Pilot Funeral Etiquette

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SkiBum112

New Member
My wife posed an interesting question to me that I thought was a silly idea. But in fairness to her I thought I would pose the question to the forum.

If a fellow airline pilot passes away would it be proper to wear your uniform to the funeral? Now what if the said pilot worked for a different airline than yours, would you wear it then?

I'm of the opinion that unless you are in the armed services then it would just be silly to wear your uniform.
 
SkiBum112 said:
My wife posed an interesting question to me that I thought was a silly idea. But in fairness to her I thought I would pose the question to the forum.

If a fellow airline pilot passes away would it be proper to wear your uniform to the funeral? Now what if the said pilot worked for a different airline than yours, would you wear it then?

I'm of the opinion that unless you are in the armed services then it would just be silly to wear your uniform.
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I wouldn't wear anything I couldn't safely get falling down drunk in to a pilot funeral.
 
I'm gonna say just wear a suit. It's not like you two shared a foxhole in Nam together. Show up for the service, maybe if you were close, say a few words. You're just asking for unwanted attention by wearing your uniform.
 
Not sure if it was because of the accident, but for Marvin Renslows funeral, most pilots showed up in full uniform.

I do however think that unless your in the military, wearing a pilots uniform to anything other than work, is a bit tool-like.
 
v1valarob said:
Not sure if it was because of the accident, but for Marvin Renslows funeral, most pilots showed up in full uniform.

I do however think that unless your in the military, wearing a pilots uniform to anything other than work, is a bit tool-like.
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I think that's the only time it might be appropriate to wear a pilot uniform to a funeral. I still wouldn't have though.
 
Brothers of similar crafts were once known for attending a fallen Brother's funeral in the trade accepted clothing as a sign of professional respect.
 
surreal1221 said:
Brothers of similar crafts were once known for attending a fallen Brother's funeral in the trade accepted clothing as a sign of professional respect.
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:yeahthat:

This... I agree with. It's not only a sign of respect... but of solidarity for those who have sacrificed money, time, effort, and family to accomplish the same goals in your trade or profession.

Police, Firefighters, Military, Pilot, Waterboy... doesn't matter. I'd wear my uniform as a sign of respect. Not concerned about the "tool" label when I'm paying my respects to the fallen. It would probably be the only time you'd see me in a "hat" too.

Bob
 
Captain_Bob said:
:yeahthat:

This... I agree with. It's not only a sign of respect... but of solidarity for those who have sacrificed money, time, effort, and family to accomplish the same goals in your trade or profession.

Police, Firefighters, Military, Pilot, Waterboy... doesn't matter. I'd wear my uniform as a sign of respect. Not concerned about the "tool" label when I'm paying my respects to the fallen. It would probably be the only time you'd see me in a "hat" too.

Bob
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Agreed
 
If you are the only one who shows up wearing a pilot uniform you might feel a bit awkward. But if it is something that a memo perhaps goes out or is planned, it can look pretty awesome.

Honestly speaking being a pilot isnt like any other job. It takes a certain individual and personality to make the sacrifice to get there in the first place, then spend all those years living the lifestyle, and making it all the way to the end in this industry like that... its not easy. You're not a McDonalds employee. You got into it, because you have a passion for it, and you all share that one thing. Much like police, firefighters.. They do the same. I hate how some pilots have such a low-self worth for what they do.

Also depends on the person.. if they hated what they do towards the end and wanted nothing to do with it, it would be somewhat pointless. But if the person constantly walked around with his head pointed skywards remembering the good ol' flying times, I think it would be a pretty cool gesture and a fitting goodbye to a fellow pilot. Respect.

But like I said, if you are the only one who shows up wearing it, it will just look dumb.
 
Often the widow will make his/her wishes known as to uniforms. More than a few times I have seen a request for fellow aviators to attend in uniform.
 
I remember in the past that when a couple of our pilots passed away, that we were asked to wear our uniform if we went to the funeral by our union. I think it's especially appropriate if they died in the line of duty, much like a police or fireman's funeral. They would show up in full uniform too.
 
SkiBum112 said:
My wife posed an interesting question to me that I thought was a silly idea. But in fairness to her I thought I would pose the question to the forum.

If a fellow airline pilot passes away would it be proper to wear your uniform to the funeral? Now what if the said pilot worked for a different airline than yours, would you wear it then?

I'm of the opinion that unless you are in the armed services then it would just be silly to wear your uniform.
Click to expand...

I wish I would have been in Los Angeles when Peter Graves' funeral was going on. I would have gone in uniform... absolutely!
 
I guess it depends on the pilot.. I've buried both airline pilots and weekend warriors.. At the airline pilots funeral many were there in their uniforms at the warrior funerals guys usually wore typical funeral garb..
 
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