The question is a wind up, right...?

At our club, the instructors wear black trousers and white shirts, ties optional. As far as I can see, trainee instructors and CPL students on the day of their flight test wear the same. It's civvies for the students. I don't think I'd feel right wearing what amounts to an instructor's uniform. Jeans and a t-shirt is my usual attire at weekends and I don't change for flying. Suit trousers and shirt if I come from work.
As for Newcastle Brown Ale... we have a love hate relationship. I love it, it hates me. Pity really.

Carlito

Oops, why do you think i am in this game eh...? !!!!!!!! :) :)

Seriously, dont go for the black trousers, white shirt look. You will look like a bit of a dick if you do. People will laugh behind your back, its true, i have done it myself down here at Shoreham a while ago. :) (Laugh, with others i might add, behind the poor blokes back......)
Just wear what you get dressed in when you have woken up. Just dont go for the 'uniform look'. Not very :cool:

You'll want to make sure your pants are clean, though - in case you have an accident. :rolleyes:

Beings as it gets a bit warm down here in summer, I prefer a decent pair of shorts and a t-shirt in summer. In winter its a pair of combat pants and a t-shirt. Anything with lots of pockets to keep all the junk in. For long flights, Ive found a pair of lose flight coveralls to be the most comfortable.

I still have'nt found something to wear that stops me sweating though, as my instructor said - "they don't call it the hot seat for nothing":)

As said before, wear natural fibres cos they don't melt into your skin. I don't wear shorts cos my legs are under the fuel tank in the Auster........ Don't forget, it CAN happen to you.

I also always carry a jacket (denim in summer, leather in winter) cos it might be nice when you take off but walking to the farmhouse in the rain after an unscheduled stop could be miserable with no jacket.... It's also a handy place to keep the wallet, ciggies etc.

I also wear the RAF type green gloves. No it's not a pose, every damn thing in the Austers cockpit is sharp especially the throttle friction and the primer, also the good old Cirrus leaks oil so a wipe around the inside and outside of the cowling is compulsory after aviating and gloves help to keep my pinkies clean and soft :D :D

As everything I've owned over the last 5 years has had a transparent roof, I usually wear a baseball cap as well. I started this after realising the the sunroof on the back of my head was getting toasted by sitting under the sunshine coming through the perspex :cool:

I'm thinking of getting a 2nd hand RAF flight suit because I've ruined too many pairs of jeans crawling around wiping oil off the undersides of the cowling plus the occasional shirt that comes into contact with the grubby bits. Maybe not appropriate for a modern Piper or Cessna but useful for an oily old bird like the Auster.

A polo shirt and whatever trousers you think are comfortable seems to be the norm; dark ones don't show the grime quite so much. Shorts? Not popular with most instructors and a hazard if you were ever to have a fire. But if you want to parade around showing off your hog bristle legs, that's up to you. Whatever it is you wear though, please make sure that it - and you - are clean. Sharing the close confines of a Spamcan with a student stinking of BO is not my idea of fun! Mind you, we once had a female student who doused herself in so much perfume that she was a toxic hazard in the aeroplane!

Quite often I find that I have to fly people whilst I'm wearing the 'day job' nomex flying suit and flying boots - not out of choice, I can assure you! Probably the most uncomfortable thing to wear in a Spamcan.

Track suits, yob-ball shirts or 'shell suits'? We'll assume you've come to collect the rubbish...

Clothing
 

How about 'what not to wear?'

I remember one summer a memeber turned up to fly a Grob.

He got into the Grob with his passenger and just about managed to close the lid.

What was he wearing? A flying suit, RAF boots and - yes - an Irvine jacket. It must have been 25C.

Wot a pratt. I bet his passenger was impressed too...

On a serious note - he was overdressed and I am sure took a risk just to look - well - look a pratt really...

Same guy turned up at the PFA Rally dressed the same. Guess what he turned up in? A Peugeot...

Somebody else I know - a basic PPL with a spamcan - strutts around with 4 gold bars up - white airline shirt, shiny black shoes etc. Another Mitty. He was at N Weald Aerofair.

Thirdly - go to any fly-in and watch those struggling around on a hot day in flying suits and jackets when others - 'normal' in my book - are wearing more appropriate clothing.

THe point of it all is this - overdress at the risk of your cred. If you are fortunate enough to fly something that requires an overall - try to avoid the temptation to award yourself wings and cover it in loads of badges.

Arrive in the right machine - no problem - arrive in a 150 and watch out for the 'wxxxxr' gesticulations behind your back.

What do I wear? Shorts,T shirt and dekkies in my Robin - fireproof suit in my vintage 'Cabrio'. No fancy badge or wings either...

Check the met before leaving home, and dress accordingly, remembering you may have to kneel down on wet grass to drain fuel etc.

Sweating profusely during instruction is pretty normal, another reason to wear natural fibre.

Yup, definitely a wind up
Interestingly muted response from the ex militarys about the wearing of shorts....

nonradio,

You old cynic, you. ;)

I'm amazed at how seriously some people takes the issue of image while flying. It is so unimportant and so trivial as to be laughable. Who cares what people wear? The only real issue is 'safety' clothing, e.g. Nomex, versus t-shirt and shorts, but it's one for the individual.

Come dressed as a punk with a large ring through your nose and a stud in your tongue, just to shake up some of the Daily Mail-reading brigade you might find propping up the bar at your typical SouthEast flying club.

QDM

My theory behind shorts, is that if it goes so badly wrong that you crash and burn, ½mm of denim aint going to make that much difference :)

You could of course do a Michael Schumacher and wear a fireproof suit, a £200,000 helmet, gloves, and balaclava, but at the end of the day, you'll probably crash becasue you can't see out, let alone move around the cockpit.....

Wear whatever you want !

Cheers
EA;)

Choose a shirt the same colour as your biro so you don't end up with an obvious series of lines down it as you try to put your pen back into your pocket in turbulence! Mine always ends up looking like it's been bar-coded!

We haven't mentioned sunglasses yet. Raybans or Foster Grants? Silver or Gold frames?

And the watch. MUST have a barometric read-out.

Now look here, all you guys .....

No one has mentioned skirts :)

They are much more comfortable to fly in, in hot weather, than trousers, or even shorts. :cool:

Easier to use the wee bottle too. Especially for women. :eek:

QDM

englishal's suggestion of a Hawaiin shirt is worthy of study. If you can get one in eye searing colours than you wont have to wear a high vis vest when visiting one of those airfields that has pretensions to becoming "International".............

I disagree about the jeans though. Ever been on a firefighting course?? Petrol dripping over ignition switches can catch alight. Burning 100LL on hairy legs hurts, straight away. On denim at least you get a few seconds to put it out before growing large ugly scars on your pins. :eek:

Re sunglasses I think Dame Edna or Elton John should contribute to this bit :D :D

I was reciently talking to a V senior army officer who had been working on a UN job in West Africa. When this subject was mentioned he related the story of jumping aboard a Russian Mi-8
Helicopter and when he stuck his head in the cockpit to say Hi to the crew the Captain was dressed in a pair of (Thongs, Flipflops, Jandles) a pair of (Jocks, kinickers, briefs) and a pair of sun Glasses.

The brand of sun glasses I am not sure about.

How would this go in the aero club.


If it won,t hover don,t bother.

I usually wear an old bush shirt that is reasonably lose and comfortable (cool), and has the benefit of long sleeves that can be rolled down to prevent sunburn.

It also has breast pockets, in one of which I keep a handkerchief that can come in very handy if sweat runs into my eyes (has happened twice now, just after I have been cleared for takeoff).

3Q: you found me out.
Distaff et al:wrt skirts....nice; 3Q- especially if you put pax in the front seat;)