Grob Queen

....and of course the RAF have "Desert Pink" grow bags....

abgd

I have an RAF suit from ebay that cost less than an average pair of jeans and fits nicely. I haven't yet worn it to fly, in part I confess because of the ridicule thing, and in part because it seems unseemly to wear more protective gear than your passengers.

I also bought some nomex underwear, and had considered wearing it under normal cotton clothing as a half-way solution.

GeeWhizz

Just to chip in, I wear what I feel comfortable in when flying along with thin leather gloves. The only reason for the gloves is that my hands sweat (not dramatically, but enough) and I see who else flies the aeroplane other than me.

For aeros I wear a nomex suit and own three to date. Two RAF Mk16 and one other made-to-measure number. The only badge I have that I transfer between the suits as required is my name badge, which does include wings because I can . Wouldn't wear one for PA28/C172 flying though, as I feel the worst thing that could happen is an engine failure at which point I'm flying a glider, no great shakes.

Call me naive or over trusting of the aircraft and/or maintenance engineers if you wish, but if it's going to break up in flight a flying suit will only keep all my bits in a nice easily transportable bag. And I'm never going to wear a parachute in the typical club hack.

There's ma 2p worth, frankly wear whatever is comfortable be it a 1990s shell suit or a nomex suit with bells and whistles.

Little G

Torque Tonight

I'm all for the use of proper safety equipment and for anyone who uses it for genuine safety considerations (rather than posing) any ridicule should be like water of a duck's back. You are entering a potentially hazardous environment and a professional mindset is to be commended. The results of not using safety equipment are sobering.

A few months ago I had a nasty chemical burn on my hand having done a walkaround on a Boeing and presumably come into contact with hydraulic fluid. I was kicking myself for not wearing gloves like I always did in the RAF.

zondaracer

If you are really concerned about what people think of you, there are lots of nomex products that you can buy that don't look like a one piece flight suit.

Have a look at Drifire, they make a bunch of nomex clothing, including a two piece flight suit. If you get just the pants, they kinda look like khaki cargo pants.

FireFighter Protective Clothing, Fire Rated Clothing, FR Clothing | DRIFIRE
DRIFIRE All-Weather 2-piece Flight Suit, Military Flight Suits | DRIFIRE

Also, have a look at companies that make apparel for racecar drivers, there are lots of Nomex underwear products out there.
Under Armour makes some fire resistant clothing as well, it isn't nomex but modacrylic, which is also flame resistant.
Men's Fire Retardant MOD Longsleeve T | 1216034 | Under Armour US

zondaracer

I guess where the ridicule comes from for guys wearing the pickle suit is the image of "wannabe military pilot".


But nothing wrong with that I guess, hehe