CFI Who Wears Shorts

The concept of professionalism seems to be confusing to younger men. I think that flows out of a social condition where increasingly the attitude is "screw you I'll do whatever I want". Professionalism is a moral courtesy, a respect for ones self and ones clients. I dont care if you're making $10/hour or $60/hour as an instructor, your student is paying you to be a professional instructor. You are serving them. That means you should adapt from your own personal preferences to meet the needs of your clients. If your clients are mostly upper-class business people then dress to match them, decent slacks and polo or button down, as that's going to make them more comfortable. If your clients are mostly rural laborers then wearing a tie might make them uncomfortable and you'd be much better off in a pair of jeans and a flannel... regardless; clean, unwrinkled/pressed, tucked-in clothes show self-respect and respect to your customers. I dont see how this is all that hard: be clean and well-kept, dress to match your clients expectations, and provide excellent service through good customized education. What's acceptable wear will vary by your geography and the type of student you are serving, but it's about pulling back on your ego a bit and thinking about your customer.
 
rframe said:
What's acceptable wear will vary by your geography and the type of student you are serving, but it's about pulling back on your ego a bit and thinking about your customer.
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Like I said, it's not what you wear, it's how you wear it.
 
Oftentimes I thought of wearing a thong, no t shirt or a$$less chaps, or the more rebellious side in me thought of showing up..........naked. But hey I can't have it like that. So my dream continues. :ooh:

(lol)
 
TL;DR

At my flight school it was shorts and polos and usually sandals.
The guys that dressed in khakis were usually the ones hounding for a corporate gig and usually got passed up because they didn't fit it and looked desperate.
 
Am I going to get hung because I wore our uniform polo and nice (golf style) shorts today when it was 106˚F (with 90% humidity) and we fly C172's?

Guess I was just "unprofessional" for the day, but at least I didn't have a heat stroke. One of our other instructors who wore khakis looked like he was about to keel over when he came back in from the same flight.
 
I'm with Ryan! You people are crazy if you thinking golf shorts aren't professional now adays. I think most people realize a CFI is a college guy or recently college grad trying to get to the regionals. I pay my money for the quality of instructor, not his ability to rock a solid JCrew look...... Which I pull off wonderfully ;)
 
Seriously? This is a question? If required to wear something by an employer, wear it. If not, dress comfortably. In the summer I would wear a Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts. I would even fly with the windows open in the shade. Gotta love the 172. In the winter I would wear jeans and a jacket (gasp). Go get greasy with the mechanics every once in awhile too. It actually looks like you might know something about airplanes if you have to be called from the hanger to meet with a potential client and you have to wipe your hands off before you shake their hand. Otherwise you look like a prissy kid who read a book about airplanes once and thought you'd stay at a holiday inn and give it a try. :P I kid, I kid.
 
USMCmech said:
Like I said, it's not what you wear, it's how you wear it.
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Honestly, if you show up to a flight school, and walk out because the instructor isn't dressed "professional," then you might have just walked out on one of the best instructors you ever could have come across. The best instructor I ever came across never wore "professional" pilot attire. Most of the time it was jeans and a step above a tee shirt, but a step below a polo. And he is a career flight instructor, with an impressive resume.
 
Exactly. Judge an instructor by how well you learn from them and how much they can teach you. Not by what they wear. Unless they're wearing epaulettes. Walk away. You won't be learning much. :P (insert sarcasm tag)
 
My ground school instructor would wear jeans, boots and a button up shirt. He was super knowledgeable and I would have loved to have taken a few lessons with that guy.
 
When I went in for my $59 intro ride I saw one flight instructor laying in the grass wearing flip flops, shorts and a wife beater tank top. The other flight instructor was doing paperwork at the front desk in a pair of slacks and a button down shirt. Guess who I assumed (correctly) would be less likely to crash the airplane and received my business.
 
Who was the best pilot I ever saw? Well, there was one man I once saw I think truly did have the Right St...Who's the best pilot I ever saw? Well, you're lookin at him!
 
I let my instructing speak for myself. And the feedback I get from students and my full schedule seem to be proof of my ability. But too bad I wear shorts to work.
 
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