Flight Suit for Civilian?

[jnmeade]

well, I was going to respond with an answer that would more clearly state my exact position on this topic, and then I thought, naw.................

[ussyorktown]

The problem is that they are not ez to get out of. You are all sweaty and it sticks to you body. You have to take off one arm, and then with the other hand PULL on the now loose sleeve to pull it off your torso. If you are in a hurry to take a dump then this seems like an eternity. No flight suit with a trap down aft.

But, if you've ever tried to carry anything in your hip pockets then it gets squished to uselessness in regular pants. No such pocket in a flight suit. Just a zipper on the side in case you want need to scratch one of your twin engines or empenouge. Pockets on the ankles. Pockets on the lap. Pockets on the front. Pockets on the arms and sometimes on the wrists. I don't know if you've noticed but there isn't much room in a CTSW but with a flight suit you've got LOTS of room to carry things you need.

I've got a weird picture for you. I stole/borrowed permanently my flight helmet and left it at home when I was on leave from the Navy. My brother was in training and used to use it all the time flying his Cessna 140!

[designrs]

I knew this topic would generate different opinions, but its also really interesting are the depth of some of the other related issues that are coming to light. Great comments by all. Thanks!

[N918KT]

Very interesting topic guys! So, are you saying that if you wear something that pilots wear, like a headset, clothes, etc, you FEEL more like a pilot?

Or if you wear something that is of significance to you like a flight suit, you FEEL more like a professional in whatever activity you are doing?

[drseti]

I'm suggesting the latter, Kevin.

[N918KT]

Actually, when I am doing certain pilot or preflighting activities like getting the weather briefing for the day's flight lesson for example, that makes me feel like a pilot (and gets me a little excited for the lesson), even I'm still flying with a CFI.

[designrs]

I think the consensus Kevin is that apparel influences attitude, mindset and function but it has to be logical and appropriate for who the pilot really is and does or people are going to scream "poser!" LOL

[designrs]

So flight suits seem like a pretty good idea, at least some of the time, when chosen and worn as appropriate. Color not too showy, maybe a patch representing the brand of aircraft that you fly, other patches only by legitimate affiliation, and some functional value as to activity and weather.

Best places to look for flight suits?

[Jack Tyler]

DeltaFox makes an interesting point. A 21 year old student I've come to know because he flies a plane out of a hangar near mine never flies without Nomex gloves. Why? Well, it's partly because he's learning to fly in a Nanchang CJ-6 and it's a bit of a handful in a hot, humid, seaty Florida environment so the gloves help. (View this very short video and picture the a/c in Navy Blue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=en ... tV0fffbUyo )

But the other reason is that his instructor, who is also his Dad, flew Navy for a career and, even back at Whiting Field during Primary, I'm sure he always flew with Nomex gloves. My point is that our frame of reference is unique to us. We only know what we know, not what the other guy knows. To someone who became an aircrewman at 18 or 19 and had hundreds or thousands of hours of professional flying experience, the thought of flying without a flight suit - even years later and in the civilian world - could easily seem as odd to him/her as most of us think is the wearing of a flight suit.

I will probably never wear a flight suit because, for me, I think it makes me a 'poser' - a person who wants others to think he has a more substantial aviation background than I do. My ego-oriented self thinks I would be pretentious to do so. But the rational side of me thinks about the longer flights I've made this year, when I often end up in an FBO drenched in sweat, and the thought of peeling off a flight suit in the restroom and putting on dry clothes that would be presentable for the rest of the day...well, that sounds pretty appealing. Heck, maybe I should use a flight suit!

[ussyorktown]

Now that I've popped my cherry as a dog rescue pilot I will have my lovely wife also sew on this:

onto my flight suit(s) http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj5 ... 1343953944

TOP TEN REASONS TO TRANSPORT DOGS WHO THROW UP AND FART IN YOUR AIRPLANE:
10. You get an excuse to fly.
9.More satisfying than a $100 hamburger that sits on the bottom of your stomach.
4. Middle aged women run up to the plane and hug you and throw rose peddles in your path.






2. T.V. crews show up to film your landing like you were Lucky Lindy.


AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON TO RESCUE DOGS... Instead of paying for the fuel to play around up there, you take it off your taxes as a CHARITABLE DEDUCTION.
http://www.pilotsnpaws.org

[rab23us]

When it comes to flight suits they are fire retardant, they are comfortable, you can get them in different colors that are appropriate to your style of flying. As long as you don't put a bunch of bogus patches all over them trying to claim some form of fighter pilot lineage its all good.

If your asked why are you wearing that tell me because it's comfortable ans I can easily carry my stuff.

[ussyorktown]

This, obviously, is what an F 14 looks like-

[designrs]

Looking for lots of pockets and utility without going to a flight suit?
My buddy has this jacket.
Sleeves zip off to make it a vest.
Pockets are amazing.
He caries a MacBook Pro, a 1.5 liter bottle of water, and a zillion other things in this vest.

The vest is actually better than pictured.
He uses the vest as his "cary-on" for commercial flights.
Just take off the vest for security, put it in the x-ray box, and that's it!

I want one to replace my flight bag!
http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/ligh ... cket.shtml

[ussyorktown]

Jacket $120 and you look like Mao.
Flight suit $40 and you look like Tom Cruise when he was still married to Nicole Kidman.

[ct4me]

I'd love to be able to wear a flight suit... But I'm afraid it'll look like Elvis, at his worst.