Flight Suit Questions

[Guest AirGuardian]

Pen flap is cumbersome at times, but if it is the inner left thigh pocket you're talking about than watch out for the fighter guys, they have a thing for reaching down there and yanking on things. They'll rip it completely off leaving a hole many times. As a strat lifter, we keep our hands off each other, especially down there. Just a little ribbing and advice fast burners. Have fun wrestling with each other...

[Toro]

Originally posted by AirGuardian:

Pen flap is cumbersome at times, but if it is the inner left thigh pocket you're talking about than watch out for the fighter guys, they have a thing for reaching down there and yanking on things.

I made the mistake of having one on when I showed up at the NAS Oceana O'Club. It wasn't a frisky hand, but a very sharp knife held by a very drunk pilot that tore it off. Fortunately, the only mishap from that incident was a small hole in the leg of my flight suit...

[Guest fosterbeer]

When I took my most recent IFC1 at MacDill AFB, I was in the waiting room for quite a bit. Being the social person I am, I struck up a conversation with the guy sitting next to me who was in a flight suit. Assuming he was a pilot, I chatted with him for a while, but when I asked him about UPT and he told me he wasn't a pilot. His name was called up right after that so I never found out what he was. I assumed he must be a Nav or ABM if he was in a flight suit.

So I take some tests, do some labs, come back and wait some more. I'm sitting next to different person this time, who also happens to be wearing a flight suit. Again, I struck up a conversation and asked he was a Nav, Pilot, or ABM. He was none of the above. This time I glanced at his name tag and he was a TSGT.

Before I could ask him what he did, I was called up and went back to meet with the flight doc. I was in the exam room and the flight doc walks in with - you guessed it - a flight suit on.

As a civilian, I really do not have much knowledge of military procedures or policies. I had always assumed that Pilots, Navs, and ABMs wore flight suits, but apparently this is not the case.

Who is allowed to wear a flight suit?

[Guest jvdc]

Anybody whose job requires flying or the possibility of flying in a plane.

As far as your question concerning the TSgt, he/she could have been a number of things. Many of the flight crew on a JSTARS or AWACS are enlisted. You have radar technicians, intel, communications specialists, flight engineers, etc. On cargo jets you have loadmasters...enlisted and wearing a flightsuit. On the -130 gunship, you have the folks operating the weapons. You may also have flying crew chiefs who are also enlisted. A flightdoc wears a bag because he is a "flight" doc, and as such is eligible for flying status in order to fully understand flight physiological stuff.

[HerkDerka]

There are some "Flying Status" jobs that don't really fly i.e. Aerospace Physiologists. These people wear flight suits even though the extent of their flying duties consist of an orientation ride once every six months and a chamber flight every week. Regarding the second post, he's right. Anyone who works on a plane wears a flight suit. Pilots, Navs, ABMs, enlisted AWACS and JSTARS, flight engineers, loadmasters, radio technicians, flight nurses, flight surgeons, also spec ops guys wear them in tactical environments. Many many more!

PD

[Guest KC10Boomer]

Considering you were at Macdill, the TSgt you saw was probably a 135 boomer, or a "Flight mechanic" on the C-37 (G5). Don't be so shocked next time, there are alot of things in the military that a civilian would do a double take about. The DUI cop car comes to mind. Might as well get used to the differences

[Guest blove_maxq]

Also, just to let you know, Space and Missile Operators wear flight suits. Not that I agree with that, but many Officers and Enlisted in Air Force Space Command wear the bags. When I first arrived at Vandenberg, I thought I was surrounded by pilots. Boy was I wrong.

[Toro]

If it was a Friday, it could have been just about anybody in a fighter squadron. On Fridays, we let our life support and intel troops wear a bag.

[Guest Chuck Sargent]

If it was MacDill, it could have been an aeromed. They have a whole squadron there.

I predict it will only be a matter of time before the recruiters get flight suits, too. They already wear leather jackets.

[Guest tentoad]

If you have a winner flight suit defuzz technique please let me know.

Thanks

[Tone deaf]

This sounds weird, but works pretty well. Take a cheap old Bic throwaway razor and shave it. It will remove most of the fuzz; however, you have to get the fuzz out from between the blade and the blade holder to keep it going. I've also taken a pocketknife blade and if you hold it at the right angle, you can get the fuzz off without slicing the fabric.

[Guest KC10Boomer]

Probably common sense, but if any of you are using fabric softener, stop. Apart from not destroying the nomex it cut down on my fuzz (sts) quite a bit

[GW]

Quote from the bottle of Downy Fabric Softener I have in my laundry room:

"Warning: Do not use this product on children's sleepware or garments labled as flame resistant as it may reduce flame resistance."

So basicly if your washing your flight suits with fabric softener and then leting your kids sleep in said flight suit, your gonna die...

GW

[Guest NimitsTexan]

Wearing my flightsuit during IFT the other day, while preflighting the T-41 I somehow got oil all down one side. I have tried washing as well as soaking in water with lots of dish soaps etc, and no joy so far. Anyone have any suggestions. At the moment it looks sort of like a camoflauged flightsuit.

[Guest Metalhead]

FastOrange or GoJo hand-cleaner. Seriously man, give it a try.

After that, brake cleaner (not carb cleaner) or acetone. No guarentees these chems won't eat the velcro or threads though. -- However if they remove the pills, give us a shout!

[Guest av8tor55]

Also give a product called Oil Eater a try, worked on all of the oil stains I've ever had. You should be able to find it at most home improvement stores.

[Toro]

Concur with the vote to turn it in, but if you can't get a new one, try a cleaning product called 'Goof Off'. I've never tried it on oil, but it takes damn near every other type of stain out of fabric.

[Mambo]

In Saudi we used to pour a can of Coke in the wash to get hydraulic fluid and oil out of our DCU's. Worked really well.

[Guest nickythefish]

Are you supposed to keep that little pouch with the white cord (on the inside left leg) attached to your flight suit for UPT?

Someone told me that you rip it off.

Please confirm!

Thanks, The Fish

[Flare]

Do you want heavies or fighters?

Heavies=leave it on.

Fighters=tear it off.

[Toro]

The fighters tear it off because you've got that pouch on your g-suit (which the heavy guys don't wear).

[C17Driver]

Some heavy drivers put a knife or some type of leatherman in that pocket...

[ 23. October 2004, 23:09: Message edited by: C17Driver ]

[Ram]

When we got our bags here at SPS, the nice fab shop ladies asked us if we wanted them removed.

The pencil flap, that is. We had to cut the knife flap off ourselves, but it's not difficult.

[Guest nickythefish]

So it sounds like, at least for UPT, that little pouch on the left leg w/the white cord in it serves no purpose.

Does it actually have a specific purpose or is it just for storing miscellaneous items as stated above?

[ClearedHot]

Originally posted by nickyTHEfish:

So it sounds like, at least for UPT, that little pouch on the left leg w/the white cord in it serves no purpose.

Does it actually have a specific purpose or is it just for storing miscellaneous items as stated above?

It is actually made to hold a survival knife. I think new flight suits still come with a small piece of thin white nylon cord in that pocket. Get rid of it, your G-suit has a purpose built pocket. If you go to heavies, as a new co-pilot they won't trust you to hold a knife anyways.