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Date: Wed, 07 Oct 1998 17:24:41 -0500
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Subject: Re: ?X Hours, Bottle to Throttle
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Hilton Goldstein wrote:
 
> >In article <6vdjor$ons$1@newshost.ihighway.net>, Hilton Goldstein wrote:
> >> Without going into the research showing the effects of alcohol 
> >> with respect to performance, here are my personal minimums:

> >> VFR - no alcohol for 2 days prior
> >> IFR - no alcohol for 3 days prior

> >> Given that I'm no big drinker, the 'drinking' to which I'm 
> >> referring is a wine cooler or half a glass of champagne.

> Research shows the alcohol can affect your performance up to 
> a week after its consumption. <snip>

I would appreciate a reference to any published research demonstrating
performance effects of moderate drinking a week after consumption.
Email the reference if you don't wish to go into this topic in
this newsgroup.

Pilots should be aware that the physiological effects of alcohol
consumption linger after blood alcohol levels decrease (the metabolic
products of alcohol consumption have effects upon motor skills and
judgement, and must themselves be metabolized).

To my knowledge, no alcohol metabolites take a week to clear from 
the system of a physiologically normal person, and a number of studies
of which I'm aware demonstrate that no general differences in
performance between sober "social drinkers" and total abstainers.
So I'd be interested in any factual evidence to the contrary.

> Are my 'drinking' minimumsm conservative?  Maybe, maybe not.  
> Extreme?  I don't think so.

Based on the evidence of which I'm aware, I think not flying
for 3 days after 1/2 glass of champagne has no physiological basis.
But if you feel such a small amount of alcohol continues to 
affect you, personally, for such a prolonged period of time,
you certainly shouldn't fly.

Snowbird (biochemist, if we must have credentials)

