Whatever the bag, although nothing beats the Jeppesen four binder in black leather, it must be clean and in reasonable condition. All that an old bag does is to reflect upon the carrier's filth tolerance level and/or his impecuniosity. Above all, no silly stickers please, unless you have to plaster your valise with pictures of 757s or whatever in order to aid you in remembering what you might be flying or would like to fly once you have progressed from the blue fluff on the car dashboard stage.
Furthermore and yet again, there seems to be a certain trend, quite noticeable among captains of amateur intellect, to wear gold bars that are well soiled, even grimy in appearance, as though this indicates vast experience of the left hand seat. Epaulettes should be just off brilliant and two pairs, alternated, will soon achieve this professional and devil may care aspect of sartorial elegance.
