Coats

CK

CK

Well-Known Member
At past jobs I always just wore a normal jacket. I have to wear a uniform at my current job :o We go to some very, very cold places in the winter time. What coats do you airline pilots recommend?

Thanks,

Alex.
 
If I've got a trip with a 30 hour overnight in Fargo during February I'll usually wear the black trench coat that our uniform supplier offers for sale. Sure, you look like a flasher but the thing is warm, blocks the wind, and covers your entire body except the head. It has some kind of synthetic-nylon material on the outside so it repels water too. You'll probably want a blazer or at least a sweater for those times when it's cool but not frigid enough to warrant the trench coat.

A leather jacket is also an option sometimes, but it's not as warm as the trench.
 
One thing to keep in mind about overcoats - they are great on the ramp but it can be hard to find a place for them in corporate jets. We have/had overcoats as part of our uniforms, but the leather jackets tend to be more practical in my opinion. We went with black leather which goes better with the uniform than the brown. I loved the overcoat for comfort on cold windy days, but it sure was a hassle in the aircraft.
 
SteveC said:
One thing to keep in mind about overcoats - they are great on the ramp but it can be hard to find a place for them in corporate jets. We have/had overcoats as part of our uniforms, but the leather jackets tend to be more practical in my opinion. We went with black leather which goes better with the uniform than the brown. I loved the overcoat for comfort on cold windy days, but it sure was a hassle in the aircraft.
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True, I didn't think of that....spoiled by the closets on the airliners I guess, even without the closet we still have coathooks (hathooks?) behind each pilot seat.
 
Leather jacket and UA cold gear long underwear. Look good, feel warm. 'Nuff said.

If you want to look like you're a 60 year old airline pilot from 1975, wear the overcoat. The only people outside of pilots that I see in overcoats are businessmen over 50 that have no fashion sense walking around downtown.

Hmm, that should be good enough to get the anti-leather jacket crowd all riled up. :)
 
FlyChicaga said:
Leather jacket and UA cold gear long underwear. Look good, feel warm. 'Nuff said.

If you want to look like you're a 60 year old airline pilot from 1975, wear the overcoat. The only people outside of pilots that I see in overcoats are businessmen over 50 that have no fashion sense walking around downtown.

Hmm, that should be good enough to get the anti-leather jacket crowd all riled up. :)
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YEAGH! Avast matie! :)

The overcoat is appropriate attire when wearing a suit, and I continue to wear my overcoat when I'm required to wear a suit. If I were to walk into a formal situation wearing a leather jacket over a suit jacket I'd probably be laughed out of the room.

You might think it's out of touch with modern style, but those who write the checks believe it's classy.
 
jtrain609 said:
The overcoat is appropriate attire when wearing a suit, and I continue to wear my overcoat when I'm required to wear a suit. If I were to walk into a formal situation wearing a leather jacket over a suit jacket I'd probably be laughed out of the room.

You might think it's out of touch with modern style, but those who write the checks believe it's classy.
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Agree with the suit jacket/overcoat sentiment. We don't wear the suit coat when donning the leather. The overall effect is not quite as sharp as suit with overcoat, but it is more functional for our use in my opinion. We've got a couple of captains that still prefer the suit coat with overcoat.
 
CK said:
At past jobs I always just wore a normal jacket. I have to wear a uniform at my current job :o We go to some very, very cold places in the winter time. What coats do you airline pilots recommend?

Thanks,

Alex.
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If you can get them to approve a leather jacket, I recommend this outfitter:

www.popsleather.com

You can order different styles. My company style is black leather with elastic waist and cuffs in the A2 type style. I filled out their forms, took some measurements, and got a custom-made to fit calf skin leather jacket for $500. With a zip out liner. In Chicago and and the worst of the northern US I was toasty warm. Keep water the elements out too. Add a pair of black nomex pilot gloves and you're good to go. I keep a wool cap in my pocket for walk-arounds.

Extremely high quality here. Plus you can get snap-epaulet loops and a velcro nameplate to 'civilianize' the jacket when you go out on a layover. I can't recommend it enough.
 
SteveC said:
Agree with the suit jacket/overcoat sentiment. We don't wear the suit coat when donning the leather. The overall effect is not quite as sharp as suit with overcoat, but it is more functional for our use in my opinion. We've got a couple of captains that still prefer the suit coat with overcoat.
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Indeed. The winter uniform at XJT is either the leather jacket and pilot shirt, or overcoat, blazer and pilot shirt.

I will say, I've found my overcoat incredibly handy for much more than just the flying gig. Any formal events that occur in the winter have me grabbing the overcoat, which has been a decent amount now that I'm back in school.

You raise a good point about the aircraft that Alex is flying, though. I was, of course, spoiled by having a closet for the crews usage.
 
jtrain609 said:
YEAGH! Avast matie! :)

The overcoat is appropriate attire when wearing a suit...
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but as Matt said, on airline pilots looks ridiculous. I go with the leather jacket, you guys saying it doesn't keep you warm enough:
What do you do, sit around a campfire toasting marshmallows while on your preflight/postflight walkaround? My god, you're only outside for a couple minutes at a time.
 

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FLflyer said:
but as Matt said, on airline pilots looks ridiculous. I go with the leather jacket, you guys saying it doesn't keep you warm enough:
What do you do, sit around a campfire toasting marshmallows while on your preflight/postflight walkaround? My god, you're only outside for a couple minutes at a time.
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It looks ridiculous if you've got your iPod earbuds in, your sunglasses on your forehead and you've brought your backpack with you.

It looks classy if you know how men are supposed to dress formally.

Ever see Delta pilots? Those guys are squared away!

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I mean sure, they look like they could hop on a Panzer and launch a siege on Stalingrad during a 4 day, but they'd look damned good while doing it!
 
Double-breasted barrel jacket, FTW.

London Fog makes good overcoats. Thinsulate liner, and you're good to go.

I don't want to hear any whining about them not keep you warm enough. If my old uniform trench was good enough for me in MQT, it's good enough for anyone. Wuss.
 
jtrain609 said:
It looks ridiculous if you've got your iPod earbuds in, your sunglasses on your forehead and you've brought your backpack with you.

It looks classy if you know how men are supposed to dress formally.

Ever see Delta pilots? Those guys are squared away!

30air.xlarge1.jpg


I mean sure, they look like they could hop on a Panzer and launch a siege on Stalingrad during a 4 day, but they'd look damned good while doing it!
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Good grief, two times this month we've agreed on something... Must be something in the water.

I have a black Kenneth Cole overcoat with a zip out liner... Looks good and blocked the nasty Montana winter winds.

If you we an uniform with a blazer and/or hat... Get a nice overcoat.
 
Business professionals wear wool overcoats, single breasted, over their nice tailored suits. Not a faded POS London Fog double breasted monstrosity over a polyester blazer, a short-sleeve dress shirt, and a faded zip-up tie.

Business professionals also hang their overcoats up on a nice coat tree, or in a closet. Not draped on a hook behind a cockpit seat, or stuffed in an overhead bin.

I'd also imagine business professionals don't deal with glycol, oil, hydraulic fluid, or the myriad of other things our uniforms are exposed to.

I dress professionally, yet functionally for my position. I don't work in an office. I fly airplanes.
 
If I'm wearing the blazer and it's cold, I've got the overcoat as a backup for that. I agree that leather + blazer looks jacktarded. If I'm not wearing the blazer, it's the leather jacket all the way. Really, the only time I wear my blazer anyway is when it's too warm for the leather, but it's during the time of the year we're required to wear either the blazer or the leather jacket. The leather jacket is, like Matt said, more convenient. If you have to DH 4 times in 3-5 days, it's easier to jam the jacket in an overhead and not worry about it getting wrinkled. Pop the epaulets off, and it's a decent overnight jacket, too. Unless you're wearing a suit to the restaurant, you're gonna look like a flasher walking there with an overcoat. :)
 
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