The ultimate pilot accessory: Long range underwear

Are you a general aviation pilot who regularly takes long range trips and you are worried about not having a restroom on board or no appropriate place to land in order to use one? Here is a pilot accessory idea courtesy of David Cenciotti and his Aviationist blog: Soviet designed underwear with urine collection devices called “piddle packs.”

As you can see from the pictures David obtained (he won’t divulge who his source was for them…), the way the “piddle packs” work should be self explanatory as they are obviously intended for male pilots:

Apparently, there must not have been any female fighter pilots in the Soviet Air Force – or perhaps they were never sent on any long range missions requiring “piddle packs.”

Either way and as you can imagine, anyone having to urinate in a cramped fighter cockpit while wearing a flight suit can be a tricky and downright dangerous maneuver. In fact, David noted that at least two fighter planes were lost in attempts to do so (their pilots were able to safely eject but we can only imagine what their superiors said afterwards). Hence, the reason for developing such underwear systems.

However, David also posted a link to an Air Force Times article about a small medical equipment development company called Omni Medical Solutions that is based in Milton, Vermont and makes next generation underwear for fighter pilots priced at a mere $2,800 – not including the sealed bags.

A quick look at the company’s website reveals a whole range of stylish products that both male and female pilots might be interested in, such as the following:

Of course, another and far cheaper alternative to long range underwear would simply be not drinking any tea, coffee or carbonated beverages before a long distance flight! Then again, that might not be an option if you are a professional fighter pilot….