Wearing Shoes in the Airplane

ktup-flyer

ktup-flyer

En-Route
Joined
Jun 28, 2012
Messages
4,828
Location
Tupelo, MS
Display Name
Display name:
ktup-flyer
How many of you fly barefoot? I see a lot of people do it even though it doesn’t seem the safest. The Cub is the only plane I HAVE to be barefoot in to fly.
 
No barefoot or slippers up here: ;)

Winter Hangar.JPG
 
Ryanb said:
Only these special aviation shoes should be worn. :D

https://liftaviationusa.com/collections/shoes
Click to expand...

wow! I think they're serious with those!

If I strutted into my 135 base wearing these...

t9r9XR0l.png


...I'm pretty sure I'd get sent home and possibly asked to not return. And possibly on the receiving end of a lawsuit for hate crimes, since a white boy in those shoes has gotta be a racist somehow.
 
I have a pair of old warn sole tennis shoes that are my "flying shoes." When I am a passenger on long flights. I put on a pair of hospital socks that have the rubber grippers in the soles.
 
Barefoot whenever it's warm enough. Or toe shoes. Today was soft soled moccasins.
 
ktup-flyer said:
How many of you fly barefoot? I see a lot of people do it even though it doesn’t seem the safest. The Cub is the only plane I HAVE to be barefoot in to fly.
Click to expand...

When I was active I expected any pilot that I flew with to be able to walk home if we had to make an emergency landing. Bare feet would not be acceptable. I was once giving a flight review to a pilot in his dad's Seneca and he was wearing flip-flops....when we had to push the airplane up a slight grassy slope to get out of its parking space things did not go well.

Bob
 
cgrab said:
I have a pair of old warn sole tennis shoes that are my "flying shoes." When I am a passenger on long flights. I put on a pair of hospital socks that have the rubber grippers in the soles.
Click to expand...

Some ratty ol' Stan Smiths for me....kickin' it Old School. :) They're great driving shoes for track days too, with thin soles that help you feel the pedals better.
 
I always have at least Teva’s for footwear, usually boots. But in the summer I’ll sometimes take the shoes off once in cruise to cool off and then put them back on.
 
Not too long ago we used to commute to a remote site in a small charter turboprop. Those of us working in/on/around the airplane had to wear steel-toe boots, so I wore my old standard Navy-issue flight boots on the flight rather than carry them and change on-site. One trip with a nervous co-worker on a bumpy flight, I was facing him in our luxe club seating when he started staring at my boots.

"Um...how come you have a dogtag in your laces?"
"In case this sucker goes down, so if all they find is my foot they'll be able to ID my remains." <bseg>

He gently sat up very straight and cinched down his lap belt, and kept very quiet for the rest of the (short) trip.

Nauga,
and the importance of a good footing
 
I choose my shoes the same way I tell all my girlfriends to - dress like you might be walking home.
 
bobmrg said:
When I was active I expected any pilot that I flew with to be able to walk home if we had to make an emergency landing. Bare feet would not be acceptable. I was once giving a flight review to a pilot in his dad's Seneca and he was wearing flip-flops....when we had to push the airplane up a slight grassy slope to get out of its parking space things did not go well.

Bob
Click to expand...
That’s kind of how I think. I’m always wearing tennis shoes. I’ve also noticed that I really suck at flying for a couple of hours if I get new shoes...maybe that’s just a me thing...
 
I did my ATP checkride in sandals. And shorts. And a t-shirt. It was that hot at Redbird, I mean Dallas Executive, and I was working in Alaska at the time. The DPE was lucky I was wearing anything at all....

In Alaska one company I flew for offered insulated cover alls for those passengers not prepared for winter flight.
 
Went up in a FAA Flight Check CL60 in Thailand once. The pilot in the right seat was flying barefoot. Thought it a bit unusual but the thing was flying mostly on AP anyway.
 
nauga said:
"Um...how come you have a dogtag in your laces?"
"In case this sucker goes down, so if all they find is my foot they'll be able to ID my remains." <bseg>
Click to expand...

While flying in Alaska I had a dog tag in the laces as well as one in my hat.

One time a TSA guy asked me about the ID tag in the laces. I told him where I fly the first responders eat what they find. He looked at me like I was nutz.... I forgot I was in Houston at the time....:lol:
 
Dress shoes if I was coming from the office. Tennis shoes if I planned a flight on the weekends. Probably steel toe work boots if the weather was cold/snowy.
 
I keep a stack of neon colored wool socks on the wheel pants for people to choose from before getting in the plane.

o_O
 
ktup-flyer said:
The Cub is the only plane I HAVE to be barefoot in to fly.
Click to expand...
That's funny, the SuperCub I used for banner towing was the one plane I couldn't fly barefoot. It had no muffler, just straight pipes that ended up right below the metal foot plates behind the rudder pedals. On any flight longer than 30 minutes or so, those plates would get pretty hot. Even with shoes on, I used to prop my heels up on top on the pedals to cool them off a bit on long flights.
 
I used to take mine off in my 90HP Luscombe. I couldn't get my toes on the rudder pedals and heals off of the brakes unless I did.
 
nauga said:
Not too long ago we used to commute to a remote site in a small charter turboprop. Those of us working in/on/around the airplane had to wear steel-toe boots, so I wore my old standard Navy-issue flight boots on the flight rather than carry them and change on-site. One trip with a nervous co-worker on a bumpy flight, I was facing him in our luxe club seating when he started staring at my boots.

"Um...how come you have a dogtag in your laces?"
"In case this sucker goes down, so if all they find is my foot they'll be able to ID my remains." <bseg>

He gently sat up very straight and cinched down his lap belt, and kept very quiet for the rest of the (short) trip.

Nauga,
and the importance of a good footing
Click to expand...

Don't forget to put your blood type on your boot...all Delta do that...;)
 
Was always whatever I had on at the time.

Cowboy boots are interesting... they can kinda get hung up on things if you don’t pay attention.
 
denverpilot said:
Was always whatever I had on at the time.

Cowboy boots are interesting... they can kinda get hung up on things if you don’t pay attention.
Click to expand...

Instructing farmers and ranchers often finds one suggesting that perhaps Muck Boots are not the best choice for finessing the rudder. ;)
 
denverpilot said:
Was always whatever I had on at the time.

Cowboy boots are interesting... they can kinda get hung up on things if you don’t pay attention.
Click to expand...

Early in my training I learned that size 13 boots do not fit well. They hang up on things and you can't feel if you're off the toe brakes. I always laugh when Josh Flowers shows his boots. Either Cessnas have bigger footwells, or he has little feet.

My go to is a pair of Chucks, but I also have some thin soled running shoes I like. The bad part is that the heat in the pipers blows right onto the side of your foot, so I usually have one cold foot and one that feels like it's on fire.

Good vfr days are usually good motorcycle days, so that means boots, which means I get to do the Mr Rogers routine and change shoes at the fbo. I eventually got tired of the funny looks and bought a pair of fairly stiff & sturdy riding shoes which are suitable, though not ideal, for both jobs.
 
Jim K said:
Good vfr days are usually good motorcycle days, so that means boots, which means I get to do the Mr Rogers routine and change shoes at the fbo. I eventually got tired of the funny looks and bought a pair of fairly stiff & sturdy riding shoes which are suitable, though not ideal, for both jobs.
Click to expand...

Meh... Let 'em look. They are the ones who are looking funny. o_O

I do not ride anywhere without my TCX boots. Totally unsuitable for flying so Mr. Rogers it is...

Typically I am also wearing slacks and a shirt with a breast pocket suitable for carrying my phone. All of which ride nicely under my First Gear jacket and pants. So not only am I changing shoes, I am getting undressed. :eek:
 
In all seriousness, I'm normally doing a significant amount of walking, or even hiking at my destination so I dress accordingly. If I'm flying to a job destination, I may well be wearing dress shoes.
 
bobmrg said:
When I was active I expected any pilot that I flew with to be able to walk home if we had to make an emergency landing. Bare feet would not be acceptable. I was once giving a flight review to a pilot in his dad's Seneca and he was wearing flip-flops....when we had to push the airplane up a slight grassy slope to get out of its parking space things did not go well.

Bob
Click to expand...
I flew once with a certain brand of sandals, and they continuously caught the corner of the rudder pedals. I ditched 'em right quick.
 
denverpilot said:
Cowboy boots are interesting... they can kinda get hung up on things if you don’t pay attention.
Click to expand...
Years ago, I took an accident investigation course. I distinctly remember the instructor talking about this accident.

Screen Shot 2020-02-25 at 09.38.47.png
 
I don’t get how anyone can fly barefoot or in sandals! Flying I’ve gotta be in some sort of closed toed shoe
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top