Stinky Students

[pilotmyf]

Anyone have any stinky students? And if so, how did you bring it up to them. I've tried the vent positioning game, but this new guy's smell travels upwind.

 

[Lead Sled]

The only thing worse is having a dentist with bad breath. Have you tried spraying Ozium in his mouth?

Lead Sled

 

[JetBlast2000]

I've flown with some guys where you could see the stink rising... The vent is a good trick, but try wearing EXTRA cologne. Hopefully all you can smell is YOURSELF!
JB2k

 

[gear_guy]

Had one of those myself. Try buying those cheap little car air fresheners to put in the cabin. Some of them are in a small can and can fit under the seat. If that does'nt work, put a sign on the dash that says, "Have you hugged your deoderant today?"

 

[350DRIVER]

Be honest...

Tell this guy that he absolutely stinks and he must take the appropriate measures immediately to solve the problem or you will no longer allow him to step foot into the aircraft. If he wants to fly badly enough then he has no choice but to stop his "stinking" habits!! !!.



3 5 0

 

[bobbysamd]

Cultural differences

FlightSafety in Vero has been known for years for its foreign airline contract programs and its attraction for self-funded foreign students. I worked with a great number of these students in the Alitalia Airlines program and with others in the Air France and other programs.

I soon learned that Americans and many Europeans differ greatly on hygiene. Apparently, for some reason, many Europeans do not bathe as frequently as Americans; what some who do not bathe do is splash cologne on themselves every day. Combining unwashed bodies and cologne made for some interesting odors. Factor in warm and humid Florida summer days, and it was thoroughly disgusting. Apparently, these folks did not offend each other but they sure offended us, even when they just stood around. The effect inside a small cockpit was totally gross.

As gross as it was, though, I didn't have the heart to say anything, notwithstanding the importance of the Alitalia contract to our Center. However, our Alitalia group leader apparently got word to the on-site Alitalia training captain. Problem over for our group. But flying with the other Europeans who were not clued in remained unpleasant.

Consider any cultural differences between you and your student before saying anything. Then ask him/her tactfully to bathe before coming to the airport.

 

[Tired Soul]

At a previous place of employment we had a memo on the student board.

Some rules the students had to abide to:
Always a flightplan on cros countries.....lalalalala.... way down on the list
personal hygiene being important for aspiring commercial pilots and a shower was mandatory before coming to school.
Instructors at this school were discouraged to smoke since it could offend non smoking students..

 

[flyifrvfr]

I would ask the stinky student if he minds it if you piss all over him. The smell may be an improvement. If he thinks you are kidding, just demonstrate by soaking only his shoes. After soaking his shoes, tell him that your aim gets better the more he stinks.

 

[CDVdriver]

Last student I had had some breath issues, never said anything about it....

 

[350DRIVER]

ok, all joking aside.

There is a very simple solution to this problem and this is the way it needs to be handled for you young CFI's who run into this problem.

First and foremost, it is not up to you nor is it in your job title to be authorized to be making changes, punishment, etc, etc,. Making light of an embarrassing situation to your student with "your" personal opinion(s) will not get any desired results.

Keep in mind that some foreign cultures forbid the use of fragrance/deodorant and if you are not well versed in other cultures then this will catch you off guard.

Go and explain the situation to your chief flight instructor, flight standards manager, (or flight school owner if the school is small). They will handle this in the most professional way possible.

Most likely it will only take a phone call to that carrier's director to get the ball swinging.

You are paid to flight instruct not to tell people how to smell.

Take the proper and professional steps and most likely the end result will be a positive one as long as cultural barriers don't prevent a change.

good luck

3 5 0

 

[Heyya]

Go and explain the situation to your chief flight instructor, flight standards manager, (or flight school owner if the school is small). They will handle this in the most professional way possible.

Most likely it will only take a phone call to that carrier's director to get the ball swinging.

Gee, there is a good idea. Tell the boss and have the poor guy hauled into the office and told (in a nice way) he stinks...Nahhh that’s not embarrassing
Lovely...
Some on theses boards like to have fun...

 

[DenverDude2002]

As a stuent i always take a shower the night before and always chew orbit right until takeoff.

 

[dseagrav]

As a stuent i always take a shower the night before and always chew orbit right until takeoff.

Uh, as a civilized human being, I take a shower every night and brush my teeth.
I don't like to smell me any more than anyone else likes to smell me.

 

[350DRIVER]

Gee, there is a good idea. Tell the boss and have the poor guy hauled into the office and told (in a nice way) he stinks...Nahhh that’s not embarrassing
Lovely...
Some on theses boards like to have fun...

If it is done in a professional manner then there is no need for the guy to be embarrassed. "Geeeee", what is your brilliant suggestion and recommendation that can solve the problem?.

3 5 0

 

[WMUSIGPI]

what some who do not bathe do is splash cologne on themselves every day. Combining unwashed bodies and cologne made for some interesting odors. Factor in warm and humid Florida summer days, and it was thoroughly disgusting.

The old Irish shower trick. Makes ya want to take up skydiving.

 

[Heyya]

...what is your brilliant suggestion and recommendation that can solve the problem?.

3 5 0

I’m flattered you think so highly of my opinions.

Some suggestions thus far have merit. If this guy is reasonable a tactful one on one discussion should suffice. You can’t make a guy change his personal grooming habits, no matter how bad you think he should. I think Bobby is spot on.



Any updates to this story?

 

[nosehair]

You are paid to flight instruct not to tell people how to smell.


3 5 0

uuuh, I have to take you to task on that one, 350. Good instructing is not just about how to drive the machine, but includes a whole bunch of stuff regarding self-discipline, judgement, awareness,etc, which can include basic body cleanliness. A good instructor, in time, will become an overall counseler to issues which affect the training environment. Of course, a young inexperienced instructor may need the help and advice of a senior instructor in these matters just like he/she would in aviation technical subjects.

Maybe you didn't mean it the way it reads, but your quote above sounds too much like the little rich kid who tells his instructor how how he's gonna teach him.

 

[Heyya]

Maybe you didn't mean it the way it reads, but your quote above sounds too much like the little rich kid who tells his instructor how how he's gonna teach him.

Hmm... Interesting. That would explain a lot of posts I've read by this guy. I wonder if it is true...

 

[PHX767]

My 2/100 of a dollar worth

At the old flight school we had a mix of different nationalities. Many different cultures.

I would always include in my intial briefings that while in the USA, the custom is for one to bathe daily and use deodorant. Also brush the teeth and use mouthwash. They would invariably shrug and comply with our silly Americanisms for the duration. A couple of guys would report their bathing status. "Mr. D, I have bathed today in preparation for our lesson." I would thank them politely for their courtesy, and we would get on with the lesson.

I hammered this point home by pointing out that nice American girls really liked clean smelling men, just like the soap commercials on TV. Never really had a problem after that.

 

[StarChecker]

I had an older student on an instrument training flight in IMC suddenly hand the airplane over to me. I took control and saw him grabbing something out of his bag in the back seat. Then to my horror, he unzipped and pissed into one of those porta-things. Nice in a Skyhawk, in IMC getting bounced around. Good times.

 

[lowtimeguy]

Here's a trick you might try

Put a little mentholated Vick's Vapo Rub under your nostrils. Seriously. It works.

 

[stlpilot]

This reminds me of the student who had his own aircraft and came in for some instruction to finish his instrument, as he had failed it with a DE out of Chicago. The guy came in looking pretty ragged looking and unshaved. At first we starting flying in the spring when it was still cool out so I figured the faint odor I smelled was coming from the old aircraft interior as some of them start to stink when the get old and a little moisture gets on them. However as the summer heat set in I noticed the smell followed us back into the briefing room. Now I don’t know how to describe this smell except to say that if you want to duplicate it, you should maybe go out and drink all night, eat greasy Mexican food and then take a big dump the next day and wipe your A$$ on your own drawers, then wear them into your flight lesson. So my dilemma was to speak out or stay in tortured silence. A fellow CFI suggested grabbing some of the line guys disposable ear plugs and shoving them up the old nostrils and breath through the mouth while he was under the hood. Well I did it and it worked but one day he got mad and without warning pulled the hood off and instantly looked over at me with these giant orange earplugs sticking out of my shnozz! "What the hell are you doing!" he asked. "Well its time we had a talk on the ground" I said. After landing I informed him of the problem while trying to hold back my tears of embarrassment and laughter. Needless to say I never saw the guy again but I did run into the DE to whom I posed the question of what went wrong on the check ride (without including my experience with him). He said "well he failed for not maintaining +or- 100ft on altitude, but so help me gosh if there was a reg that said I could fail an applicant for not using a bidet after going #2 before an exam then he would have been pink slipped before we even took off."

 

[bobbysamd]

Getting the chix

I hammered this point home by pointing out that nice American girls really liked clean smelling men, just like the soap commercials on TV. Never really had a problem after that.

Now, that's a good suggestion!

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

I have a guy I offer breath strips to as soon as we get in the plane. Unfortunately they only seem to work for about 10 minutes.....

Mr. I.

 

[jetexas]

You guys have it all wrong!
You must try to outstink your stinky student to drive the point across. Yardwork, jogging, any kind of farm work around animials, etc prior to a lesson can help. Put some blood bait or shrimp in your flight bag. When your student complains you can then politely remind him that now he knows how YOU feel.
Or you could just hand him a bar of soap and tell him you got it from sporty's.

 

[macfly]

Stinky students, hehe, we have all smelled a little rough from time to time.


What about the pilot mill instructors that fly in Florida? O yeah, the entire lot of start to reek after about 3 of 4 flights in that mid summer humid heat. Ask any student that has trained at a big flight school in Florida, its not the students, its the instructors. To be fair, they can hardly help it.

A bit of advice to those gents that plan on attending on of the big flight schools in FLA, schedule for morning flights!

 

[Guillotine007]

i did have a student for some time that i referred to as "poop breath". It wasn't that he had bad breath, it smelled as if he took a crap on a plate then ate it on the way to the airport.

 

[bobbysamd]

Stinky instructors

What about the pilot mill instructors that fly in Florida? O yeah, the entire lot of start to reek after about 3 of 4 flights in that mid summer humid heat. Ask any student that has trained at a big flight school in Florida, its not the students, its the instructors. To be fair, they can hardly help it.

That was my gig at FSI. If you shower in the morning and use a good deodorant you will not smell. In the Florida pilot mill context, it's really a cultural difference between Americans and many foreign students.

 

[100LL... Again!]

"Listen, you're turning out to be one of my best students, so I have a little something for you. This here is $100 per bar soap - see the logo? They used to give this out on Ivory Airlines back in the stratoliner days. In first class. Funny thing - all my students who used this soap got interviews at United. Really eerie, man. But then, I'm superstitious."

 

[ThomasR]

Stinkaroo

Ever have someone throw-up on you? Luckily helicopters stay aloft for less than two hours. Usually when they heeve it is toward the end of the flight.

Try hauling LRP's [Long Range Patrol] who have been in the field for a week or more eating snakes and bugs, no bath, no shave, no cologne; they think you stink. And who's going to argue ............. / If it is a long flight you might have them with you for four hours. By the end you don't notice it anymore.

Garlic is a nice smell.

Onions are bad but you have to get close to get the full aroma.

The occasional fart is always pleasant.

Try getting a blast of tear gas mixed with Willy Pete.

It only lasts a short time and is not really any worse than booze and tobacco breath that most of you don't even recognize on yourself late Saturday night.

How does your date/wife tell you?