Buying a flight suit in&around London

[Barnstormer1982]

Hi phellow phlyers,

I am planning to buy a flight suit, preferably a fire-resistant RAF or USAF type, for occasional flights in vintage aircraft on one of the coming days. As I am rather tall & slim I would like to personally walk into a shop and try on that piece of clothing that is meant to protect me from fire & oil during the coming years in order to see whether I will be happy with it or not - any ideas where I can do that in London?

I would actually prefer a new rather than a used one given the fact that I indeed want to keep that suit for rather a long time and do fancy the "Nomex" label for security reasons.

Cheers
Barnstormer

[Chilli Monster]

Go online - try Silvermans (http://www.silvermans.co.uk) - you're probably best looking for an RAF mark 14 / 14A flying suit

[cyclic_fondler]

go onto ebay and you'll be able to pick them up dirt cheap.

[tmmorris]

I think it's The Pilot Shop at Biggin that sells new ones (not RAF) - Silvermans may offer to sell you a new MK14 but in practice they can't get them, usually.

Tim

[MLS-12D]

If you want something to keep the oil off, then buy a secondhand flightsuit at any army surplus store. The cost shouldn't exceed £60, properly less.

If - as your post implies - you want something that is properly tailored and looks really sharp, then order a new suit custom made by Suits USA (http://www.oursuitsfit.com/), at a cost of about £125.

[Sunfish]

"For flying Vintage aircraft?" Nah! Just to try and impress the chicks:p

[Barnstormer1982]

You got it, sunfish :D

Seriously: If I wanted to impress the chicks, I would wear my "My dad is a doctor" or "My dad is a trader" t-shirt. Who wants to marry a guy who's paying immense amounts of $$$ for his hobby and even more to actually "earn money" with it?

[Sunfish]

Seriously, I think I gather that flight suits are somewhat more fireproof than average clobber, and therefore not a bad idea for warbirds and vintage. Is this correct?

[Barnstormer1982]

That's correct. Flight suits made of NOMEX are at least "fire-resistant", which should give you extra time to land a plane that actually caught fire if you can't bail out. I am not flying with a chute, surely trust the old engines in front of me, but you never know!

Just had an engine loss in a C-170B this summer - no fire involved but it just made me reckon that accidents can happen.

[Monocock]

http://www.flints.co.uk/acatalog/copy_of_Boiler_Suits.html

A fire retardant boiler suit for less than £30.

Sorted.