Charles Cluck liked to fly his Bonanza wearing a kilt and cowboy boots. Neither choice particularly bothered me, but the mix surely violated every style taboo on the planet, as well as a few legal codes in Third World countries.
But I’m not one to judge others’ wardrobe choices.
What did bother me a little bit, however, was Cluck — while so dressed — once trash talked some other Bonanza drivers for wearing military-surplus flight suits. That really got Cluck’s goat for some reason, but I remember thinking, “what’s the harm, if it makes them happy?”
Followed closely by thinking, “now wait a minute…is a man who flies in a kilt and cowboy boots really allowed to take issue with anyone else’s wardrobe?”
Not too long after that, I was at one of the annual gatherings of owners, pilots, and lovers of Ercoupes, and was chatting with a pilot who flew down from Canada. She was wearing a flight suit.
I don’t recall how it came up, but she told me she used to occasionally see GA pilots in flight suits, and think, “Oh, there goes another pretender.” At least, she thought that until she tried one out herself and became a believer.
“It’s so comfortable,” she told me. “I don’t get oil on my clothes, oh… and the pockets! The pockets!”
When I was training flight instructors, the break-time conversation one day turned to the company uniform, a dark blue polo with the company’s simple three-letter logo that often led to our staff and students being mistaken for employees if they went into a certain large electronics retailer.
My question to them was: If it was your call to make, would you stick with the polos or switch to airline shirts with epaulets?
One ex-military sort vetoed both saying, “You can’t beat comfy green pajamas.”
And very quickly the rest of them were on board, saying we should add in Top Gun-style patches for each benchmark: First solo, first cross country, private ticket, instrument rating, and so on up the ladder.
And yet, you rarely see GA pilots — outside of airshow performers — wearing flight suits.
My hangar neighbor (and General Aviation News photographer) Lisa F. Bentson was given a flight suit by a member of her Ninety-Nines chapter early in her flight training and has been sold on them ever since. Of course, Lisa is blessed with a complete disregard for what other people think about her. She goes through life just as she is, take it or leave it.
And I mention that not because she doesn’t totally rock her flight suits, but because there seems to be some subtle prejudice against flight suits in GA flying. Maybe some pilots don’t feel we’ve earned the right, not flying combat jets and all.
Or maybe it’s something else. I’m not sure what it is, because, arguably, flight suits make sense for any kind of pilot.
I freely admit that I’ve always admired the look — as, I suspect, many pilots secretly do. At least I admire the look when the look looks the way it should.
My first encounter with a flight suit was when I was a 21-year-old pilot with the Civil Air Patrol and we were given the option of buying “official” CAP Nomex flight suits. Having visions of looking like Sam Shepard’s portrayal of Chuck Yeager in the movie “The Right Stuff,” I plunked down my money and anxiously awaited delivery.
I was sorely disappointed. The crotch was almost at my knee, the legs were too short, the arms were too long, it was tight in the stomach, loose at the chest, it was hot, and it was the most hideous shade of royal blue you’ve ever seen. Needless to say, I didn’t much resemble the fictitious Yeager. I don’t think I flew in it more than a time or two.
Fast forward 40 years, and now I’m working on adding an A&P certificate to my collection of FAA plastic. After a freezing day (literally) in the maintenance hangar, I picked up some insulated mechanic coveralls, pretty much a flight suit, just with fewer zippers.
After a post-maintenance test flight wearing the same coveralls, I started toying with giving the flight suit a second look. But I worried about how I’d… you know… look and how people would judge me.
I asked my flight-suit-bedecked neighbor for her thoughts. She didn’t understand the problem, so I told her I was concerned about how I’d look to other pilots jumping out of an Ecroupe dressed like a fighter pilot.
“Says the man who wears flight pants and NASCAR air-race hero shirts with 10,000 logos,” she snorted.
Thus validated or shamed, depending on your point of view, I went shopping.
Flight suits on the U.S. market come only in a few colors. There is the mil-spec sage green, of course. The SWAT team black. The I-just-escaped-from-the-joint orange. And then desert tan and navy blue. I went with the blue to match my airplane, and after agonizing over whether to take a chance on a large or XL, I ordered one.
Unlike my first flight suit, this one fits me like it was tailored. The crotch is where it belongs, the cuffs hit my wrists and ankles like proper clothing, and the main body has just the right — but not too much — room.
I test flew the flight suit a couple of times, and quickly fell in love with its comfort and convenience. It’s a little darker blue than I’d like, so there will be no wearing it in the summer, and I found it a little plain compared to my NASCAR air-race hero look, so shooting for that and the lost Shepard/Yeager look of my youth, I sewed on some of the aviation patches I’ve accumulated over the years.
What do I like best about the Yeager suit? I’m never un-tucked. My airplane is one of those that you literally climb in and out of. There’s no door in the traditional sense, it truly is a cock “pit.” Before the flight suit, when we landed somewhere as a flight of two, Lisa popped out of her like-kind airplane like some sort of red, green, or tan Jane-in-the-box and was on the ground securing her airplane in two seconds flat.
Me? I had to stand on the seat and re-assemble my wardrobe, quickly tucking my shirt back in to avoid… well, you know. Hey, just because I’m working on an A&P doesn’t mean I’m going to become a plumber anytime soon. So the one piece nature of the suit is my favorite part, closely followed by the pockets.
My aforementioned cockpit is also a small ecosystem, without much storage. I love the fact that I’ve got a ton of pockets, all easily reachable in flight.
Next, old airplanes are like camels, spitting at you when you walk by, and as airplanes spit black oil, I like the fact that I’ve ruined fewer clothes since I started wearing the flight suit.
And lastly… well, it’s vain, but I think I look good in the suit — even though I sometimes get a strange looks from pilots wearing Best Buy polos or epaulet shirts when I hop out of my humble Ercoupe and swagger into an FBO looking not-quite-like Yeager. But I’m comfortable. And happy.
And at least I’m not wearing a kilt and cowboy boots.
That was an interesting commentary on GA Pilots wearing flight suits. Personally, I don’t care one way or the other. Wear what you are comfortable in as long as it is safe for flight ops.
I do have an interesting story though regarding Flight Suits and the trouble they sometimes cause. I’m from the Van Nuys Airport area. KVNY. For many years there was a restaurant / bar at the South East Corner of the airport property known as ‘The Sky trails.’ We had a private ‘Pilot’s’ table’ in the main room of the restaurant, that was open to all pilots, but mainly inhabited by regulars, including many military pilots. At that time, back in the 1970’s and ’80’s there was a large Air National Guard base at Van Nuys, At this point in time that I am referring to, it was a C130 Base and pretty active during The Reagan years. One evening, a new guy we didn’t know sat down at our table and start bragging about flying. He had no idea who the other pilots around the table were. Military, air carrier, CFI’s and so on. A friend came in a bit later wearing a flight suit with no insignia at all on it. Most of us knew him well and knew why he was dressed like that. He had just landed one of those C130H’s after a long mission to somewhere we were never at. He was a Lt. Colonel and the then current Base Commander as well. He’s a very easy going low key kind of guy. He sat down next to a close friend who was the Chief Pilot for a well known Corporation. I’m not using names because some of these people are still alive and friends of mine.
Well, it didn’t take long after he sat down wearing that flight suit, and this new guy at the table, sitting nearly across from him, starting ragging on him for being a civilian pilot wearing a flight suit. He just went on and on and the Colonel never said a word. Finally, his friend sitting next to him had had enough of it. Without saying anything, he stood up, walked around the table to where this new guy was sitting, grabbed his collar and his belt, literally lifted him out of his chair, and carried him to the front swinging doors of the Sky Trails. He pushed the doors open with the guy’s head and then threw him out into the parking lot. Then he came back in and sat down and we all went back to our drinks and usual banter. Never mentioned the guy.
We never saw that guy again.
My flight suit is a declaration to myself that I am intending to take the task at hand seriously, fly with a professional mindset (not for money – just the mindset) and not be distracted by external factors.
It is also now so covered with patches of things I have done and flights and places I have made that it can almost stand on its own two feet. It is a backup to my written logbook.
You can laugh behind my back – or to my face – all you want.
I used some old flight suits during my building process and definitely wore out a few, better than my clothes, I guess.
On my first flight in my experimental Midget Mustang which I, a liberal arts major, built I wore two of my old Navy nomex flight suits, for the nomex protection…..I had a homebuilt acft, with a never run before experimental engine, an O-29G converted to a D, and an experimental prop…seemed like an appropriate choice for double protection.
Nowadays I wear shorts and a t shirt during spring summer and heavy cotton pants and long sleeve shirt and maybe my Navy flight jacket from back in the day….I generally don’t like wearing that for the feeling of perhaps unwanted attention. I use my old nomex flight gloves during cold wx and upgraded to smart screen capable nomex gloves which work about half the time…the key I have learned is to wet/lick the glove finger prior to use on screen, that seems to work better. I almost never wear synthetic shirts, plastic melts….I often feel pretty vulnerable in my shorts and t shirt but what to do?
“There is a huge pilot shortage right now.” And always will be as long as the cost of flying is what it is. IMO.
No one has an issue with GA wearing flight suits. Everyone has an issue with GA acting like fighter pilots while they’re wearing a flight suit. This is no different than all the ‘tacticool’ special forces wannabe dudes walking around decked in 5.11 and Velcro talking about all the stuff “they can’t talk about”.
I am an Australian that wears a T shirt and shorts and jeans in winter when flying . But when purchasing an aircraft in San Antonio the demonstrator pilot had a 10 gal hat on ,massive belt buckle and weapon on the hip and cowboy boots ,and a shirt with tassels all over it . YES he had spurs on but had a hinge on them so they would flip up so he could put his heals on the floor. The spurs were a work of art. The headset went on and then the hat over the top. All this was in a Mooney .
Kind of interesting how the author never once mentioned the benefits of Nomex for when you crash.
“There seems to be some subtle prejudice against flight suits in GA flying….”
As an active GA pilot, I wear whatever is appropriate for the weather and terrain I’m flying over.
I’m also a retired USAF fighter (F-15C) and bomber (B-1B) pilot. I have no issues with civilian GA pilots wearing military-style flight suits, as long as they are sans military rank or anything else that hints at an attempt at ‘stolen valor’.
I do admit to being a bit irked at a fly-in where a rather portly gent was wearing a current version of the USAF desert flight suit (tan), with one of my squadron patches in it. The term “nomex beach ball” comes to mind.
Now, as far as the A-2 leather jacket goes….
My experience with flight suits was mostly during the six years I was in CAP. I thought it was required uniform and bought one of the green ones. Despite the ….um…. ‘wider’ size around the middle, it looked okay. Getting in and out of it was awkward. When I did my Mission Pilot check ride, we took a photo: I was flanked by a former Air Force pilot with 4000 hrs in F-111s; to my right was a Navy pilot who flew A-6s and A-7s from carriers. Both had on the dark blue polo and gray pants. I looked like a poser. Another time we were doing a Search Training Mission and I was to be PIC. I was wearing the green flight suit, and a couple Air Force pilots monitoring the exercise commented to the Squadron Commander that I could not wear the flight suit. I thought it was because my shape in it made me look a bit like an avocado; no, my mustache was too long for ‘regulations’. I’ve worn the polo and gray pants ever since. I also do a lot of XC flights for Pilots N Paws. Standard uniform: light blue polo with PnP logo, jeans, and comfy shoes. Keeping it simple.
I worn flight suit while in the Army. Then in the police department. The nice thing about them was they were given to me as part of my job. Once in the civilian world, I had to pay for my own. The nomex suits required treatment after so many washing. Plus, I kept getting bigger in the wrong way. I’d love to have one now, but I can’t justify the cost.
Civilian flight suits should be created and categorized and colored.
For civilians that should either be white or gray or green or a combination of any of those. And there should absolutely be an American version of wings for general aviation pilots.
There is a huge pilot shortage right now. It’s the same thing in the federal and state and local governments. People don’t want to be pilots just like they don’t want to work in the government because it’s not cool right now.
There’s a very easy opportunity here to make becoming a pilot cool and that’s creating a genre of uniform that looks just as cool as a military pilot flight suit would look. And yes there should be things like pins and patches so that whenever you get a new item on your ticket you can display that on your flight suit as in private pilot light sport pilot instrument rated pilot tail wheel pilot amphibian pilot whatever your mission is there should be something to designate that.
And what saddens me is that in none of these comments is anybody offered up any solutions for the questions they just gone on to give anecdotal details of what they like some of them not even on topic.
Let’s make general aviation the most sought after thing that people want to participate in. Make it cool design some awesome flight suits for us.
I wore flight suits 25 years in the USAF flying fighters (F-4s, F-111s and F-16s) and have never heard of a two piece flight suit.
Just shows you can learn something every day if you don’t know too much already.
Good article. Maybe I’ll start wearing some of my surplus flight suits flying my Cub or RV-8.
They’re just hanging there in my basement.
I’m somewhere in between. Being a small town country boy, jeans and boots are a natural, however, if of the cowboy variety the boots have to be high quality ones with riding heels and pegged arches. Not cheapies with block heels and glued arches. For decades pilots would say there was no way I could fly my Pitts in boots. With just short of 7,500 hours in type, I disagree. Heel angle is perfect, arch is just right and they’re narrow.
As for flight suits, I’m afraid I lean towards not wearing them but I never go cross country without one because of the pockets. Leg pockets hold survival goodies, the rest are flight-required stuff.
Basically, I don’t care what folks wear when they fly as long as they’re wearing something. However, part of my school’s student check-in form has them reading a PDF on the shoe requirements for small cockpits and most sneakers don’t work (bad heels and too wide).
bd
I learned to fly in the family J-3. My dad a WWII B-24 pilot and USAF IP taught me to fly. My always wearing Cowboy boots drove him nuts. Heel brakes were easier with the boot heels!
In my Air Force days, I found that flight suits were the hottest and coldest item to wear depending on season. Then there is the toileting issue, having to peel down to do so. Now that they have the 2 piece option, I would have gone to it. Much more convient to pull the top off than unzipping the suit and having to tie it together arould ones waist with the resulting bulk and snag hazzard. I’m not against pockets and nomex, and there are jobs where coveralls are better for, but separate pieces for me.
Well if you really want to wear one might as well buy a nomex one and be as miserable on a 95 degree day as we were in the USAF. At least you’ll have a little fire protection . Oh yes , don’t forget the nomex gloves too. Otherwise not much point IMO unless you like pockets and long zippers
Extremely comfortable going “commando”
I know of a Bonanza pilot who regularly flies on hot summer days in nothing more than his Sponge Bob boxer shorts. I personally do not care what he wears (or doesn’t) and give him credit for getting out there and flying no matter what the temperature.
Fighter pilots are a MINORITY of military aircrew that wear flight suits. You disparage the rest of us that wear them yet have nothing to do with fighter aircraft
All military aircrew wear Nomex flight uniforms. US Army crews wear 2-piece sets that are somewhat of a throwback to the Vietnam era 2-piece flight suits. Wherever I was deployed, we always had USAF crews trying to trade us tan 1-piece suits for our 2-piece (yes – Nomex) flight suits. Not a “fighter pilot” thing. It’s required PPE for all DoD flight personnel. We eventually convinced the Army to purchase Nomex coveralls for our groundcrew, as well (to include refuelers and armament techs). Fires can occur on the ground, too. Those groundcrew are critical team members without which we couldn’t do our jobs and they’re exposed to that fire hazard anytime they’re in the vicinity of a running aircraft especially in a hot refuel/rearm pit. As for GA use…if it makes sense, by your comfort or your safety, then wear it if you’d like. I can say this one thing…getting out of an aircraft in a hurry (survival) is a lot easier in something that doesn’t snag on every single protrusion in the cockpit. Even more so when you’re talking about an AVGAS powered bird. We had a miniscule amount of time to egress in JP8 fueled aircraft. That translates to almost no time in a gasoline fueled platform.
When I was a helicopter crewman in “Vietnam” we had two types of flight suits, one was a 2 piece (shirt and pants) the other was a one piece. Both were comfortable but I liked the 2 piece better because of the ease of use. I think, that if you are comfortable wearing a flight suit or not it really doesn’t matter to others, because you need to be as comfortable as possible while flying. There is nothing worse than having to keep adjusting what you have on while flying and focus on the art of flying itself. A comfort pilot hopefully will be a better pilot in the end, and that is the most important part of flying, and why “worry” about what others may or may not think. They are not you, beside how you look to other does not make you a better or worse pilot !
I’m all for the flight suits! They are just aviation coveralls. I wore them for years flying in the Arctic. They saved my clothes. Now for the cowboy boots. I love them and fly my 787 dreamliner wearing them all the time! Great article! Enjoy your flight suit!
Doug
You’re a terrific writer. Imagine: writing a wonderful essay about buying and wearing an adult onesie. I still wear regular clothes when flying. But I confess that the last time I was in Ace Hardware, I looked closely at the overalls and thought how comfortable they’d be.