CFI Uniforms

[WMU_Drew]

Quick poll...what do you wear for your uniforms or what do your instructors wear for thier uniforms?

I know this has probably been discussed before but we are trying to fight the man and change our policy so please help us and let us know.

 

[BoDEAN]

Trying to get Tommy G to change the uniform policy? heh. Good Luck

 

[8HourPilot]

I dont think that Senior G is behind this one fella.

 

[bobbysamd]

Uniforms

At your competitor Riddle men wore nice pants, nice shirts and a tie year-round. The women wore nice slacks and blouses but no tie.

At FSI all flight personnel, Chief Pilots, instructors AND students included, wore uniforms, epaulets, and ties during the winter. No ties during the summer, in hot, humid Florida. No uniform jackets or hats. Anyone needing to wear a jacket had to wear an FSI windbreaker, for which they graciously deducted $35 out of my paycheck. No A-2s or any other kinds of outgarmets permitted.

I agreed with wearing the uniforms - after all, if you're playing the part you should look the part - but being forced to purchase the windbreakers was out of line. I still wear mine, though, eleven years after the fact.

Uniforms or not is subject to debate. Either way, your flight line personnel should dress professionally.

Hope that helps.

 

[Airpiraterob]

this worked

bossman said to me when i started....
"shirt and tie"
sometime in MAY i went to polo's
after labor day, went back to shirt and tie.
never...NEVER had shorts or jeans of any kind.
no tennis shoes.

this actually was very good. the shirt and tie was professional and believe it or not made a difference in the prospective student looking for a good instructor. if you look pro, and actually act like you know what youre doing and actually like to teach and not yell, then youve got an instant student.

oh yeah.... Assless chaps are not allowed.

 

[WMU_Drew]

All the help is great...but what we are looking to do is change our uniforms from the airline type to something more comfortable.

Keep em coming!

Drew

 

[bobbysamd]

Non-airline uniforms

All the help is great...but what we are looking to do is change our uniforms from the airline type to something more comfortable.

How 'bout adopting something like what we wore at Riddle? Nice pants, like Dockers, and decent shirts. Appropriate equivalent attire for the women.

 

[npowless]

At Auburn University, we wear khakis with a polo shirt - the polos are logo shirts provided to us for free - white ones in the summer, and navy in the winter. For the winter time, they also give very nice warm logo jackets - which have to be returned when you leave.

Personally, I think we all look very professional ...

Nathan

 

[acaTerry]

After 8 years of CFI-ing in the PHX area, Shirt and pants is the way to go. A full uniform is crazy in the 115 degree heat (which translates to 130-140 in the plane).
It looks good, but is bearable to have the bus-casual.
The worst I've seen in terms of professional is the school out here that wears airline shirt, airline wings, name tag, airline stripes, and........shorts with sneakers. How embarrassing it must be when people look at you and you are in this combination. I say wear it all or don't wear it at all.

 

[Airpiraterob]

i bet it must feel like waking up in the morning and going to work having forgotten to put your pants on.

 

[LAXSaabdude]

The worst I've seen in terms of professional is the school out here that wears airline shirt, airline wings, name tag, airline stripes, and........shorts with sneakers.

Hey, what's wrong with that? Isn't that how the lead singer from AC/DC dressed?

LAXsaabdude

 

[VNugget]

Guitarist. (Angus Young)

 

[340drvr]

The professional level of dress should be commensurate with the pay scale, so for most of us, that would be the moth-eaten Salvation Army overcoat, fingerless gloves, and maybe a shopping cart for that extra quality touch.

("UATW,MF!" Grace Slick)

 

[VNugget]

On a slightly related subject, I always pondered what it would be like if I showed up to my PPL (or for that matter, any other) checkride all death-metalled out... including the torn and studded leather, white make-up, some insane hairstyle, etc.... but still amaze the DE with my impeccable skills and knowledge.

Heh heh...

Who thinks I should?

 

[acaTerry]

i bet it must feel like waking up in the morning and going to work having forgotten to put your pants on.

Don't you hate that? No one ever tells you till you get to the crew room!

 

[Foobar]

Auburn

npowless,

Is Terry still running the show at Auburn?

 

[Sctt@NJA]

I feel bad for those cfis who have to wear an airline style uniform. I have to too of course at NetJets and I always envy the corporate pilots who wear khakis and polo shirts.

But just as corporations have different cultures and dress codes so do different areas of the the country.

Ties were a specific no-no at my first cfi job in Middlebury VT. Jeans and whatever were the dress code there! The idea was to fit into the population we were serving.

We did have one student who was a lawyer that would show up in shirt and tie and we always made him take his tie off. If you can't tell we considered comfort and casual attitudes towards appearance to be an important part of our small town airport culture.

Thats a culture where character and ability were the only things that mattered.

I happen to like that attitude and I never understood the idea of "the clothes make the man".

But like I said, local culture varies...

Edit: Now that I think of it, there were a fair number of people in VT that never seemed to have discovered deoderant. Thats taking casualness a bit far even for me!

 

[bigD]

The problem with wearing heavy clothing like slacks and a dress shirt around here is within minutes of being in the airplane you'll be covered in patches where your sweat soaked through your pants, shirt, or whatever. Looking like that looks even worse than more casual clothing to most, so all the flight schools here generally have khaki shorts with a tucked in t-shirt and belt. I'd imagine this is a problem anywhere there's a lot of humidity.

 

[npowless]

Foobar,

Yep, she is still here ...

Nathan

 

[100LL... Again!]

Sorry - here it comes:


Dress like an airline pilot when you ARE an airline pilot.

Those bars on the uniform look ridiculous on a CFI and even worse on a student.

"Let's play dress-up and go fly the 172!!!!"

"roger"

"roger"

 

[Typhoon1244]

Airline Style (Stripes & Hats)

Okay, at FlightSafety in Vero Beach we wore shirts with epaulets and ties...but hats? Who makes their instructors wear hats?

(How about beanies with propellers on top?)

 

[Whirlwind]

Polo shirts with company logo on them and kaki pants or shorts.

Sneakers for shoes, CFI's work too many hours to have to wear anything but sneakers.

Jeans are not allowed.

 

[Buzo]

Most of the instructors where I teach wear jeans and t-shirts. In the summer time it was common to wear shorts. We had no dress code. When I started flying for my current airline our dress code was no shorts. When we fly the freighter most wear carharts. We just recently started wearing the airline uniform when flying the passenger planes.

 

[ArcherB]

At the school I was at it was dress pants, shirt and tie. In the summer months you were allowed to wear polo shirts with company logo on them but still had to wear pants. The summers were hot!

 

[hydroflyer]

We had our choice of company polo and khakis or dress shirt, tie and slacks. I found either Doc Martens or Sketchers to be very comfortable. Doc's were a bit expensive, but last a long time. Sketcher's looked just as good and could be found on clearance racks. Personally I liked the choice, especially when I forgot to do the laundry.

 

[toneal]

imagine putting that 172 down in a field for whatever emergency and having to trek across 2 or 3 miles of terra firma to get to farmer joes house wearing business shoes and clothes.

 

[toneal]

On a slightly related subject, I always pondered what it would be like if I showed up to my PPL (or for that matter, any other) checkride all death-metalled out... including the torn and studded leather, white make-up, some insane hairstyle, etc.... but still amaze the DE with my impeccable skills and knowledge.

Heh heh...

Who thinks I should?

Go for it.. You may not even see the airplane cause he would probably fail you on the oral..

 

[acaTerry]

Here's what I REALLY hate (those of you who know me hear that quite often ):
Airline style uniforms, be it student or Instructor, and they have either a goatee or that stinkin' hair stripe under the lip!!!!!!!
ARRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!
If you want to be it, then LOOK IT! Daggon, what the heck?!!! How many pilots do you see with goatees or hair stripes in the airport?!!!
Grow up kids! "I go to XXX flight academy and I want to be an airline pilot....and I want to do it fast...but I don't want to grow the heck up and look like a professional. That Terry picks on me. He's mean."
Well, Boo Frickety Hoo! You want a professional's position....be a professional. Look like one. Act like one (at least when you are on display). So break out the shaver. If the fashion-boy stuff is too precious for you to sacrafice, then go hang out on the set of 90210. Leave the flying to those who can handle the part. Roger Willcox, over and under.....

 

[Night_Flight]

Proffessionalism

Don't forget we owe it to our students to maintain our proffessionalism. Would you like interviewing with interviewers in shorts and tee-shirts, or suits?


Dress shirt with tie, stripes, dark pants.

Weekends and summer dress, polo's and khakis.

-Night_Flight-

 

[Goffer]

I enjoy wearing the uniform at my school. Black Dockers, black shoes, white oxford with school logo on it.

At such a small school, walking around in my uniform reminds me to be proud of my accomplishments.

As for the students we frown on shorts and do not allow the students t wear sandals of any sort. It is a nice climate hear and at no point during the year is it unbearable to wear pants.