CFI Uniforms

[b757driver]

When I was a flight instructor (many moons ago), one of the schools I was with had a very smart uniform and it made the instructors stand out and apart from the students. The uniform consisted of a navy jacket with school insignia and name tag, pair of grey slacks and a school tie and the usual airline uniform shirt. No stripes, no hat! It looked VERY professional and basically made the difference between flying club instructor (no offence to those guys!) and the commercial flying school environment. I and the others, had no problem wearing that kind of uniform. And it was provided FREE by the company!!! Many airlines make you BUY theirs.

 

[Hogan]

When I started my CFI training I showed up for training in a pressed pair of khakies, starched white shirt and tie. I got the "uniform" from reading Greg Brown's book "The Saavy Flight Instructor" . I am not sure if it helped my flying, but I did notice that the other clients of the school THOUGHT I was a CFI when I was just a ground instructor. A few even commented that I was more professional and knowledgable than the CFIs even though at the time I just held the AGI certificate. I continue to dress in this manner at my current CFI job although it is a little more formal than required.

 

[b757driver]

And, as they say in the airline interview books, you only get one chance to make an impression. Make sure it's a good one!
It's also a known fact that how you look, the way you carry yourself and dress, says volumes about you as a person. Studies have shown that the visual aspect of a worker or candidate goes a long way toward commanding respect and possibly, even getting a job when all other candidates are equal. You can't go wrong.......

 

[CapnVegetto]

My first instructing job, there was no requirement. I was in college at the time, and it was a 45 minute drive away, so I was in anything from slacks and a nice golf shirt to a t-shirt and shorts, depending on the time of year, and how much time I had to get from class to the airport. Next job I got was a bit more formal, but still pretty laid back. Central Flying Service in Little Rock, AR. Big 141 school, we had uniform shirts and jeans. They tried to keep it casual and laid back. Flying is FUN. People get into it because they enjoy doing it. There is nothing anywhere that says being a professional means you have to be a stiff a$$.

My first charter job, we had uniforms, but everything was specifically tailored to the customer, and they knew that. Standard was uniforms. But.....some didn't want that. One customer wanted 'casual dress'. Another wanted us to wear 'jeans and a golf shirt'. Still another wanted us TOTALLY casual, as in Aloha shirts and shorts.

The point is, look at what kind of operation you've got, who your customers are, and give them what they want. Trust me, wearing a spiffy uniform doesn't make you a good pilot. Being the best at what you do, and taking care of your job makes you a good pilot. You can wear all the uniforms you want, but if you suck, then you suck. If you're good, then you're good. Just do your job the best you can do, and let the chips fall where they may.

 

[Clyde]

Business Casual

Docker-style pants with a polo-type shirt with the school name embroidered at the top. In the summer time, relax the requirement a bit and allow Docker-stlye shorts. Or, just keep wearing the pants during the summer.

 

[Flechas]

NO shorts allowed? is that for the DAB office only or is it new?

 

[Flechas]

Yeah I guess, I used to wear shorts during the summer in EVB.

 

[say again]

"Good Afternoon Lady or Gentleman, this is your Captain. Welcome aboard flight #N11BS down to the south practice area. You are travelling aboard one of our finest A/C- a C-150 Commuter. Our route of flight is due south for 15 minutes as we travel 10 miles. Our initial cruise altitude is 3000 feet, expect some alt. changes enroute as we manuever. We should be up in the air no more than 1.5 hrs. Due to the shortness of this flight and the erractic manuevering we are going encounter, we are going to ask our flight attendant to remain seated. The wx at our destination is pretty much what you see outside, since we will be returning here soon. I do apologize for the extreme heat, our air conditioning hasn't been installed yet. Please bare with us in the matter. On that note, I will sit back, relax, and enjoy watching you fly me around. Welcome aboard."


I guess by now you know my take on airline uniforms for CFI's- looks about as ridiculous as this speech sounds.

Nice pants and a polo look fine.

 

[Flechas]

Agree 100%, nothing like being inside a C150 with an uniform when the temp inside is about 120 degrees!!

 

[garf12]

Just went back to my old FBO after a 6 month break and they had all the CFI's decked out in pilot uniforms. Eppelets, pilot wings, the whole get up. It was pretty comical, but I must say it did make it all look rather professional.

 

[CougarAviator]

slacks, tie, and either a short sleeve aviator shirt (for summer)or long sleeve dress shirtj for winter..........NO EPAULETS (sp?)!!!!

Just my two cents............

 

[FlyLady]

The point is, look at what kind of operation you've got, who your customers are, and give them what they want. Trust me, wearing a spiffy uniform doesn't make you a good pilot. Being the best at what you do, and taking care of your job makes you a good pilot. You can wear all the uniforms you want, but if you suck, then you suck. If you're good, then you're good. Just do your job the best you can do, and let the chips fall where they may.

Have to agree with you. Although it may be different for the professional schools/campuses, I think the average flight school operation would do well to drop the uniforms, epalauts, etc. From personal experience, it doesn't mean diddly squat. I trained at a very laid back school where shorts and a T-shirt were not uncommon for instructors in the heat of summer. But the quality of the instructors was top notch. On the other hand, I went up with a CFI while I was out of town on business (about 2/3 through training). Everyone, including the secretary, was wearing uniforms, epalauts included. The CFI was terrible! He could not explain properly, had trouble communicating with SoCal approach and got so freaked out that he cut the lesson short, headed back to the airport and wouldn't even let me attempt to land the plane. Worst flight I ever had! I won't even call it a lesson!

MY point is: clothes do not necessarily reflect the quality of the person.

 

[check6]

I currently have to wear an epaulet shirt with no epaulets(the morons at the top thought of that) and a tie. I hate the **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** thing!!! It's hot!! Thankfully on the weekends when no one is around I at least take off my tie. I think I'm gonna propose a polo shirt idea.

 

[350DRIVER]

If you don't like to wear the uniforms then quit and go elsewhere, pretty simple in my opinion. You will find many flight schools throughout this country that don't require their employees to wear them. One or two "unhappy" uniformed instructors aren't likely to influence a flight school to change a policy regarding this. One of the best things about this country is that you are free to move elsewhere should this be that big of a deal to you.

"Jee Mr. Benson, Johnny and Sally just don't like to wear these uniforms so I guess we will drop the dress code and everyone will be happy."

 

[Kream926]

why do we keep diggin this thread up people?

 

[b757driver]

All depends on whether you want to stand out from the crowd or be a part of the crowd! You make the choice. It's not that big of a deal, folks....

 

[rumpletumbler]

Where I teach we wear Flight Instructor Uniform

 

[JRSLim]

Where I teach we wear Flight Instructor Uniform

Niiice. I gotta get one of those, especially for those summer flights to Phoenix.

 

[Almerick07]

khakis with logo polo tucked in, friday is casual friday and we wear jeans and logo polo. the weekends it is a free for all...the one thing to look forward to on a 7am saturday flight.

 

[SigAV8R]

I think it should be a T-shirt with the epaulets, tie and buttons screen printed on like the "tuxedo shirt" only for pilots! Seriously, khakis and nice shirt should be fine IMO.

 

[zamboni9]

I only had to wear shorts and tee shirts to instruct. And we were very busy flight school, I flew 750 hours in the 6 months I instructed there and had about 60 sign offs from pvt to mei. Airline style uniforms for instructors are hilarious....C172 Captains eh?

 

[chriskcmo]

I had a Chief Instructor who was furloughed from TWA/AA. The Aviation Dept. Chair brought up the idea of wearing uniforms. The Chief said "I wore 3 stripes to fly an MD-80. There's not enough stripes in the world for me to fly a Cessna 172."

We wore University polos/khakis or shirt & tie.

 

[flyingnome]

I personally like a nice shirt, and some khakis... the whole uniform thing not so much, I just dont like the idea of crawling into a 172 wearing an airline style shirt with epaulets, I guess it just weirds me out.

I had to wear uniforms while teaching at Embry Riddle Prescott, it was a polo and some slacks, although they were made of polyester, excellent choice incase of an emergency fire situation...

 

[pgcfii2002]

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

Nah, you should dress that way when you take your CFI initial with the FAA.

 

[pgcfii2002]

Niiice. I gotta get one of those, especially for those summer flights to Phoenix.

WOW, I have to get one of these when I do my next night cross country to Modesto. Do they include some apple sauce in a baggie too???

 

[SBD]

I dread wearing that uniform at the school. How it makes us look more professional, I will never know. I feel like such a tool when I'm a cross country and have to go to a FBO and get out of the C-172/C-152. What's wrong with a polo and khakis.

 

[Salukipilot4590]

Polo shirt and Khakis here, standard...

 

[jaxpilot]

Logo polo shirt and khaki pants (though some instructors wear cargo pants and no one minds). Makes it nice in the Florida summers, only wish that we could wear khaki shorts sometimes. One of my friends instructs at a place where they have to wear ties and epaulets and I tell him to change before we go to a mall or something.

 

[Alamanach]

I like threads like this because I'm not a CFI. Which means I'm a student, and that makes me a customer, and that means I'm always right. I'd never heard of a fight school dressing its instructors like airline pilots. I'm trying to imagine how that would work without it appearing totally ridiculous, and I can't do it. And then one or two of you mentioned schools at which the students have a uniform to wear. Any school that tries to give an order like that to its students has forgotten who is in charge.

Company-logo polo shirts are not a bad idea, but they're not a very good one either. Think for a moment, where else do you see employees wearing such shirts? "Hi, Mr. Student, welcome to McFlyers. I see you've scheduled 1.5 hours of DME arc training. Would you like fries with that?"

As a student, I'd much prefer to see the CFI dressed in his own clothes. Two reasons for this. 1) I'm way more interested in his ability to keep me alive and teach me than I am in his flashy duds. Let him wear what he wants. 2) As a few people kind of pointed out on the previous page, whatever clothes the CFI chooses will tell me a little bit about what kind of person he is. I'm robbed of that knowledge if the CFI's boss is picking out his clothes for him.

Khakis, a dress shirt, and a tie are nice. That's similar to how I dress. But the CFI can wear old shorts and a ripped-up T-shirt if he's a good enough instructor, it's fine with me. I really feel sorry for you guys who have your clothing issued to you. I hope I never find myself in that position.

 

[momike]

ICompany-logo polo shirts are not a bad idea, but they're not a very good one either. Think for a moment, where else do you see employees wearing such shirts? "Hi, Mr. Student, welcome to McFlyers. I see you've scheduled 1.5 hours of DME arc training. Would you like fries with that?"

I really feel sorry for you guys who have your clothing issued to you. I hope I never find myself in that position.

Fries!!! Ha, ha!!! very funny...exactly like what I get at DCA. Clothing issued? WTF????? We are required to wear uniforms and have to PAY out of pocket for them, tailoring, etc.... Issued???? Oh, to be so lucky...