Aviation Uniforms and Customs for the new ENS

[Gatordev]

79-80 issue was two green flight suits. Didnt have more than two until months into my fleet squadron and that was only because they wanted to send new ones for everyone to be embroidered. More would have been nice. But really, how hard is it to throw them in the wash? Hell, in the fleet, guys wore the same flight suit for weeks, just hanging it in locker and walking away. On the boat, flying summers in the IO, had two flight suits. No one seemed to have more than 2 or 3. Kids!!

The actual issue number is "4," but one is an over-sized flight suit if you had/have the older dry suit, so you really only have 3 initially to wear, assuming you even get issued those. As a JO, I then got a tan one once I showed up at my fleet squadron, but only one. From there, it's up to the enterprising aviator to start collecting more while not playing the PR game of "you have to turn one in for every one issued."

 

[jollygreen07]

79-80 issue was two green flight suits. Didnt have more than two until months into my fleet squadron and that was only because they wanted to send new ones for everyone to be embroidered. More would have been nice. But really, how hard is it to throw them in the wash? Hell, in the fleet, guys wore the same flight suit for weeks, just hanging it in locker and walking away. On the boat, flying summers in the IO, had two flight suits. No one seemed to have more than 2 or 3. Kids!!

 

[Pags]

79-80 issue was two green flight suits. Didnt have more than two until months into my fleet squadron and that was only because they wanted to send new ones for everyone to be embroidered. More would have been nice. But really, how hard is it to throw them in the wash? Hell, in the fleet, guys wore the same flight suit for weeks, just hanging it in locker and walking away. On the boat, flying summers in the IO, had two flight suits. No one seemed to have more than 2 or 3. Kids!!

Obviously written by someone who flew at higher altitudes and didn't have to endure 6+hr flights at 500' or 12hrs of ground turns in 50deg C. After a day like that there's no "just hang it in the locker."

 

[taxi1]

...those issued black flight boots

Side story...I wore those same issued black flight boots my entire flying career. Had them resoled multiple times, insoles in them, couple of repairs by a cobbler.
They had little cut marks on the toes where I had held a knife edge on them to strip the outer materials of fronds so we could make rope during survival training. Ahhh, Eglin.

Had brown ones too, but no sentimental attached to them.

I bought a custom helmet at some point, that thing fit beyond perfectly. Like it wasn’t even there.

At some point I was able to get custom sized flight suits, being of the tall persuasion. I remember that being a glorious day.

I flew twice a day almost all the way through flight school. Forget how many suits we were issued in 1985, but they were ridden hard and put up sweaty, I guarantee that.

 

[Birdbrain]

Side story...I wore those same issued black flight boots my entire flying career. Had them resoled multiple times, insoles in them, couple of repairs by a cobbler.

I flew twice a day almost all the way through flight school. Forget how many suits we were issued in 1985, but they were ridden hard and put up sweaty, I guarantee that.

The classic Cold War black ones with the heel? That's pretty cool. I had no idea you could resole them. I thought once the soles wore through you had to turn them in and get a new pair.

Flying twice a day in flight school sounds like a dream come true.

 

[RandomGoat1248]

Flying twice a day in flight school sounds like a dream come true.

This.

It is funny seeing old guys talk on here or talking to sim instructors about their time in flight school. It is amazing how much it has changed.

 

[HSMPBR]

This.

It is funny seeing old guys talk on here or talking to sim instructors about their time in flight school. It is amazing how much it has changed.

It is amazing how much our resources have dwindled. JP5 and T-6 tires aren’t that expensive, but goodness if admirals don’t have to move mountains to get them.

 

[nittany03]

Flying twice a day in flight school sounds like a dream come true.

Back in 06 timeframe, there was a syllabus sequencing screwup at one of the Meridian squadrons, and the ACM IPs were getting triple-pumped to get studs out the door and winged.

Rumor had it one IP ended up hard down with back issues from flying like 3.3 of BFM a day.

 

[Waveoff]

Because some held these jobs for over 20 years and they think they know everything.


So if I go maritime I can wear the Mister Rogers vest?

If you go maritime, get the nice gucci Massif jacket. They wouldn't issue me a vest, only people that have them are pilots from corpus. Then again, money must have run out for supply because I myself don't have the massif yet and am stuck wearing the shitty CWU-cardboard36 in the tube.

 

[taxi1]

Flying twice a day in flight school sounds like a dream come true.

It breaks my heart a little to read about how long it takes for current students to make it through the pipeline. I hit my fleet squadron as an ensign (E2 pipeline). That's the way it should be.

 

[wlawr005]

The real shame are the community transition pilots who'll be up for their DH board in the FRS.

 

[RandomGoat1248]

It breaks my heart a little to read about how long it takes for current students to make it through the pipeline. I hit my fleet squadron as an ensign (E2 pipeline). That's the way it should be.

As an E2/C2 stud I will be lucky to get to wings and get to the FRS by the time I am an LT. It is absolute BS that flight school takes this long.

 

[Dontcallmegump]

As an E2/C2 stud I will be lucky to get to wings and get to the FRS by the time I am an LT. It is absolute BS that flight school takes this long.

Even bound for maritime I won't make it to a fleet squadron until about 3 years and 9 months commissioned at the current pace and projections.

Hurry up and wait...

 

[wink]

Obviously written by someone who flew at higher altitudes and didn't have to endure 6+hr flights at 500' or 12hrs of ground turns in 50deg C. After a day like that there's no "just hang it in the locker."

But you do have a washing machine, right? Sadly, I understand hours are way down. I expect most of you don't fly every day and have most weekends off. You even get to wear them home, something we didn't. Just wash the damned things more often if needed. Not like you are beating it on the rocks at the river side.

 

[Pags]

But you do have a washing machine, right? Sadly, I understand hours are way down. I expect most of you don't fly every day and have most weekends off. You even get to wear them home, something we didn't. Just wash the damned things more often if needed. Not like you are beating it on the rocks at the river side.

When I was in Bahrain I did have access to a washing machine because I lived in a hotel that I'm pretty sure was carved from one giant block of marble (they added the washing machines in after they finished carving I assume because the washers weren't made of marble). And I did wash my flightsuits every day I flew because theyd get soaked through from top to bottom. I'm told that hotseating from me was unpleasant; both hot and wet.

But on the boat it's much harder to come across a working washing machine that you're allowed to wash your bag in. And the ship only does uniform laundry service so often. So having only a few bags and flying around in the heat is nasty.

I dont know what it was like for guys in IRQ or AFG but I'm guessing it was suckier than Bahrain and therefore sweatier and smellier.

So, in conclusion, flying around low in the heat is dirty, sweaty, and nasty. Having a few more bags to stretch out the time between laundry days would've been nice. I also wish that two piece flightsuits and combat shirts had been a thing when I was flying in that heat. I only flew with them CONUS but they were a welcome respite to the heat.