I don't know why you all emphasize the fire problem above all, since it is very very unlikely that you as a pilot would be exposed to direct fire and survive it (if there are open flames in your cockpit, I think you have a bigger problem than your shirt!!).
But, ok, I understand your fear. This anxiety can be easily resolved: Synthetic fibres are much much less prone to taking fire.
1. Fibres like Nylon, Viscose aso. only melt where they are directly held into flames. All around it, nothing happens. If you do the same thing to a cloth of cotton, everything takes fire, your whole shirt burns.
2. What do professional fire fighter wear? Correct, synthetics. I agree these are special garnment and treated accordingly, but if you go layer through layer of their working suits, you see nothing but synthetic fibres.
3. Your friends in The Royal Navy are poor guys, I agree. I would go so far that with conventional cotton clothes, they wouldn't have survived. So you can choose what to wear after such a horrific fire accident: Your synthetics for a lifetime or your last shirt...
Remember that over a certain percentage of skin burnt, you just die.
4. Self-Incineration: Natural fabrics start to burn even without exposed to fire, just when it gets hot. OK, it must be already very hot. But if there is fire in your cockpit, they certainly could. Modern synthetic fabrics don't do that. I couldn't find out the self incinderation temperature of cotton, maybe somebody could help?
All in all I don't wear Polyester because of these issues (since I said before that the danger is rather low), but because of comfort issue. Do you want to know how many people in the world are allergic against cotton, or the toxics inside the cotton? Have you ever watched how they grow cottons in the US, in Russia, in Australia, everywhere? There isn't another plant we grow that is more exposed to chemicals than cotton. They treat it against bugs, other plants, bacterias, pests, insects... - they spray it to blossom, they spray it to let go the leaves, they spray it after the harvest! Do you want to know more? Because it's a natural fibre, part of this toxics will stay inside the fibre, no washing will help. Synthetic fibres on the other hand are pure polymere fadoms, they only consist of plastic, i.e. mineral oil. Nothing goes inside, nothing goes outside. That's why they are so resistent against dirt, sweat, smell ...
Dani
Last edited by Dani; 29th Aug 2007 at 01:49.