Originally Posted by
RansS9
Is there a STANDARD RAF way of organising this? You know; map left side; radio coms list right kneepad; Tesco shoppong list right chest pocket.. etc.
No, but in training there is a standard amount of cr6p to be carried and that tends to dictate what goes where. Post-training, in the old days, things like bottle openers and can openers were not uncommon.
The calk pockets tend to hold BINA, FIH, TAP Booklet, Checklist and stuff that needs to be carried but is not in immediate use.
Hip pockets might include chinagraph rag (old money) or felt tip rag (new money). They will also hold gloves if the right, upper thigh pocket is not used.
Chest pockets, like the hip pockets will hold things not required in flight such as comb or hair brush for the vane or wallet for the thirsty. Keys will also be kept in the chest pocket.
What do you put in the knee pockets? The windows look too small to show much info. And there appears to be another large separate pocket directly underneath the windowed one.
The upside down thigh pockets will usually hold the flight maps - topo and en route chart. They are easy to get at when seated. The right way up pockets will possibly hold gloves and they will be removed before you sit down.
What pens do you use, biros/ chinagraph pencils? I presume they don't have detachable lids and must be quite thin to fit into the pen pockets.
In training they are often attached via lanyards and have dayglo added to make them easy to find when you drop then in the cockpit.
The knee pad 'windows' often have local area info such as VOR/DME grid and essential info. The essential info might be a simple set of boxes with the actual info written on top. Top tip - DO NOT USE WASHABLE chinagraph or felt tip - it runs in the rain.
Edited to add, drat, couldn't afford mobile phones then.