Wearing a tie in the cockpit
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Wearing a tie in the cockpit
Hi All, I was just wondering when the RAF brass came to the conclusion that wearing a tie in the cockpit wasn't the world's greatest idea. Does anyone know? 
19 Sqn probably taken at Fowlmere at the height of the Battle of Britain in Sept '40, with Brian Lane and 'Grumpy' Unwin sitting on the wing with Sqn mascot Flash in between them with Lane holding his paw.
I recall with warm affection the woollen aircrew shirt, with collar...... that ensemble was completed with a towelling cravat.
It was also long enough to keep your bum warm.
Possibly not as formal as you are seeking, but it had a collar to accept a tie if required.
I guess the execrable green polo was introduced early 70s, dooming the tie forever.
It was also long enough to keep your bum warm.
Possibly not as formal as you are seeking, but it had a collar to accept a tie if required.
I guess the execrable green polo was introduced early 70s, dooming the tie forever.
For many years I thought the Air Force Board members had shares in a tie manufacturer as every time we saw a change in uniform it still required that a tie be worn, in particular when they decided to introduce a v neck pullover plus tie which made us all look like geography teachers rather that the round neck sans tie favoured by the Army.
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For many years I thought the Air Force Board members had shares in a tie manufacturer as every time we saw a change in uniform it still required that a tie be worn, in particular when they decided to introduce a v neck pullover plus tie which made us all look like geography teachers rather that the round neck sans tie favoured by the Army.
Ahhh the combatless wooley pulley, sod all use keeping ones neck warm in the field, but looked lovely in a shiny office.
Wasn't it WW2 when pilots found a collar and tie chaffed a lot from all the constant head turning to see if their tail was clear, so they went over to wearing silk scarves that reduced the chaffing?
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VC10 and TriStar truckies wore blues with collar and tie in the '80s, however VC10K crews wore flying suits. At first we were told that flying suits weren't to be worn 'north of the runway' and we were supposed to change back into blues if we needed to Ops or Accounts or wherever. Needless to say, we soon rebelled at such stupidity and only wore blues when we were 'unavailable for flying' for some reason....
It was farcical in the early days of the VC10C1K - for AAR the crews wore flying clothing, but for trucking they wore blues.... Sanity eventually prevailed and all truckies were told to wear flying clothing! That said, the cabin crew ladies looked much smarter in those blue/grey cabin dresses rather than in badly fitting flying suits.
It was farcical in the early days of the VC10C1K - for AAR the crews wore flying clothing, but for trucking they wore blues.... Sanity eventually prevailed and all truckies were told to wear flying clothing! That said, the cabin crew ladies looked much smarter in those blue/grey cabin dresses rather than in badly fitting flying suits.
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Don`t forget the string vests and `shreddies`....
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I have a vague recollection of wearing blues (No 2 with tie) flying to Berlin in a Jetsream as part of my multi-engine cse in 1991… again when acting as co-pilot in a Jetstream flying to St Mawgan for a funeral whilst wearing No 1s.
During a visit to Arnhem on a Staff Ride we went to the cemetery where Flt Lt Lord VC is buried alongside his co, Plt Off Medhurst. They were originally buried beside their crashed Dakota, after the war the sole survivor, navigator Flt Lt King, whose testimony secured Lord his VC (he’d been captured and spent the rest of the war as a POW) was present when the bodies were exhumed ready to be moved to the CWG Cemetery. He was able to identify Lord’s body by the DFC ribbon on his battledress, and Medhurst because he always wore a collar & tie.
incIdentally Medhurst was 19 and on his first mission.
Answer to your question: it’s not been routine in most aircraft for many years and the issue flying clothing hasn’t included a tie for a long time, except for certain shiny fleets & VIP movements who were blues until fairly recently. No idea what they wear on VIP flights on 32 (Royal) Sqn’s shiny bizjets today.
There are pictures of pilots wearing flying suits over blue shirts & ties in the 1970s so I guess some element of choice had prevailed until quite recently.
During a visit to Arnhem on a Staff Ride we went to the cemetery where Flt Lt Lord VC is buried alongside his co, Plt Off Medhurst. They were originally buried beside their crashed Dakota, after the war the sole survivor, navigator Flt Lt King, whose testimony secured Lord his VC (he’d been captured and spent the rest of the war as a POW) was present when the bodies were exhumed ready to be moved to the CWG Cemetery. He was able to identify Lord’s body by the DFC ribbon on his battledress, and Medhurst because he always wore a collar & tie.
incIdentally Medhurst was 19 and on his first mission.
Answer to your question: it’s not been routine in most aircraft for many years and the issue flying clothing hasn’t included a tie for a long time, except for certain shiny fleets & VIP movements who were blues until fairly recently. No idea what they wear on VIP flights on 32 (Royal) Sqn’s shiny bizjets today.
There are pictures of pilots wearing flying suits over blue shirts & ties in the 1970s so I guess some element of choice had prevailed until quite recently.
In those tremendously evocative Fox News photos taken at Hawkinge in late July 1940, off the members of B Flight, 32 Sqn sitting on the grass at readiness near their Hurricanes, none of the 7 pilots are seen wearing a collar/tie in that photo, all are wearing roll necks or silk scarves.
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One of those badly 'colourised' photographs done by someone with little knowledge of the period
19 Sqn probably taken at Fowlmere at the height of the Battle of Britain in Sept '40, with Brian Lane and 'Grumpy' Unwin sitting on the wing with Sqn mascot Flash in between them with Lane holding his paw.
19 Sqn probably taken at Fowlmere at the height of the Battle of Britain in Sept '40, with Brian Lane and 'Grumpy' Unwin sitting on the wing with Sqn mascot Flash in between them with Lane holding his paw.
Nothing seems to scream out at me...
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