You don't see bikers and their leather jackets riding a bicycle, do you? I'd feel ashamed to wear that uniform as a CFI. It's totally impractical.

The only advantage I've seen was ONE time when a SWA pilot stopped to talk to me since he recognized the shirt. Other than that, they're hot, get dirty easily, and just aren't fun. Plus you feel real dumb when you walk into the an FBO full of charter and corporate pilots.

In my flightschool, both students and instructors have to wear uniforms.
From the website:


The Student Pilot uniform consists of:

The Instructors are about the same. The only diffrence is that you have to call them "Captian".

I'd kick my student if he called me captain in anything other than jest...

LOL! I would laugh till I cried if I saw that! There's a school right next to the flying club at LGB that makes their instructors wear the uniforms. Occasionally I would see one spilling out of a C152 with the giant leather flight bag in his left hand. Would have been a riot if he had his "hat" in the other. :P

Dont you need one to carry your plotter, E6B "computer" and sectional chart, not to mention those cool mirrored sunglasses like maverick and iceman wore in the movie TOPGUN:D

I would've started my own flight school before I would have worn a pretend airline pilot outfit when I was teachin. Students callin the instructor captain? get real.

and what flight school is this?

Our old chief instructor tried to feed us the "Captain" line. He thought we would be proud to be the Captains of DA (Diamond) 20s. That is complete bull. I wouldn't call an instructor (who actually works for me) Captain, and I won't let my students call me Captain. That implies they don't have to make any decisions. I'm about training my replacement. I won't have my batting average at risk by a student who won't/can't make sound decisions.

C'mon guys. If somebody wants to wear a uniform, or dress nice because they have pride for their job, don't tease them like you're in elementary school!! It's their choice, leave them alone.

Would you have shown up to your 3rd grade class wearing a double breasted suit and carrying a brief case? I personally think its hilarious that the CFIs at these schools wear the uniforms. I know it's not their policy but it's silly nonetheless. That's just my opinion.

I like the uniforms.. you don't have to think about what to wear everyday, and you can get away with wearing the same thing for a whole week :D

Some third graders do have uniforms. Other people that have uniforms are exterminators, security guards, mechanics, plumbers etc etc.. why is it so ridiculous that CFI's, even for a little mom and pop flight school, wear uniforms? They are employees of a company, and uniforms make said company look more professional and put together. It has nothing to do with what they fly, it's all about the appearance. Just my $0.02.

The flight school I taught at required us to wear a uniform. Black shoes, black pants, white shirts with school logo and a Tie. We were able to ditch the tie and wear khaki pants in the summer and we dodged them trying to make us wear stripes.

The only time I wore it anywhere but work is when we went straight from work to the bar, which was pretty much 5 days a week. Most of us lived 10 min away and the bar was with a 1/2 mile of the airport. To far of a drive to get changed, we just ditched the tie or at least loosened it up quite a bit. Never once thought about it and I don't consider that dorky because we weren't there to impress, or to pick up chicks. Trust me you don't want the chicks from this hole in the wall bar. We were there to drink a forget about flying. I'm sure our chief would not have been impressed, those were the days.

Not in Tennessee. I sweat enough that I need to change shirts midway through the week. And that's pushing it. They show dirt real easy and that just isn't professional.


Umm...you realize that security guards, exterminators, and plumbers are not on the cool uniform list. You could have at least gone with Armed Service, police, fire department, etc.

I think it doesnt matter as long as they hold a commercial rating, and are being paid for their services as PIC of the a/c doesnt matter what type of a/c it is. whatever floats his boat.

I've seen some cool plumber uniforms!!! :)

lol. Not against wearing uniforms as a CFI but personally I don't enjoy wearing them. They are pretty darn hot in certain parts of the country...especially in high humidity. They get dirty easy too and yeah that looks real bad. It does feel weird to get out of a duchess or whatever and walk into an FBO and you know people are looking at you...still, have nothing against it. Nothing a pair of khakis and a nice polo shirt for guys, or a nice shirt for women can't do. Still looks very professional.

I'm pretty happy with my school's uniform: Khakis and blue polo's with the school logo embroidered above the pocket, I think it looks professional without being over-the-top. Just wish they'd let us wear shorts in the summer.

We wear uniforms down here in South, FL - Polo shirt, Khaki shorts - Anything more and we would melt before lunch...:D

Oh, and the best part of our uniform that I forgot to mention...Khaki pants are a requirement, no budging. The rationale behind that is that in the event of a fire we would be protected from the fryer. However, the school-supplied pants are a polyester fabric, which would melt snugly to your extremities, forming a protective barrier from the flames. :D

I am thinking of opening a flight training academy in which the instructors are all hot females. The uniform will be something ala Hooters. Thoughts, concerns, questions? Discuss....

I'll be taking my next BFR at your school.

Yeah, I wouldn't learn anything because I would be hitting on my instructor the whole time!!

If the Shoe Fits
 

Stick & Rudder has the right idea. I can certainly see wearing a professional looking uniform in a terminal area if you fly for an airline or even a corporate flight department. The image of professionalism is important to convey. If you're in a GA aircraft, a uniform with 4 stripes, tie, epaulets, hat, etc. is w-a-y out of place and at a training academy....plueeezze.

Once we get in the cockpit and close the cockpit door, ties are OFF , shirts unbuttoned and we get comfortable. Even the female pilots go along as comfort is most important. I had to ferry an aircraft recently (767) and the crew wore polo shirts with comfortable slacks. Looked good and was way too comfortable.

G'Day Mates

Your reply is 360 days after the last one...lets let this thread slip away into the darkness.