Facial Hair For Airline Pilots

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turbojet28

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Are airline pilots in the US allowed to have facial hair like a goatee especially if it it trimmed and short?? I have no clue why im asking this, but it just seems like i see no pilots with facial hair and i didnt know if there were regs against it or not. Thanks, See ya!
 
You're not allowed to have facial hair that will interfere with the seal on an oxygen mask.

I haven't seen any major airline pilots with goatees, so I'd hate to say "Well, as long as it's trimmed, go ahead!"

I do, however, think it's up to the individual airlines to regulate what type of facial hair is appropriate.
 
I would be careful as the grease in facial hair could spontainously combust with O. Just something to keep in mind!
 
How about turbans? Can an airline pilot wear a turban? Even for strictly religious reasons? And do you think an airline pilot with a beard and turban would have a hard time getting a loaded AK-47 past the TSA screeners?

p.s., Iain, not sure, but I don't think skin oils react to oxygen the same way petroleum-type oils/greases do.
 
What Iain was talking about, is if you happen to eat greasy food and the grease paticles get stuck on your beard. Oil does not act well with 100% oxy. Back in the 80's the Navy allowed beards and goatees, but sailors kept dying from improper seals on their firefighting oxygen breathing apparatuses during shipboard fires and also some pilots experienced hypoxia with their masks. So facial hair besides mustaches are no longer allowed. Even mustaches have to be trimmed to certain length.
 
I wonder if Shorts 360s drivers could get by with a beard then?
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do most 121 operators require you to be clean shaven then?
like how do they look upon a lazy three day no shave?
goodness i hate shaving.
 
I've got a mustache and so do a lot of other pilots. In fact, my pal Gary's got this big old rancher-style cowboy "Wyatt Earp" mustache.

As long as it doesn't interfere with the seal on the oxygen mask and you don't wear any petroleum-based lip balms, you should be ok.

However, here's the caveat: I read the FOM (Flight Operations Manual) and Delta doesn't say anything about having a goatee, but in nearly 8 years of being a part-121 airline pilot, I've never seen a pilot on duty with a goatee, ever.
 
I worked at an FBO and we had a good bit of the fractionals come in. The only one I ever saw with a goattee was this guy who flew a Beechjet for Flight Options and he was the biggest prick I have ever dealt with. You would have sworn he flew something like a GV and the he owned it all. The rest of those guys were either all clean shaven or a mustache.
 
Walk through the airport and I dare say that 85% of the pilots have mustaches. I noticed this a couple of months ago. Take a look next time.
 
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Walk through the airport and I dare say that 85% of the pilots have mustaches.

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What's up with that? Is it kind of like the scene in "Me, Myself and Irene" in the flashback where ALL of the cops had mustaches??

Me? I'll stay with the "no facial hair" thankyaverymuch!
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Me? I'll stay with the "no facial hair" thankyaverymuch!

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As will I. But not by choice. Sad to say this 27 year old can't grow facial hair. Well, I can grow a redneck stache, you know the blonde peach fur that glimmers in the sun. But I can grow a serious neard. That's a neck beard for those of you wondering.
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I dunno, I always kept a mustache because I never grew much facial hair (didn't start shaving until I graduated from college). Plus, if I didn't have one, I'd look about 12 years old some folks say.

Personally, I'd rather shave it, but once you get married, you've got to 'clear' certain design changes with your fashion director (ie: wife). And she's not havin' it!
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From what I can remember a full beard is only approved in limited cases for those with some kind of skin/facial anomoly....and even then it must be neatly trimmed and not interfere too much with the O2 mask.
 
Well I would have thought that a military style mustache would be approved, it seems the only form of hair expression in the military allowed.

Heck I'm 22 and the drinking age is 18 here, I take it as a complement everytime I get IDed.
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I'm a total bum about shaving, I shave about once a week and that's only with a trimmer, if I had darker hair I'd always have a 5 oclock shadow. I figure I might as well enjoy it while I can. (Being single prolly has somthing do with it too, hehe who wants to kiss sandpaper?)
 
Not even a very neatly trimmed goatee?...let's say no more than a 1/4"? It also seems understandable that airlines (part121 operations) have more stringent policies, but what about the typical charter or corporate operations? Or is this just an industry norm? I have one and gotta say I'm kinda partial to it, I'm also one of those that isn't too keen on shaving, but hey if I have to I will.
 
Most of the interview strategy books suggest completely shaving your mustache before interviewing because a superbly trimmed 'stache is 'neutral, at best'. In fact, when I showed up for ground school after getting hired, all the clean shaven interviewees that got hired all were growing their mustaches back, including myself.

Remember, the people who ware interviewing you are probably fairly conservative and think "Limp Biskit" is a result of a horrific mistake at the local Cracker Barrel.

Personally, I'd suggest not showing up for a serious interview with a goatee, get hired, and then try to 'feel out' social environment before growing it back.
 
DAMMIT! Shaving sucks. Since I'm unemployed at the moment I shave about every 5 days, and thats to often as far as I'm concerned. I was hoping airlines wouldn't care about facial hair, but I was afraid of the answer so I never asked the question. Maybe I should just look for a career with "Uncle Skeeters Flying Service and Bait Shop"....that way I can show up for work with a ZZ Top beard and a toga and nobody would give a crap.
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I am lucky that I don't have to shave (and I'm 22 yrs old)...my bro is 27 and shaves once every 4 days... But seriously though, I really would like to grow a goatee but can't. It'll be to my advantage when I'm in the military...man they are strict about shaving.
 
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