Hello, All - I'm a newbie, and this may have already been brought up for discussion, but does anyone else have strong feelings against the phasing out of the ultramarine blue flight suit? I, for one, ALWAYS wear it when flying, because it's the only color flight suit we have with a color that does not appear in nature. If I go down, I want to be highly visible, increasing the SAR team's percentages of a find - of my b**t!
If I were flying in combat, I'd certainly want a flight suit that would blend in and disappear in foliage (such as the green flight suit) or in shadow (such as the new DARK blue, almost black flight suit.) But since few of our missions are in combat areas, I want to be as highly visible as possible. The ultramarine blue is the best we have.
What do you think??
Yes. I have strong feelings - thank god its gone.
If you're that worried about being found after a crash, wear a retro vest when you fly.
Most people hate it. Looks like glow in the dark gumby, but to each their own. If you crash, it's an extremely high, over 95% probability that one of three things will occur, you'll be dead, you'll be down in a populated area, or you'll be able to relay your GPS position before going in. We keep very good information on where our planes are during missions, and you should be taking advantage of flight following also. You shouldn't be lost very long. You should though wear nomex to protect againt fire hazard, and be prepared for weather survival situations. If you're concerned about ground vis, I'd recommend wearing the reversable flight jacket w/ the orange liner, and ensuring orange signal panels are in the on-board survival kit.
I agree. Thank god its gone.
There's this one older senior member officer that always wears one to missions. I call him Papa Smurf.
Quote from: Jolt on January 15, 2007, 05:01:07 AM
There's this one older senior member officer that always wears one to missions. I call him Papa Smurf.
But is he wearing the short sleeve Smurf Suit (phased out some years ago) or the long sleeve flight suit?
...
Quote from: Stickman on January 15, 2007, 03:01:05 AM
What do you think??
To Eclipse's point, if you crash in such a way that requires a search (assuming on the off chance that you actually survive the impact), you're going to have a lot more important things to be concerned with besides the color of your flight suit.
The Smurf suit is nasty.
Oh, I think you guys are just a bunch of sillies!
I LOVE the baby-blue flight suit! It matches the powder-blue-and-lavender color scheme of my plane!
You big, hairy brutes simply have NO sense of fashion and the excitement that color brings into our lives!
Well, I'm off to the big parade in San Francisco. Ta ta for now!
XXXX
Luv Ya!
John NOW we know why the raven haired beauty left.
Quote from: JohnKachenmeister on January 15, 2007, 03:16:43 PM
Oh, I think you guys are just a bunch of sillies!
I LOVE the baby-blue flight suit! It matches the powder-blue-and-lavender color scheme of my plane!
You big, hairy brutes simply have NO sense of fashion and the excitement that color brings into our lives!
Well, I'm off to the big parade in San Francisco. Ta ta for now!
XXXX
Luv Ya!
Dude, ever since I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area (from my beloved Alabama), I've been amazed at a vocal minority's sincere overtness. Very akin to what you just wrote.
If it weren't such a sidetrack, I'd tell you how my wife made fun of me (she being a native of this place) for having an inability to distinguish regular 'ole *animated* sorts from those that had other reasons for being...well, *animated.* :o
But to keep things on track, most CAP types in this local area (the overwhelming majority of CAP aircrew sorts have the light blue uniform) are complaining about this change over...if for any reason (I suppose) because many just invested in the thing a few years ago and will have to change.
Me? Well, well before the dark blue nomex came to light, I went and got one; in my mind, (a) nobody goes feeling your material, (b) the dark blue nomex would've matched the polyester utility uniform so I could wear mine in several scenarios, (c) CAWG has a rule that nomex is a must for real world missions, and (d) I wasn't going to get a light-blue for flight ops and a dark blue for utility functions, depending on the scenario.
Good gamble....my dark blue nomex is becoming the standard. Dodged that bullet!
In my opinion this uniform was a mistake in the first place. Somehow it managed to look even worse than the really old short-sleeved smurf suit.
Quote from: RiverAux on January 15, 2007, 04:58:37 PM
In my opinion this uniform was a mistake in the first place. Somehow it managed to look even worse than the really old short-sleeved smurf suit.
Is that possible? Even if viewing from San Fran-freak-show? ;D