Ball caps when flying

[TooLow]

I'd say 9 times out of ten the "ball cap" is hiding something shiny and hairless. There was a guy at my old airline who was so paranoid about his bald head he wore his uniform hat right into the cockpit before stealthily changing into his ball cap. Thing was, he was so good at it I never actually saw him do it. It was like a magic act...one second a uniform hat...the next, presto..a ball cap!

When I think of some of the weird characters I've come across in this business...like the guy who always wore a bullet proof vest under his pilot shirt, or the guy who started crying in front of the boss 'cause his wife left him...on a flight he was flying! Ok, better stop.

Happy flying!

 

[Jack Mehoff]

While we are on the subject...

I remember well a Mesa EMB CA in Charlotte several years ago. He had the interesting habit of never removing his hat... Ever. He may have slept in it. When assuming his position on the flight deck, he would put his David Clarks on right over that uniform hat WWII bomber pilot style. I am not one to mock a fashion statement, but I thought that might be a little over the top.

There is a US Airways guy in my crashpad who is much the same way. Blue uniform hat (which is now optional an looks goofy with the new "funeral director black" uniforms) that stays on his head HOURS post crashpad arrival. I have seen him sitting at the common computer sans uniform shirt, no shoes, uniform pants and still having that hat on his head. Maybe he forgets about it...

Tell Bob to take his silly hat off.

 

[LowlyPropCapt]

what is the deal with gloves? I have luckily never flown with anybody who wore gloves. now that is gay

Piedmont has one. He thinks he is from another planet. Really. I am not kidding.

 

[densoo]

Had a operations officer in our squadron many years ago. Takes a couple of weeks to inprocess, get settled in. Full head of hair. First time he comes into fly he walks in completely bald. Hey, what happened to you! Couldn't help blurting out. Wore a rug when he wasn't flying. Couldn't fly with it because AF regs prohibited it due to it being flammable. After a while we got used to it. If he had hair, he wasn't flying. He he didn't, he was. Same guy who flew the C-123 in Vietnam dropping agent orange. Kept a photo in a frame up on the wall of the plane doing its business. Guys would use a black grease marker and write on the picture frame glass little people under the cloud of agent orange yelling "ahhh, it burns, it burns!" He'd wipe it away, but it would always come back. Drove him nuts.

 

[captfred]

I have worn a baseball cap for 30 years or more in the cockpit. The hair is thinning a little but still have plenty.

 

[PCL_128]

what is the deal with gloves? I have luckily never flown with anybody who wore gloves. now that is gay

We have a guy at AirTran that wears gloves for takeoff and landing. He's actually a pretty good guy, but I don't understand the gloves. Weird.

 

[semperfido]

We have a guy at AirTran that wears gloves for takeoff and landing. He's actually a pretty good guy, but I don't understand the gloves. Weird.

Gloves? Probably one of those neurotic germ a phobes. Did you ever ask " What's up with those gloves?" I think he would be hounded and pimped to death where I work. Had a new guy start with the baseball cap and he too was schooled on that. Same with the cowboy, harley buckle and cowboy, engineer boots. All falls under the same category. "Dork Wear". Wear on the street at home, but not at work. No "McCloud" impersonators.

 

[jonjuan]

We have a guy at AirTran that wears gloves for takeoff and landing. He's actually a pretty good guy, but I don't understand the gloves. Weird.

Are they the cage-fighting kind with the fingers cut off?

 

[Chubaka]

I bet they are the Michael Jackson kind with the fingers cut out. Where's my Tito? Heeeee..........Heeeeeeeeeeeee................

 

[Chubaka]

Or what about the 24 hours of Lemans official racing gloves. The ones with all the holes in the back for extra ventilation. The only thing missing is a helmet.

 

[exeagle]

FWIW, Last captain I flew with wore one the entire time...including the leg with a Fed in the jumpseat....

 

[densoo]

The lap napkin. Uses it for 12 legs in 4 days, each time puts it into his flight kit, which then contaminates the flight kit, which doesn't have a napkin to protect it. After a couple of years of flying there are more germs in that flight kit than there will every be on the pants that get drycleaned once in awhile.

 

[Paul R. Smith]

For those that are questioning the ability to don the mask with a ball cap on....Lemme ask how easy is it to don the mask wearing glasses? I wear sunglasses and I always take them off before I put the mask on. I think I tried to put it on one time with sunglasses still on and boy that hurt and it nearly bent my glasses.

Ballcaps are a great way to keep the sun glare out of your eyes. Ask anybody who plays baseball or flies an airplane.

 

[densoo]

For those that are questioning the ability to don the mask with a ball cap on....Lemme ask how easy is it to don the mask wearing glasses? I wear sunglasses and I always take them off before I put the mask on. I think I tried to put it on one time with sunglasses still on and boy that hurt and it nearly bent my glasses.

With multiple 737 types in the fleet, there are also multiple mask types. Some are roomier than others, some have the eye mask incorporated into the O2 mask, others have separate eye goggles. Each type fits over glasses, but it takes doing it a few times to figure exactly how to do it without jamming the glasses into your face. Taking the mask off is more of an issue than putting it on as the mask inevitably catches on the frames.

 

[instructordude]

FWIW, Last captain I flew with wore one the entire time...including the leg with a Fed in the jumpseat....

What an idiot. He is lucky the Fed didn't violate him.