Do you wear anything special when flying?

Shepherd said:
Depends on the weather, the aircraft, and the mission. I always wear a ball cap with a brim. Always.
This time of year, in the J3, I wear cargo pants or jeans, long sleeve undershirt, long sleeve flannel shirt, and a thermal vest with lots of pockets for my "stuff". I have to be very careful about shoes. My normal sneakers or boots won't fit in the plane. My feet are too wide, and get jammed between the seat and the side of the aircraft and I can't use the rudder pedals. This is becoming an issue as the weather gets colder. No cabin heat, and my feet get cold. Looking for a fix.
I have a tendency to dress suitably in case I end up having to walk home. It's happened a number of times over the years.
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Lots of options out there for electrically powered heat or chemically supplied heat for shoes/socks.

Other thing to do is douse feet with antiperspirant before socks to keep things dry. Helps a lot if you have sweaty feet like me.
 
An aviation themed ball cap so I can freely explore airport hangars without raising suspicion.
 
In the winter I wear really heavy hiking boots just about everywhere. I hate flying in them. Like others have said, you really loose the feel of the rudder pedals.
 
Clark1961 said:
Does that make getting in and out of the aircraft a bit awkward? Do your pax notice? What about the other pilot?
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I was talking about GA. I wear a baseball cap usually. Hats are optional at my company. I don’t wear it.
 
It somewhat depends upon what I'm flying and why. In Cub and RV-4, it is mostly shorts/tshirt in warm weather and jeans/sweatshirt/jacket in cool weather. Typically wear running shoes as big heavy shoes/boots make getting on brakes more difficult...though I have flown it with such when I didn't have running shoes. Now I typically leave a pair at the airport so I can have a set available. If I'm going to be doing much acro in the RV, I'll wear my parachute. I want some lace up shoes which I won't have to worry about losing if I have to jump or if I have to climb out of a wreck and/or walk.

When flying my brother's S1S Pitts, I will try to always wear a parachute because I don't know if it is possible to fly a Pitts without doing some acro. I wore one most of the time in my Starduster Too as well. I did wear a flight suit, boots and gloves when flying warbirds years ago...but big radial engines on old airplanes were a bit more prone to fire. Same reason we never flew too terribly high. Wore a helmet in T-28, but only because it stayed in the front seat of the plane so everyone who flew it ended up wearing it...not real sanitary, I suppose.
 
Shawn said:
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Used to wear that, no more!
 
Zeldman said:
I

The vest and a 24 year old Tilley hat makes me look like a flying Indiana Jones. Before I got married it also got lots of invites from women looking for the real Alaska experience......
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so, you telling us you got lucky when you wore that outfit?
 
Zeldman said:
I have a vest I wear for summer flying in Alaska. It is a copy of a WWII vest. I keep immediate need survival gear in it. PLB, and things to stop bleeding, etc:,..

The vest and a 24 year old Tilley hat makes me look like a flying Indiana Jones. The tourist really dig it. I can expect lots of pictures. Before I got married it also got lots of invites from women looking for the real Alaska experience.....
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Women invited you to go salmon fishing?
 
I wear clothing appropriate for the weather. Shorts and short-sleeve shirts usually in Spring, Summer and Fall. Top Siders can't be beat for footwear, IMHO, year round. Thick wool socks for the winter.
 
N659HB said:
I wear clothing appropriate for the weather. Shorts and short-sleeve shirts usually in Spring, Summer and Fall. Top Siders can't be beat for footwear, IMHO, year round. Thick wool socks for the winter.
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Yeah, generally wear sneaks, but have worn topsiders before and they work great too.
 
A2 or B3 leather jacket, lightweight canvas jacket, gloves, scarves, thermal underwear, sweaters, helmet, goggles, etc., depending on the temperature. Always tennis shoes for footwear.

Ron Wanttaja
 
mscard88 said:
Yeah, generally wear sneaks, but have worn topsiders before and they work great too.
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I got used to the topsiders flying the Champ. Tried athletic shoes, but the thick soles were always catching the heel brakes. :eek: I have some well-worn Rockport dress shoes that work pretty well.
 
The topic was special. I always have my sidearm on.


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Zeldman said:
I wish..!!!!

All the years I have spent in Alaska I have never been salmon fishing......... yet.
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Oh. Women invited you to go ptarmigan plinking then. Got it. How boring.
 
I never owned but just bought Converse All Stars for flying. The insole cushion and arch support suck bad, but I got them for finer rudder feel. When I trained, sometimes I was in running shoes that had significant support, other times I was in dress shoes (during lunch break or right after work) that were soft like butter. I soon learned I liked the connection with the rudder better with flexible shoes. Barefoot? Moccasins??

Trivia: what movie has commentary about someone's shoes being like butter?
 
mscard88 said:
Expand on that please....:D
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It was in Denali National Park. I was flying tours around the mountain and the park. I was living in a small miners shack, no electricity, no water and wood stove for heat. The resort (https://www.kantishnaroadhouse.com/) was about 1.1 miles away in the miners village of Kantishna on the park road.

The bar was tiny, about 8 tables I think, so people, strangers before that night, would share tables. One of the other pilots and myself would spend an hour or two there. The bartender was a great person. He would find out what groups had common interest and get them talking together.

My buddy and I would usually sit at the bar. It wouldn't take long before people would recognize us and come up to talk to us. Mostly the resort was full of married couples, but there was enough single women, usually traveling together. The conversation would turn to where I lived. The worst part would be when the husband would excuse himself for the restroom and then the wife would make interesting offers that I would have to refuse. But the single girls would be afraid to walk to my little shack through bear country, which made things interesting......

It was an enjoyable summer, lots of flying...... wife walked in, gotta go
 
Ummm, no not really... I’m not a “dress up like an aviator” kind of guy.... those dudes with the aviators (sunglasses) annoy me lol


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Zeldman said:
It was in Denali National Park. I was flying tours around the mountain and the park. I was living in a small miners shack, no electricity, no water and wood stove for heat. The resort (https://www.kantishnaroadhouse.com/) was about 1.1 miles away in the miners village of Kantishna on the park road.
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Holy batshet batman! Wife and I stayed there 3-4 years ago. I didn't see no loose womens though. :(
 
i will be the first to say it, in a warbird or experimental I wear a flight suit, gloves and leather shoes. spam can, what ever i have on at the time.

bob
 
Above 50°F, khaki shorts, T-shirt or golf shirt, barefoot.

Below 50°F, jeans, T-shirt, low top hikers. The appropriate jacket for the temp if it gets really chilly.
 
Moccasins are awesome for rudder feel.


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I always, always wear some form of pants (to cover the underwear that may or may not be very clean) and a pair of shoes, so my feet don't slip on the pedals..
 
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