Flight suit redesign, what would you do?

[pourts]

It sucks that I have two flight suits just hanging in the closet that I can't wear, but what can ya do?

Give them to the Marines in your squadron that probably only have 2 and wear tan from March to October.

 

[BACONATOR]

Flight school feels like prison anyway. :icon_tong

It's a matter of perspective. Try the fleet and rethink that. Although flight school will be pretty awesome with wings the second time around...

 

[Flying Toaster]

I thought long and hard about this: I came to the conclusion that the one flight suit EVERY Naval Aviator would be most comfortable with (excepting the Blue Angels), Is the tailor-made "Blue Angel" bag! They are AWESOME! :icon_smil
BzB :sleep_125

I've still yet to see tighter suits (nor do I desire to) than the T-Clones. Maybe it was just last years team, but I swear part of the screening/selection process involves making sure their BMI is as close to zero as humanly possible.

 

[FlyBoyd]

Flight school feels like prison anyway. :icon_tong

Not even close. Come to Guantanamo Bay and I'll show you the difference.

 

[bobbybrock]

What we don't need is each service coming up with something special. We've wasted enough money on uniforms over the last seven or eight years. The Army is the worst.
We will soon have three uniforms to replace the worthless UCP ( Universal Cammo Pattern) ACU. So I guess we'll be adding a two more cammo patterns to the multicam flight suites we just got. Total waste of money.

 

[Coota0]

What we don't need is each service coming up with something special. We've wasted enough money on uniforms over the last seven or eight years. The Army is the worst.
We will soon have three uniforms to replace the worthless UCP ( Universal Cammo Pattern) ACU. So I guess we'll be adding a two more cammo patterns to the multicam flight suites we just got. Total waste of money.

I agree totally. There is no reason for each service to have a seperate flight suit or why the Navy needs a blue camflauge instead of using the same as the Marines, is the Navy planning on blending with the water? Why does the USAF need a different battle dress than the Army? I don't understand why we didn't adopt MARPAT to begin with instead of that POS ACU, it is obviously superior. Why can't all of the services just use the same battledress, we did for several decades.

To answer the question I would:
1) Move the pen pockets from the forearm up to the shoulder.
2) Move the name tag and service to the left breast and make it the traditional leather
3) Add velcro for a unit patch on the right breast
4) Get rid of the stupid regulation that requires me to blouse my pants when not flying

Of course this is all for the A2CU

 

[Flash]

We switched to the new "Air Force Flight Suit" (it's what we called it) back in the mid-90's. I was a 'fuller cut' through the midsection and had zippers on the sides, like pockets.

They were roundly panned by all of naval aviation and within 2 years we switched back to the 'old flight suits' which I was issued since 2001 and one.

Unfortunately I was lucky enough to get a full set when I went through flight school and it took me quite a while to get 'real' flight suits.

I knew a few USAF guys who insisted that it was General McPeak himself who demanded the redesign so that he could wear them over his blues when he went flying, made for a good story since the 'pockets' served no other purpose and it just fit a bit bigger than it should have. It was easy to pin yet another stupid idea on him and the timing fit. And since he was the moron who made the USAF look like airline pilots for a few years that just added credibility to it. Never found out if it was actually true though.....

 

[Pugs]

We switched to the new "Air Force Flight Suit" (it's what we called it) back in the mid-90's. I was a 'fuller cut' through the midsection and had zippers on the sides, like pockets.

Don't forget it had military creases sewn into the legs too. What an abortion that thing was. I wore my old ones to tissue paper level rather than submit but finally had to. Thank god they were short lived.

 

[H60Gunner]

We switched to the new "Air Force Flight Suit" (it's what we called it) back in the mid-90's. It was a 'fuller cut' through the midsection and had zippers on the sides, like pockets.

They were roundly panned by all of naval aviation and within 2 years we switched back to the 'old flight suits' which I was issued since 2001 and on.

I had a couple of those. Still trying to figure out wtf the zippers on the side were for? Pocket pool?

 

[FlyingOnFumes]

Unfortunately I was lucky enough to get a full set when I went through flight school and it took me quite a while to get 'real' flight suits.

I knew a few USAF guys who insisted that it was General McPeak himself who demanded the redesign so that he could wear them over his blues when he went flying, made for a good story since the 'pockets' served no other purpose and it just fit a bit bigger than it should have. It was easy to pin yet another stupid idea on him and the timing fit. And since he was the moron who made the USAF look like airline pilots for a few years that just added credibility to it. Never found out if it was actually true though.....

Anyone have a pic of one? I couldn't seem to find it online

I had a couple of those. Still trying to figure out wtf the zippers on the side were for? Pocket pool?

The only plausible explanation for the side zipper is if wearing something with pockets underneath the flight suit so that you can access said pockets through the suit. Once again, gay.

This uniform makes me want to puke...
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Gen_Merrill_McPeak_1993.jpg

 

[Flash]

Don't forget it had military creases sewn into the legs too. What an abortion that thing was. I wore my old ones to tissue paper level rather than submit but finally had to. Thank god they were short lived.

Those weren't the standard issue for the Navy, I think those were for the USAF and only a few got them and/or modified them like that, the ones we were issued did not have creases.

I had a couple of those. Still trying to figure out wtf the zippers on the side were for? Pocket pool?

Like FlyingOnFumes and I mention:

....I knew a few USAF guys who insisted that it was General McPeak himself who demanded the redesign so that he could wear them over his blues when he went flying, made for a good story since the 'pockets' served no other purpose and it just fit a bit bigger than it should have.......

.......The only plausible explanation for the side zipper is if wearing something with pockets underneath the flight suit so that you can access said pockets through the suit. Once again, gay.......

......and it is the only somewhat plausible explanation I have heard thus far for that idiotic design......

 

[FlyingOnFumes]

I've still yet to see tighter suits (nor do I desire to) than the T-Clones. Maybe it was just last years team, but I swear part of the screening/selection process involves making sure their BMI is as close to zero as humanly possible.

T-Clones = Thunderbirds?

 

[TheBubba]

The only thing I'd even consider changing is the vendor issue. I've got 5 green... two are flight school issue and fit perfectly. The other three are from a different vendor, same size as my originals per the tag, and I am fvcking swimming in them. Same with my tan bags. The 3 I got in Afghanistan fit perfect... the 4th is from a different vendor and it fits me like a very large potato sack.

Pick a vendor, or standardize the sizes between them.

 

[nittany03]

Up the quality control. I have one bag I was issued as a brand-new stash Ensign which is the old style with brass zipper pulls. It's still going strong almost 8 years later. I got issued the wrong size from the cranky supply lady who used to work gear issue in P-Cola (imagine that) and swapped them out in Meridian. Big mistake. The replacements were the new style with the steel zipper pulls, and they are a veritable forest of frayed seams and Irish pennants.

 

[helolumpy]

Why does the USAF need a different battle dress than the Army? I don't understand why we didn't adopt MARPAT to begin with instead of that POS ACU, it is obviously superior. Why can't all of the services just use the same battledress, we did for several decades.

One significant issue is that all the Services want their own camouflage utility uniform. Once the Marines went their own way, it became popular to have a service specific uniform.
As for why we all don't wear the MARPAT, I have been told (so if this is incorrect, I'm sure a Marine on this forum will correct me) is that the MARPAT has the Eagle, Globe and Anchor emblem incorporated into the pattern. Therefore, the Marines only want Marines and personnel in support of the Marines (Docs, Chaplains, Corpsmen, etc) wearing the uniform. It was conceived as a Marine Corps specific uniform and they do not want just anyone wearing it.

The logical follow up question then is why don't we do a Joint camouflage uniform? Canada did that for a couple of years and went away from it. One big reason is service identity. Navy folks want to look like Navy folks, and so on.
Also if you walk into a Joint Operations Center (JOC) the service identity helps a lot here. For example, during JTF Katrina I walked into the State Emergency Ops Center and I had questions about helo ops. Did I walk over and talk to a guy in a polo shirt and jeans? No, I found a guy wearing a flight suit and made a bee-line for him.
If you walk into the MOC at Fifth Fleet with a question regarding aviation, do you walk over to the guy wearing wash khakis and wearing black shoes? No, you'll look for a flight suit. The same will carry for a Marine, or a SWO. They'll look for someone dressed in their 'tribal gear' since they will probably have the info they need.

As to your point:

Move the name tag and service to the left breast and make it the traditional leather

I like having a squadron specific name tag. They complement the squadron patch you are wearing on the other side in color and usually with a logo. Now, with the new regs that will eliminate squadron specific squadron T-shirts, I feel we must keep the squadron specific name tag to help up retain some of our identity in this era of enforced conformation.