minimize one's use of the airplane lavs, not to make one's bladder explode. As for men vs. women in this regard, I think the difference is greater between those who stay properly hydrated and those who do not.

So, I'm wondering how to research this tip. Can an ideal-biter (or anyone else) tell me where the tip was validated? I'd like to poke around about this on my own to see what I turn up. After all, sounds like there is some disagreement about its validity. Cheers.

Eco-Travel Girl, I'm not an engineer, and don't work on aircraft. But, I am a geek and you piqued my interest. I did a bunch of searching and found that there are references to "lavatory flush motors" in numerous places. However, I was unable to find a design drawing to see what one actually looks like. But, even the 777, a fairly new and high technology plane, has a flush motor. This means that it is not done by pressure differential. So, I'd say, yes, go before you go. It seems best from the standpoint of the lavatory. In addition, as I pointed out in one of my prior posts, it will also slightly reduce takeoff weight. Airlines are claiming a tremendous increase in costs in recent years due to the increasing weight of passengers. So, reducing takeoff weight will also reduce fuel use.

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