Warbird Pilot Flight Suit Suggestions

[Taylor Stevenson]

I like the racing boots I got. Pretty affordable and made by BridgeMoto. I also like the thin rubber soles as they allow you to feel the aircraft through the rudder pedals more than the clunkier military style boots. I'm more concerned about fire protection than hoofing it several miles out of the bush. G&B makes an ipad/iphone friendly set of nomex gloves. They work OK. I've also used a set of thin leather flying gloves that work on those screens.

[Dave Hadfield]

Taylor is right, but he has a higher tolerance for heat than I have. (I watched him when we were each at IAG in 2018!) Airshow ramps are often 95F, with 95% humidity. Wearing nomex in that situation is for me very uncomfortable. And British aeroplanes are often very hot inside when the hood is closed.

A solution is to change out of the flight suit as soon as possible after landing, but since you still need to represent your organization it should be into a branded shirt with a name tag, and a matching hat. Like here, at OSH: https://youtu.be/SRjiw-U0sfg

Gloves should be light-colored, or else your wingmen can't see your hand signals.

Shoes are very important with all taildraggers. They should be narrower than most running shoes sold these days, and without a backward-projecting heel (which tends to bind when you need to move the rudder quickly, like on roll-out).

Dave

[Taylor Stevenson]

Dave, you've got to remember that I'm from Texas, so it comes naturally I agree with you though, the first thing I do is shed my "bag" after flying. Especially when flying TORA, considering our flight suits are black I'll put it back one when walking the crowd line though. The kids eat it up!

[daveymac82c]

Such valuable input from all of you! Thank you!

I really appreciate it!

Cheers,

David McIntosh
Vancouver, BC

[Dave Hadfield]

Hah! You're from Texas, and I'm from...

[jdeters79]

Wow - pretty sobering read.

https://midwestflyer.com/?p=12924

Tom P.

Chuck spoke to our CAF unit after his accident. As Taylor pointed out, Chuck's story is a sobering reminder of the importance of all aspects of wearing the right gear. Lack of a succificent layer underneath resulted in severe burns to his arms and legs. Non-flight rated shoes resulted in severe burns to his feet. Even with a helmet and visor, he suffered severe burns to his face.

In addition to reading the Midwest Flyer article wendovertom shared, you can hear Chuck tell his story here:
https://castbox.fm/vb/262100502

I have heeded much of Chuck's advice resulting from his experience both in my day job and flying with the CAF. Hopefully others will as well.

Jordan

[Taylor Stevenson]

Jordan,

Thanks for sharing that link. Very powerful listening to it firsthand. It should be required reading/listening for all warbird operators.