Pilot shirts
Dani, I appreciate the point about the risk of fire being minimal in an aircraft and I would say it is even more minimal in a car. Most modern cars have an impact resisting structure around their fuel tanks unlike aircraft where they tend to be sufficiently strong to retain fuel and not much else.
The most common cause of aircraft fires seems to be when people over prime before start and there is a fire in the intake manifold which can blow back through the air filter. These are usually non-events if you keep cranking the engine to suck the flames in. The worst that will happen is that there may be damage to the air filter. If the pilot panics and stops trying to start the engine, he/she may be sitting facing a burning engine very quickly.
From what research I've done (not particularly extensive I must admit!!) it seems that man made fibres generally tend to shink when exposed to high temperatures long before they burn which is not going to be pleasant. When they do burn they tend to form a crust which also shrinks onto whatever is underneath it.
I fly a 61 year old taldragger. The fuel tank is above my knees and the fuel lines run aunder it to a Ki-Gass primer (prone to leaking occasionally) and down to the fuel selector valve on the floor. Given the age of the system there is a possibility of a leak. Just next to the fuel tank are the mag switches which have the potential to produce a spark when activated. So the ingedients for a fire are all there if attention is not paid to the integrity of the fuel system. All in all I prefer to have cotton jeans on when flying just incase I have to beat out burning avgas on my legs with my gloved hand!! I don't wish to sound paranoid but it's just another thing to be taken into account when flying especially ancient old aeroplanes. I will get around to getting that Nomex flying suit one day but I don't think it is a must have right now item.
The most common cause of aircraft fires seems to be when people over prime before start and there is a fire in the intake manifold which can blow back through the air filter. These are usually non-events if you keep cranking the engine to suck the flames in. The worst that will happen is that there may be damage to the air filter. If the pilot panics and stops trying to start the engine, he/she may be sitting facing a burning engine very quickly.
From what research I've done (not particularly extensive I must admit!!) it seems that man made fibres generally tend to shink when exposed to high temperatures long before they burn which is not going to be pleasant. When they do burn they tend to form a crust which also shrinks onto whatever is underneath it.
I fly a 61 year old taldragger. The fuel tank is above my knees and the fuel lines run aunder it to a Ki-Gass primer (prone to leaking occasionally) and down to the fuel selector valve on the floor. Given the age of the system there is a possibility of a leak. Just next to the fuel tank are the mag switches which have the potential to produce a spark when activated. So the ingedients for a fire are all there if attention is not paid to the integrity of the fuel system. All in all I prefer to have cotton jeans on when flying just incase I have to beat out burning avgas on my legs with my gloved hand!! I don't wish to sound paranoid but it's just another thing to be taken into account when flying especially ancient old aeroplanes. I will get around to getting that Nomex flying suit one day but I don't think it is a must have right now item.
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Switzerland, Singapore
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Synthetics? Leave them for the nightclub.
As are Kevlar, Aramid, glas fibre aso.
Go have a look at all modern fire fighter proctections, they are all synthetics. Cotton is a thing of the past, forget it.
I agree that the Polyamids (Nylon, Perlon, Viscose...) you normally buy at H&M are not of the properties of the above mentioned techincal clothes, but please go away with your outdated opinion that there is something dangerous about micro fibres. It's simply not true and compared to the alternative, cotton, they have much more advantages.
Dani
OK, I made a mistake. Nomex is sythetic. The difference is that it will not melt onto your skin.
But you won't catch me wearing nylon or other meltable materials, after I have seen what they have done to aircrew in the past.
If you have something better than cotton at your disposal, then by all means wear it, and tell us all how easy it is to buy.
But try to avoid wearing something worse - like Nylon....
I can't believe that pilot stores sell flying jackets made of this stuff !!
But you won't catch me wearing nylon or other meltable materials, after I have seen what they have done to aircrew in the past.
If you have something better than cotton at your disposal, then by all means wear it, and tell us all how easy it is to buy.
But try to avoid wearing something worse - like Nylon....
I can't believe that pilot stores sell flying jackets made of this stuff !!
Join Date: Aug 2002
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Gun, I'm sorry that I insist on this matter. But it needs to be mentioned because it's the most common misconception about clothes.
Nylon is one of the most advanced materials you know. The problem is that it's also used in very cheap fabrics. The problem is not the material itself, it's how its transformed from a single filament to a woven fabric.
Let me go into details of this offtopic: The finer the filaments, the more material you need, more time and effort, thus it's more expensive. The same is valid for your carpet from Iran or from your grand mother woolen scarf. Cheap shirts are therefore made of thick filaments and are of a bad quality.
The same is true for cheap cotton shirts. They have big cotton filaments and are therefor lousy. Please check my post above about very fine Egyptian Cotton.
Let me itinerate that one of the finest materials are made of Nylon. They are woven from extremly fine filaments, they feel so extrem comfortable on the skin you don't want ever someting else. Ask your wife or your women pilot, they know it!
And top athletes know it too. There isn't any single fabric with such a variety of application. You can use it in summer for cool clothes, in winter for warming ("fleece", "Polartec"). Most functional clothes are made of it. Your wive's bra. Your maid's cleaning tissues...
Dani
Nylon is one of the most advanced materials you know. The problem is that it's also used in very cheap fabrics. The problem is not the material itself, it's how its transformed from a single filament to a woven fabric.
Let me go into details of this offtopic: The finer the filaments, the more material you need, more time and effort, thus it's more expensive. The same is valid for your carpet from Iran or from your grand mother woolen scarf. Cheap shirts are therefore made of thick filaments and are of a bad quality.
The same is true for cheap cotton shirts. They have big cotton filaments and are therefor lousy. Please check my post above about very fine Egyptian Cotton.
Let me itinerate that one of the finest materials are made of Nylon. They are woven from extremly fine filaments, they feel so extrem comfortable on the skin you don't want ever someting else. Ask your wife or your women pilot, they know it!
And top athletes know it too. There isn't any single fabric with such a variety of application. You can use it in summer for cool clothes, in winter for warming ("fleece", "Polartec"). Most functional clothes are made of it. Your wive's bra. Your maid's cleaning tissues...
Dani
No problems Dani.
I'll wear cotton undergarments, and a nomex suit and I'll fly alot happier than if I was wearing Nylon.
You wear whatever you like. Just tell me how comfortable and smooth it feels when it melts onto your skin in a fire. You'll have to live with it.
I'll wear cotton undergarments, and a nomex suit and I'll fly alot happier than if I was wearing Nylon.
You wear whatever you like. Just tell me how comfortable and smooth it feels when it melts onto your skin in a fire. You'll have to live with it.
