Learn about the US Navy pilot’s ‘toothed’ flight suit

Like motorcyclists, the US Navy pilots ‘wear flying suits to prevent falls, not to show off when driving.’ Their equipment is for icy conditions, fires and needs to float in the water.

Even the first pilot to land on a warship was carrying safety gear: Eugene Ely, attempting to land on the deck of the armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania in 1911, was flying Curtiss Pusher, wearing a leather soccer helmet, eyeglasses, and a makeshift life jacket made of bicycle tubes. The probability of the pilot being forced to end the mission with a parachute launch from the cockpit is very small – it happened exactly 1.33 times per 100,000 flight hours, according to the US Navy. But naval aviation officers still carry equipment for such a scenario. “Most equipment is used only in emergencies,” said Lt. Luke “Oslo” DeLisio, a flight officer from the 106th Strike Squadron. Inside, the pilot wears a cotton bra. In the event of a fire in the cockpit, the cotton will not melt and stick to the skin like nylon or polyester. In terms of underwear, the pilots wore a one-piece CWU 27 / P Nomex suit. Developed by the DuPont company in the 1960s, Nomex is a synthetic flame retardant that can withstand heat and flash (a form of electrical discharge) up to 400 degrees Celsius. When the Nomex suit encounters high temperatures, the fibers Its thickens and carbonizes, absorbing heat. The standard color of the CWU 27 / P is sage green, but the American pilots who served in the Persian Gulf area and nearby wore desert brown. The flight suit is a one-piece, zippered front jumpsuit design to ensure limited exposure to fire. DeLisio says it’s a comfortable fit. “We call it” pocket “. No need, this thing is ready-made, just stick the stickers in and go. It’s almost like wearing your pajamas to work. ” Equipped with a velcro and eight pockets (including a zippered arm pocket with a separate cap for holding the pen), the flight suit is standard work attire both on and off the plane. “I usually keep my wallet and canvas hat in my leg pocket,” says DeLisio that most other bags are difficult to reach while flying. Other pilots use arm pockets to carry their mission cards and a pen or two. American pilots are also equipped with long, fireproof GS / FRP-2 gloves. US Navy Lieutenant Alexander Klapka carries all the equipment an F-18 pilot wears. Why are most pilots not wearing black shoes? The carrier deck is like a construction site – there is always a risk of something falling or rolling over the pilot’s feet while he is on deck. The pilot wears military-issued or separately purchased leather boots (but approved by the US Navy) with steel toes protected. Integrated steel reinforcement protects the pilot’s toes when parachuting from the plane. High ankle support is a must for rough grounding. While a sports parachute slows a person down to about 5m / sec, a person falls in a faster military parachute – around 7.3m / sec. Each pilot has a preference for footwear, but DeLisio wears Bellville flying shoes that are issued by the naval air force. He says he has worn multiple pairs, but adds one difference: “My shoes are always brown.” Navy pilots are in constant debate about the color of the shoe – black or brown. “ A guy in black shoes is usually a guy working on deck, ” says DeLisio. Pilots tend to wear brown shoes, but some people still wear black shoes. Top Gun and Blue Angels show crew pilots still wear black boots, but brown stubbles are more common among fighter pilots. Outside of the flight suit, a pilot wears a CSU-15A / P. G-suit, which, as the name suggests, has airbags that compress the pilot’s legs and abdomen, helping to retain blood in the brain. of the pilot in high-speed maneuvers. Pilots can withstand six times the force of gravity without wearing a G suit, but the CSU-15A / P suit allows a typical F / A-18 fighter pilot to perform maneuvers. with a gravitational acceleration up to 7.6 G before losing consciousness due to this force.