Originally Posted by
USMCFLYR
Sometimes we really have lost sight of the bigger picture.
USMCFLYR
I agree. Some people need to just chill and not be so lawsuit-happy.
I never got my shirt cut, at the time I was not even aware that this existed and my instructor never said anything about it......he didn't even tell me I was going to solo that day until we were walking out to the airplane!! It would have been nice to have my shirt cut, but I did ask him to take a picture as I was getting off the airplane (smiling, drenched from the 100F summer day in the heart of Texas, still high from the experience.
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However, I do believe that this type of tradition should be continued if we hope to keep the spirit of aviation alive. All of my students have had their shirts cut, even female (she went to the bathroom first to take off her undershirt.) It's a huge moment in a pilot's career, what better way to remember it than to have an actual piece of that day. I always ask first, and so far no one has told me no.
One of my guys only had one shirt that day and it was a nice one. I told him we didn't have to cut it, and if he wanted to bring another shirt the next day I would gladly cut it and draw on it for him. He left initially, but came back 5 mins later and said, "it would not be the same...cut this one." That, my friends, says it all......