How does sir/madam organise his/her flightsuit?
 

To start with I'm non-military and the question is one of curosity/advice. If the mods feel it needs to be elsewhere...no problem.

I have purchased a flightsuit...why? you might ask...eerrhhh seemed like a good idea at the time. It's a MK14A which may mean something to you. Anyway its' got pockets, loads of them, everytime I put it on I discover new ones! And systems redundancy.... well let's just say it has three..THREE coat-hanger loops!!

Anyway my question. 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.

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.

Those pockets by the ankles , what goes into them?

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.

I fly an aeroplane (Pitts) which like its' owner is basic and not well endowed........with storage space. Any tips on using these pockets effectively for basic ppl flying/ navigation greatly received.

TIM

Your coathanger loops are actually for your scarf, you know.

that def sounds like a Vigilant Pilot too me! lol:)

Rans - don tin hat and prepare for incoming. :) Take it on the chest!

Most operational aircrew now are on the 16B, sans knee pads and pockets which are so uncool.

If you've bought my old Mk 14 from ebay or whoever the Govt used to sell it off, I apologise for the rips caused by various sharp edges on HM's war machines not covered by the latest H & S legislation.

And that little stain is easily explained if you care to PM me.

Enjoy!

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.

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.

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.

Standard Aircrew Pocket-Fillers
 

Here's my semi-serious take on this.
The RAF carry in their pockets:
Lower leg - chip hat (specially designed for the crabs so that when they landed away they could walk to the Officer's Mess with headgear. Other Services could substitute a Beret. I used to put Maps/FLIPs in there when flying FW but now they stay empty in helis where I have a handbag full of them, and maps. Also useful for gloves when on the ground.
Knife-cutter pocket - Knife, useful for cutting straight lines quickly in maps (blunts the blade a bit so I'm told)
Kneeboard pockets - what do you want to write there? There's plenty of space for frequencies, plan of 2 airfields, spaces to write QFE etc. You could get a kneeboard attachment with a foldery thing in to keep even more useless info in. Obviously if you have bad eyesight you'll need to write bigger, so you'll fit less in (but maybe if your eyesight's that bad then you shouldn't be flying!).
In the large velcro knee pockets that open away from you when sitting I kept FRCs (when they were small enough to fit in there). Ones that face you are good for stuff you don't need in flight such as directions to the nearest hotel/pub at destination/half-filled out JPA audit sheets.
Chest pockets are good for wallet, mobile phone and other stuff that you don't need, assuming that you are wearing a parachute or life-jacket, as all mil people are.
Pen pockets on sleeve good for pens, AA maglite etc. Have to be careful about loose article hazard in your sporty little a/c though.
Hope this helps in some way(!)

Switch

P.S The RN carry extra-large condoms, breath mints, musk, drag fancy-dress and cash. Also some waterproofed sweets for recharging your batteries after a long trip!
P.P.S Haven't got a clue what the army carry, probably a camo net, hexi stove and a big knife. Not forgetting gun-dog (Officers), football boots, ball and shirt (NCOs).

Thanks for your enlightenment. Thanks for your time.

TIM

PS re stain , it's almost disappeared after the third wash and given it's location I think I can fill in the blanks. Thanks again.

I just used to fold them neatly and put them in the top drawer... :}

Racing spoon in left arm pen pocket.

Of course, after ISS you would have spelled this 'organize'.:)

Don't forget the 'Mission Mints'.

Or even

Also some waterproofed batteries for recharging your ........ after a long trip!

Well he did say sir/madam :}

Flying suits
 

Read the whole thread and can't believe no-one has made a comment that recently appeared on another thread - that is, in the RAF they tend to call them "flying suits" (coveralls if you are pedantic). Nice touch if you want to sound authentic - a bit like not saying "plane" - always aeroplane or aircraft, which I see you already do:ok:

Spoons in pockets are soooooooo Hercules co-pilot....

It simply isn't done.

The book 'When Thunder rolled'by Ed Rasimus (a very good book), has a fair bit of info regarding what he carried on ops in Vietnam. If I remember correctly, he carried spare batteries for his emergency radio and a spare pistol in his calf pockets. He writes about the massive weight of equipment that they carried in their suit pockets.

Well, here's my take:

Left calf pocket: paperwork of unknown nature plus flying gloves. Doubles as primary chip bag hat receptacle (if hat location known). Keep a torch in there too.

Right calf pocket: wallet. Additional paperwork of unknown nature.

Left hip pocket: handkerchief.

Right hip pocket: possible change up to a maximum of £2. Car key.

Left breast pocket: paperwork of unknown nature.

Right breast pocket: phone. Additional paperwork of unknown nature and payslips.

Pen holders: pens and occasionally Spork.

The good news is that in about one in ten changes of flying suit, the paperwork of unknown nature briefly becomes paperwork of known nature shortly before entering the bin.

When I was in the mob and flying;

Left lower leg; Chip hat and pilot's handbook
Right lower leg; Stuff I really should know but can never remember, also quiz book for Atlantic transits and EO trips.

Thigh pockets; old maps and fluff

Knee boards; QFE, weather and piloty stuff
Underneath knee board pockets; sick bag, essential for the odd foray down the back in the kipper fleet.

Hip pockets; gloves

Chest pockets; wallet, keys, change, passport etc etc, blah....

Knife pocket; erm knife when we were given one, other than that a cardboard box opening device/dingy thing.

Basically whatever you feel comfortable with in whatever combination, although old maps and fluff are a given.

Sitting here in my locally made flying suit I have:
Right calf pocket: Ziplock bag containing ear plugs, surgical mask and gloves, multi lingual emergency phrase book, sickbags

Knee pad pockets:
Nil - I tried to open the velcro the other day and the whole pocket started to detach (I did say 'locally made'!)

Right breast pocket:
old casualty report form (unwashed), and details of last navex for my student

Left pocket
remains of old casualty report form and tissue combination (washed)

Pen pocket
Three colour biro

Note - no hip pockets - the boss didn't want us walking around with our hands in our pockets making the place look untidy :=

At least it prevents the starboard lookout eating with his fingers and licking the tinfoil afterwards.:}

The small number of FJ aircrew maybe - but most operational aircrew are surely on rotary and multis - and in pink.