What to wear

[ANCO]

OK - for all the 'weekend' flyers...I am interested to know what do you wear to go flying?

I wonder if there is, or should be some decent clothing brand that is aimed at light aircraft pilots.
For example - how about a lightweight jacket which is reversible with hi-viz on the inside. Then I can wear it ground-side like normal, and reverse it 'airside' instead of looking like a plonker with my nylon hi-viz...Or, how about trousers with decent zip pockets and maybe a neat attachment for a kneeboard integrated...or a way to get the cable of my headset out of the way by attaching to my shirt through some loops?

Maybe I am alone here - but I have never really seen any fashionable, decent quality clothing that was designed with light aircraft pilots in mind...or maybe you think it is not needed...love to get views!

[Small Rodent Driver]

"Light aircraft pilot" and "Fashionable" are two phrases which should never be mixed.

Bit like putting Australian and culture in the same sentence.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Smoking jacket, cavalry twills and a top hat sound about right....

[Jan Olieslagers]

Do not forget hi-viz bikini's for the occasional lady G/A pilot.

[Pilot DAR]

I wear cotton or wool (more trousers and long sleeve shirts, than short) unless very warm, or water flying. Leather shoes. I prefer clothing which is less likely to burn, or stick to my skin if burned. My shirts don't have planes on them, as the other planes I fly might be offended.

I will have a high visibility vest or jacket aboard, because if I go down in the bush, I would like SAR to be able to see me. If the airport authority asks me to wear it, I probably will.

I wear a lifejacket for all water flying. In the cold season I will wear a floater suit for lake ski flying, or a full dry immersion suit for extended over water flying.

For one week of flying in 1985, I wore shirts with epaulets and bars, because the Captain handed them to me and said "Please wear these". Other than being asked by an employer, I have never worn bars. I did wear a tie while flying right seat in the corporate Cheyenne for a year, because the employer had a dress code. I respect that, but did not like it!

I wear a watch which is very east to read - it does not have a multitude of minuscule numbers on the face, as I cannot read them anyway, and no one I know would be impressed by them.

And, I wear a David Clark headset, which I bought new in 1983. A really good purchase decision.

[Flyingmac]

I wear designer underwear. In the event of an accident, I want to be treated with respect. It's fake, but they won't know that.


It's best to have all eventualities covered.


Here's a clip for your headset cable. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/291655139950?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=122&chn=ps&googleloc=1006921&poi=&campaignid=207297426&device=c&adgroupid=13585920426&rlsatarget=pla-131843275026&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=122

[srobarts]

Natural fibres, cotton or wool, as Pilot DAR has said. In the unlikely event of fire makes the medics work easier and the recovery faster.

[Fly4Business]

I prefer to go flying instead of thinking of my clothes ...

I guess it is like somebody told me long before, when I was learning how to handle a sailboat: stay away from the ones dressed in marine blazer, white trouser and shiny shoes and go for the others capable of mastering the sea.

I just leave on what I wear anyways, nothing special about piloting (ok, unless on professional duty, but even then casual is my preferred).

[piperboy84]

In the summer months I prefer the rather sporty looking ensemble of a New Holland boiler suit and running shoes, however in the winter I revert back to the tried and trusted padded boiler suit and rigger boots. When visting the clubhouse at Perth with a view to impress I have been known to go all out in the fashionista stakes with an "vintage" army jumper, cargo trousers and wellies usually assessorized with a Maule baseball cap.

My previous career as a model makes me somewhat particular as to what I wear even if that work did focus primarily on modeling shoes, crash helmets and balaclavas.

[Gertrude the Wombat]

Thigh boots or sandals (depending on temperature) if you're planning to arrive at a beach.

[gasax]

Trousers!

I would recommend trousers - at least long shorts, anything less reveals drafts you would not believe!

[Maoraigh1]

Don't be discouraged by these comments by guys who fly regularly. Statistics show most new PPLs stop flying regularly soon after gaining their PPL, and then stop flying at all. They, and MS pilots, may welcome a range of clothing to show they are pilots, and may be willing and able to pay value-added prices for them.
There might be a market for your designer range.
If your trousers are better-wearing and cheaper than Asda's £5 jeans, I might consider them.

[Mike Flynn]

http://www.flighthelmet.com/support/custpic/cphotos/cust-captalicea.jpgThe full works for me in the 172..otherwise sports casual:ok:http://3.darkroom.shortlist.com/980/c4648702c8aea75cb468069a5914a5fb:516370f628ad51850f026194817 41c26/19-superstar-alan.jpg
:O

[Shaggy Sheep Driver]

Piper Cub in summer - Shorts, T shirt, bare feet.

Chippy - either scruffy boiler suit with whatever you want underneath it, or old oily jeans and ditto sweater. In winter - long johns, thick socks, several jumpers, old Barbour jacket (there's no heater).

Cessna 150 - Grey slacks, short sleeve white shirt with gold wings logo and epaulets, tie, polished black shoes, naval blazer with flying club crest and gold wings embroidered onto front upper pocket, wings lapel badge. Aviator sunglasses.

[Pace]

Nahh

Fishnet tights and suspenders for the guys with stiletto heels to get more of a fulcrum effect on the rudder pedals :ugh:

[piperboy84]

Nahh

Fishnet tights and suspenders for the guys with stiletto heels to get more of a fulcrum effect on the rudder pedals :ugh:

There's a mental picture I could have done without, totally traumatized.

[300hrWannaB]

I was treated to a flight in an open cockpit biplane last summer.

A sheepskin leather jacket was the obvious choice. Those lovely RAF kid leather gloves were sublime. But the draught up my trousers was not what I expected. Tights would have been welcome, underneath the £5 Aldi jeans. Cheap shoes to cope with the oily floor.

Wear nothing that can't cope with dirt and oil.

[fujii]

Many years ago my instructor told me to dress in clothes that suit the terrain you're flying over.

Drifting a bit, it amuses me to see airline passengers wearing thongs. In they ever needed to evacuate ....

[On Track]

Fujii, thongs means something different in the rest of the world.

In the northern hemisphere they call them flip-flops.

In New Zealand they call them jandals. Where the hell did that word come from?

[piperboy84]

This poor chap knew what a thong was but not how to wear it !
BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Tayside and Central | Fine for back-to-front thong man (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/tayside_and_central/7314643.stm)

[Stanwell]

On Track,
A Kiwi mate told me that the name 'Jandals' came about in the late 1950s as a contraction of 'Japanese Sandals'.
Others might have a different idea, perhaps.

[Fly4Business]

Thanks guys, you made my working weekend!
No idea how long it'll take to get the pictures off my brain ... have to go flying now.

To add some more to it, what about this:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CRUEBggVEAIPA7C.jpg
or the version for the younger generation pilots:
https://samuelfamily.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_1029.jpg
?

[nkt2000]

It reminds me of a joke I heard years ago. A country guy made good called up the garage to complain that his new Bentley motorcar would not get above a crawling speed. The mechanic asked him what gear he was in. The owner replied " just the usual, double breasted wellies and a crape soled cap"

[kghjfg]

How odd, I don't dress in a car to "make the job of a rescue crew easier", why would I in an airplane.

Maybe when racing a car, yes, but not in a normal car, and not when flying a "normal" plane.

[Madbob]

When learning to fly in the RAF the message we were always given was "Dress to Survive".


Jeans and a T-Shirt are no good if you happen to have to force land on say, the top of the Yorkshire Moors/Pennines. Even in summer you won't last long and rescue could take longer than you think.


The same goes even for even a short hop over water, even just crossing the Solent.


Again in the RAF we were always taught the benefit of multiple layers of natural fibre clothing was better than one thick one against burns.


Personally, I just don't feel comfortable flying with more bare skin exposed than I have to and prefer to wear long sleeves and long trousers at all times.


MB

[DirtyProp]

Maybe I am alone here - but I have never really seen any fashionable, decent quality clothing that was designed with light aircraft pilots in mind...or maybe you think it is not needed...love to get views!
Always dress to impress (the ladies, that is)!

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/0e/86/b2/0e86b217c1bf95681e7438169646215d.jpg

This is your Captain speaking. Have I got your attention now? :E

[Jan Olieslagers]

double breasted welliesCould some kind soul please explain this to my uncouth continental mind? Even if I proudly carry level 6 ELP on my licence I could not make much of it, and our alther friend G confused me even more, coming up with an even mix of coats and boots.

I didn't even bother to begin wondering about the crape soled cap, suspecting negligent typing on top of the, errm, popular vocabulary.

[BroomstickPilot]

Hi ANCO,

What you wear for flying depends on how much flying you do, what you fly, where you fly (eg, arctic? tropics?) and what kind of flying you do.

For the average UK PPL, flying two hours a fortnight in a Pa 28, street clothing is all you need. Just make sure you wear shoes with a definite sole and heel, not a through-sole so that if you have to step onto a stirrup-style foot hold, when entering or leaving the aircraft, you don't slip and injure yourself.

Open cockpits are cold and draughty and the draught sometimes blows up your trouser leg so dress accordingly. An expensive sheepskin Battle of Britain style jacket is all very well as a pose, but little use when there is an icy blast blowing up your leg and freezing your family jewels.

If you do a lot of flying, especially say over open country in Scotland in the winter or over water, then the RAF advice 'dress to survive' (on the ground or in the drink) makes good sense. Heed it.

Similarly for the high annual hours fraternity, a lot of nonsense is talked about fabrics. Natural fibres aren't just natural fibres when it comes to fire. Silk and wool are animal products and will shrivel when burned, but cotton and linen are derived from plants and will BURN LIKE A BL**DY TORCH and are thus best avoided.

In regard to man-made fibres, again there are good and bad. Most, such as polyester (and polycotton), will melt onto your skin and then burn (as the Royal Navy discovered in the Falklands). While Nomex II and Aramid fibre will not burn. However, don't fall into the trap of thinking that Nomex II or Aramid will render you fireproof. They don't; their only advantage is that they don't burn (or melt and burn), but neither does a flying suit made from a single layer of these fabrics protect you from being burned when wearing them.

BP.

[Pilot DAR]

I choose natural fabrics as much as I can for all of my general wear. I consider the risk of being involved in a fire while flying to be slightly greater than other things in life, but not so much so that I don't bother to consider the risk for many other activities too. Many thinks in life can put you at risk of fire, so I like to dress with that in consideration.

With the exception of specialized flame proof fabrics, most any of the rest will burn to some extent. For me the important factors are: Will it melt and stick to me while burning, and become fuel I cannot remove while burning? And if it is burning, will "stop drop and roll" likely extinguish or at least subdue it?

In a cockpit, stop drop and roll has limited potential as a fire management tactic, so that leaves me with "can I remove it while burning?", which takes me back to natural fabrics - which I wear all the time, for that very reason.

[Stanwell]

Re Aramid/Nomex flying jackets...
There was at least one batch of Aramid jackets issued to us in the ADF where the fabric was Aramid bit the stitching wasn't.
We tested an example and it very quickly came apart.

[Gertrude the Wombat]

'dress to survive'
It's in the club check list.


Most days it means "take a mobile phone and a credit card".

[gasax]

The way the RAF maintain aircraft these days dressing for the inevitable crash seems a prudent move. When even gliders are messed about with to the point they have to be grounded, dressing to survive might include a magazine around the posterior?

My first somewhat colourful CFI asked me early to have a look at my important flying documents. I handed over log book and medical and he said - "no dear boy, this is the one I meant", whilst picking up my cheque book!

So a decent jacket, good shoes and my wallet and phone!

[Sir George Cayley]

I have to say the point about clothing and the fire hazard is well made.

I've seen two a/c crash and burn and in both cases the occupants were dressed appropriately.

Pity the force of the impact killed them instantly.

SGC

[abgd]

KGHJFG wrote: How odd, I don't dress in a car to "make the job of a rescue crew easier", why would I in an airplane.

Maybe when racing a car, yes, but not in a normal car, and not when flying a "normal" plane.

But flying a 'normal' plane is about as dangerous as driving a racing car, isn't it?

(100 F1 drivers each driving what, 500 hours a year? One death every 2 years over the last decade. 1 death per 100,000 hours. All in all, about the same as a PA28.

[BroomstickPilot]

Hi Sir George,
Obviously, not all crashes are survivable precisely because of impact injuries, but many are. However you don't have to have a crash for fire to be a hazard. An instructor acquaintance of mine had a cockpit fire in the air and had to land the aircraft PDQ. He survived the flight but was severely burned and spent some time in hospital. He, of course, was wearing one of those silly, poncy, cheapo, flammable, navy-blue, poly-cotton uniforms, which many instructors are required to wear, which didn't help. Cockpit fires generally start in the electrics, but in most small aircraft you have fuel lines going through the cockpit uncomfortably close to the instrument panel.
BP.