THE PILOT'S RELIEF TUBE

In modern passenger jets there are rest rooms for the passenger's use. It is
inconceivable to imagine a passenger aircraft without such facilities. On
missions lasting eight hours or more at times, some method had to be devised
so that the crew could relieve itself. The means were as primitive as
everything else we have described in these vignettes. A tube was provided
with a four inch funnel at the top. The bottom was vented out the bottom of
the aircraft with gravity taking over the task of removing the fluid from the
aircraft. These were called relief tubes.

The Pilot's relief tube was held in a receptacle just above the entryway that
led from the flight deck to the nose section where the navigator's and
bombardier's stations were located, between and within easy reach of the
pilot and co-pilot. The problem with the location of the vent for the pilot's
relief tube m