Flight Jackets

aftCG said:
Wait. A cow hide jacket from India?
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Kind of surprised by that myself.

I googled "India Leather Industry" and found some interesting information. One source claims that India is the world's 2nd largest exporter of leather garments. Seems to be a combination of (1) Importation of hides, (2) Use of buffalo leather, and (3) Involvement by the Muslim community (thought Hindus are involved, as well).


Ron Wanttaja
 
4RNB said:
You should put out a long winded post referencing a new youtube video you put on on this topic. Explore aviation accidents related to inner linings melting into pilots and the excess morbidity/mortality because of it. And how all these airlines are doing it wrong: https://www.perroneapparel.com/airlines/
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Dear 4RNB,
I would not say the airlines are “doing it wrong.” I would say that the airlines may be doing it as cheaply as possible. Maybe it is just not something that people think of? I worked in an emergency room when I was young and saw the nurses using brushes to remove the burnt in poly out of burn victims. Then when I learned about the pilot that died due to this it just made sense to me.
May we just use common sense rather then relying upon the NTSB reports? I am sure that they will reflect “pilot error” because the pilot failed to be flame retardant. Just take any poly, faux fur, or nylon clothing in your closet and put a heat gun or fire to it. I am sure this will discourage you from wearing this type of material when flying. I wear wool slacks or cotton blue jeans, cotton shirts, and leather jacket.
Also, we can have our doctors on this site talk about this issue when treating patients from car accidents with fires. Cockpit fires are very rare, but when they do happen they are horrific. Thank you for your post!
 
Gary Ward said:
An airport manager was telling us that if you land at every airport that West Virginia will give you one.
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VA and MD have that program. You don't have to land, but visit everyone and collect a stamp in a booklet that looks like a passport.

VA also has you visit some aviation museums.
 
Pinecone said:
VA and MD have that program. You don't have to land, but visit everyone and collect a stamp in a booklet that looks like a passport.

VA also has you visit some aviation museums.
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We had the passport program here (don't know if it's still going on) and a friend and I visited several airports a few years ago but not enough to warrant a jacket.

At our homefield one fine afternoon a quite elderly gentleman and his wife rolled up in a Honda Accord and asked for our stamp. From the conversation I gathered they had made it to almost every airport in the state via the Honda ...
 
Daleandee said:
We had the passport program here (don't know if it's still going on) and a friend and I visited several airports a few years ago but not enough to warrant a jacket.

At our homefield one fine afternoon a quite elderly gentleman and his wife rolled up in a Honda Accord and asked for our stamp. From the conversation I gathered they had made it to almost every airport in the state via the Honda ...
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It might have been Virginia where we were and the airport manager showed us his jacket that he got for landing at all the airports in Virginia. He told us about the stamp program that buddy already knew about. I thought you had to fly to each airport to get the stamp?

A couple years ago him and I spent a few months landing at Indiana airports that he has not been to yet. He grew up and learned to fly in Indiana. Taught others how to fly in Indiana also. It only took him 40 years to land at every public airport in Indiana. :p
 
Lawson_Stone said:
"Genuine Leather" does not mean "made from hides." Leather can be pulverized and manufactured into sheets that are technically "leather" but not the kind of hide construction we love. In Bible bindings, it's called "bonded leather." I don't know if jacket makers adhere to any terminology standards or not. Many years and waist sizes ago, my wife bought me a wonderful bomber jacket made out of goatskin. Incredibly light and resilient, I have worn it whenever I could zip it over my belly... hopefully I"ll wear it again soon.

Unfortunately, I don't have the pilots license to go with it... I have a different PPL "Pilot Poseur License"
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Good quality leather companies don’t use the term “genuine leather” anymore to refer to 100% real, solid leather, just for that reason. “Genuine leather” is as much or more plastic than leather. At best it’s a thin split with a nice-looking top coating. Full or top grain is the way to go.
 
I'd rather spend money on fuel than a patch.
 
Gary Ward said:
It might have been Virginia where we were and the airport manager showed us his jacket that he got for landing at all the airports in Virginia. He told us about the stamp program that buddy already knew about. I thought you had to fly to each airport to get the stamp?
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Hard to fly into KDCA in GA. :)

You just have to visit them.
 
GaryM said:
It’s my understanding that a really big analog watch
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Years ago, at my local field on Sunday afternoon, we were hanging around outside the FBO. A 210 was landing on our 2000 runway, like he was used to on 4,000. He did manage to get stopped. And taxied to the ramp. He taxied with massive blasts of power. P210 with the then new to GA, the wing mounted radar pod.

I made a comment that he probably had a really big watch. He gets out of the airplane and cannot figure out why everyone is laughing out loud. He had a HUGE watch. :D
 
Pinecone said:
Years ago, at my local field on Sunday afternoon, we were hanging around outside the FBO. A 210 was landing on our 2000 runway, like he was used to on 4,000. He did manage to get stopped. And taxied to the ramp. He taxied with massive blasts of power. P210 with the then new to GA, the wing mounted radar pod.

I made a comment that he probably had a really big watch. He gets out of the airplane and cannot figure out why everyone is laughing out loud. He had a HUGE watch. :D
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Guys with fast airplanes need fancy watches. Us Fly Baby drivers, though....

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Ron Wanttaja
 
My flight jacket was issued, not bought, and my patches represent airplanes I've flown, places I've been, and things I've done. It will likely remain that way.

Nauga,
never a Captain, sometimes a major (as an adjective)
 
nauga said:
My flight jacket was issued, not bought, and my patches represent airplanes I've flown, places I've been, and things I've done. It will likely remain that way.

Nauga,
never a Captain, sometimes a major (as an adjective)
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Ironically, I never wear my issued flight jacket when flying anymore. Usually I either wear a light wind breaker or if it’s really cold a replica RAF Irvin jacket (if I’m going to fly with the cockpit open). I love my old goatskin jacket, but it’s showing it’s age and the custom liner I installed in Turkey probably wouldn’t do well in a fire.
 
YakDrvr said:
Ironically, I never wear my issued flight jacket when flying anymore. Usually I either wear a light wind breaker or if it’s really cold a replica RAF Irvin jacket (if I’m going to fly with the cockpit open).
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Even with low OAT and a leaky cockpit the heaviest thing I wear flying is a light hoodie (some with silkscreen logos, none with patches). Once the canopy is closed it warns up pretty quick even in the winter.

Nauga,
and his corporate swag
 
I wear a 1930s style flight jacket (yes, with silk scarf) because it's functional in my 1930s style open cockpit airplane. No patches. Haven't worn a watch in years, though.
 
4RNB said:
I'm the kind of guy that does not bring up being a pilot in every conversation, most people in my life do not know.
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I'm calling BS on you being a real pilot just based on that alone.

Everyone knows you don't need to ask a pilot if he is a real pilot.....because he'll tell you.
 
nauga said:
Even with low OAT and a leaky cockpit the heaviest thing I wear flying is a light hoodie (some with silkscreen logos, none with patches). Once the canopy is closed it warns up pretty quick even in the winter.

Nauga,
and his corporate swag
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I can’t say there are any patches on the jacket I wear, I’m cheap, but sometimes it’s fun/better visibility to fly around with an open cockpit. Thicker jackets are definitely a hassle in a cockpit though.

Not Nauga

Guy with many random sayings
 
CaptainRobertRiter said:
Dear Lawson,
What a nice post! It made me laugh as my students who are now becoming Captains are not able to fit into their jackets anymore! I did not know this about about the leather. How has the goatskin leather held up to the years going by?
Thank you for being a part of our community regardless of having a pilots license! Happy New Year!
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Becoming Captains??
This IS getting a bit much.
 
Four flight jackets. Two leather, two aramid. Prefer aramid over leather. Lighter, less restrictive. Leather looks better though.

IMG_8743.jpeg
 
YakDrvr said:
Ironically, I never wear my issued flight jacket when flying anymore. Usually I either wear a light wind breaker or if it’s really cold a replica RAF Irvin jacket (if I’m going to fly with the cockpit open). I love my old goatskin jacket, but it’s showing it’s age and the custom liner I installed in Turkey probably wouldn’t do well in a fire.
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I found my issue leather jacket when we were packing for this recent move along with a summer and winter nomex. I very rarely wore the leather one even on active duty except when wearing aviation working greens and that was only as the duty officer when you couldn’t wear a bag. It never had any patches on it other than a name tag that’s what the nomex was for.

I never flew with any of them on instead wearing layers under the torso harness and SV2 vest. You‘d see guys piling a jacket on over gear but looked like a good way to increase flail injuries during an ejection. These days it’s fleece that’s easy to get on and off in the cockpit.
 
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Pinecone said:
Hard to fly into KDCA in GA. :)

You just have to visit them.
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Is DCA in Virginia?

Technically it's on the VA side of the river, but the airport has a District of Columbia address and is controlled by the Washington Metro Airport Authority.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Is DCA in Virginia?

Technically it's on the VA side of the river, but the airport has a District of Columbia address and is controlled by the Washington Metro Airport Authority.
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By statute, DCA is physically in Virginia. Also the WMAA operates both Reagan National (DCA) and Dulles.
 
Pugs said:
I very rarely wore the leather one even on active duty except when wearing aviation working greens and that was only as the duty officer when you couldn’t wear a bag. It never had any patches on it other than a name tag that’s what the nomex was for.
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I can count on one hand the number of times I wore my jacket on active duty simply because I was in BDUs 99.8% of the time and when I was I the right uniform the weather was warm.

Now that I’m a civil servant, I wear it when the weather is conducive like all this week here in Tampa as we suffer through 45* mornings.
 

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