Uniforms on the road

[duksrule]

Well I was putting on my Navy Dress Blues the other day and it got me wondering. I pretty much send them to the cleaners after a day of use. How do you guys do it on a 3-4 day trip? I can't remember ever seeing a pilot carry a suit case that would hold several uniforms. Kind of trivial but I had to ask.
Thanks

 

[ClassG]

Disgusting, but true....

4 day trip: Same pants straight through (try to cram in a backup pair for the just-in-case scenarios.)
2 Shirts should make it through the trip.

That's in the summer.

In winter, this setup may make it through a 5 day trip.

You wanted to know.

 

[Anaconda]

yeah, sounds about right. had a friend of mine that told me he packed a new set of pants and shirt for each day of the trip. can't imagine how he did it in a standard crew bag, wouldn't be much room for anything else. there was a guy on here recently said he used the same shirt for 7-day trips, that's a little excessive imho

 

[Ty Webb]

1 uniform shirt for each day, unless it is a very short day, like 1 leg or just commuting in, in which case it gets recycled. One pair of pants for a three or four day trip . . .

I need all the room I can get for a pair of running shoes, casual shoes, workout clothes and casual clothes, and there you have it . . . . even the biggest bag is full at that point.

 

[nosewheel]

Freight Doggy Style

16 day rotation.... in a carry-on bag

I pair pants...
5 shirts...
5 socks...
5 gonch....
jeans...shorts and a few civie shirts ..

wash all during 1 in 7.

 

[Lonestar]

It's amazing how creative you can get on a 2 - 3 week trip. Hotel room bathtubs and complimentary soap/shampoo with the wall a/c unit make a great washer and dryer combo.

 

[nosewheel]

You got that right loanstar

Hot tubs (in room only)and shampoo work good if your really stuck. They get quite pissed when you use the tub at the POOL

 

[TurboS7]

I usually pack for 6 days and use the 7th day to do laundry. 6 pairs of socks, 6 pairs of undershorts and shirts,running shoes, running shorts/bathing suit. Running shirt, 1 pair of jeans and shirt/flannel winter, regular summer.6 uniform shirts and 1 pair of uniform shirts and uniform jacket. Longjohns for winter plus gloves and hat. If it is really cold I carry my parka plus my uniform coat. Lately I have been taking a 30 foot rope and use it as a laundry line in the room. I figure also is there is a hotel fire I can get out of the room with the rope. Now you know why we change our wheels every year.

 

[dgs]

1 shirt for every 2 days
1 pair of pants for every 4 days

I always carry an extra pair of pants--just in case they get ripped, stained, or trashed in some other way. I knew a flight attendant who broke his zipper during the safety demonstration on the first leg of the first day of a 4-day trip. (Get your minds out of the gutter--he caught it on a seat or something.) He didn't have a spare pair and couldn't get it fixed!

Iron the shirt with the hotel or crashpad iron before and between wearings.

I have a travel steamer that works great on the pants and the jacket. They look just like they came from the cleaners. It also freshens them up a bit.

Depending on the hotel and layover timing, you can get pants and shirts PROFESSIONALLY cleaned and pressed by most hotels on a pretty quick turnaround.

 

[jsoceanlord]

a few weeks ago i had a spirit capt pull off the plane and onto the jetway. he said he was going to let me on this time but i'd better have a pressed shirt, etc, next time.

i prefer to keep my epaulettes in my shirt pocket, except when i'm getting the boarding pass.

when i got home i ordered a tie from sporty's - but it's pretty short!

 

[aviatrix]

Thou shalt become intimately familiar with thy iron!

 

[bobbysamd]

Uniforms

Thou shalt become intimately familiar with thy iron!

This thread from a few months ago is some of the best advice I've read on the subject. Also, very entertaining!

 

[dgs]

When I'm standing there ironing my shirts, I've often wondered why they don't teach basic ironing at flight schools--it is arguably more relevant to your future than learning how to fly a lazy 8. It doesn't matter if you are a commuter FO or a 777 Captain, you will usually need to iron a shirt at the hotel yourself if you want to look good the next day.