Ask My Sky Mom. Aviation wit and wisdom.

Hey Mom,

So, just where did the term “whiskey compass” come from, anyhow? There isn’t actual whiskey in there, is there? Is it a joke to see how gullible student pilots are, or some great legend from aviation lore? I’d be curious.

Thanks,

I’ll Drink to That

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You sent me this question a couple of days ago. The slowness of my response hasn’t been enough to drive you to drinking, has it?

Just in case it has, lets review the aviation drinkin’ rules, shall we?  8 hours bottle to throttle is the minimum, as per FAR 91.17.  That’s right, no matter how small the sip, you stay away from that ramp until at least 8 hours has elapsed. And that’s not all. 04% alcohol concentration in the blood or breath is enough to get you in trouble with the feds as well. If that weren’t enough (and clearly it’s not, we’ve all heard the stories- here are just a few of fairly recent vintage) “no person may act or attempt to act as a crew member…while under the influence of alcohol”. Perhaps it takes less that that .04% concentration for you to be affected. Or have you considered how badly you’re likely to perform while hung over? Quite a few studies have documented the loss of performance, judgement, and reaction time you can anticipate even after your blood alcohol content has dropped back down to acceptable levels. Additionally, unless it’s a medical patient under proper care or an emergency situation, a pilot may not carry any person obviously intoxicated or under the influence of drugs in an aircraft. Not only must you be sober, your passengers should at least start out that way, too! Should any law enforcement officer request a drug or alcohol test, refusal to submit to it or to allow the FAA to know the results is grounds for suspension or revocation of your pilot certificate. If you end up with a DUI or similar motor vehicle violation regarding drugs or alcohol, you are required to report it to the FAA within 60 days, as per FAR 61.15. A first violation may not pose a problem for your pilot certificate, provided that you report it. Honesty really is the best policy here. If the FAA checks the National Driver Register (which they certainly do) and finds you’ve been less than forthcoming, you’ve got bigger problems.

All right, public service announcement complete! So where DOES the term ‘whiskey compass come from? Well, there are 2 big stories out there. I’ll tell ‘em both and you can pick. Aviation lore would have it that originally, they truly did use real whiskey as the lubricating fluid in that whiskey compass everyone flew by. Now kerosene, sometimes referred to as compass oil, is used. Doesn’t taste so good, so the pilots are less inclined to disable the hardware… The other story I find is that “W” stands for “wet” as in “wet compass”, another common descriptor of that piece of equipment we all know and love. Aviation phonetics use “whiskey” for “W”, giving us the obvious “whiskey compass”. Like I said, take your pick. Could be that both are true. All I can tell you for sure is that you don’t want to try to find out for yourself. Imbibing kerosene can’t be good for you, and the FARs don’t allow for flight without a functional magnetic compass anyhow…which is a separate question for another time, should anyone care to ask it.

Straighten up and fly right,

Mom

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You’ve got questions?  I’ll find you an answer.  Email your aviation related question to mom@myskymom.com and check out myskymom.com to read the answers to questions previously posed. The more you know, the safer you’ll be.  Read on, and fly safe!

~ by myskymom on September 25, 2009.