Flight Suit Performance in the field?

[John Randolph]

Anyone have experience or input on the use of Nomex Flight suits in the field?
Are they comfortable? Are they durable? Should I just stick to BDUs?

[Hootbro]

Stick to BDUs. WHile flight suits are comfortable, they were only made for fire protection in case of a crash. Fabric is very thin compared to winter BDUs. Being a former helo flight crewmember in the Army, I can tell you this from experience


Hootbro

[EMDII]

I've had to wear Nomex (Crewman's suit in M1A1) and BDUs for close to twenty years. Stick to BDUs.

A one piece suit in the field is pretty inconvenient.

[warden]

Flight suits look spiffy. Having spent a few thousand hours driving helo's in them I can assure you that spiffy doesn't make the constant wedgy go away. Nothing like trying to use a one piece in a field latrine. Ditto on the lack of warmth in the cold, only fix is long johns that makes the wedgy worse.

[bigdadytid]

Back in the day, i used to wear Nomex CVC suits in the field. The main reason I did it was to save wear and tear on the BDUs (plus the cool guy CVC jacket, balvaca and nomex gloves). If i had my choice for comfort it would be be BDUs.

[Stacey Doyle]

I never cared for the Nomex CWU style jackets either. They simply are'nt warm enough below freezing. Leather is'nt much better. The best jacket is the old MA1, which isn't approved for wear anymore. Pity.

[Cruzado]

Take it from someone who has to wear both: you can't beat a polo shirt, jeans and a light set of boots on a mild day.

Was once directed to fly a mission dressed in civvies, and man oh man, it sure was comfy! No 7-hour flighsuit wedgy for this guy. :D

v/r, Cruzado

[F4GIB]

The absolute best thing for 3 season use are the VN-era tropical combat BDU's in rip-stop cotton. They can often be found at gun shows or in surplus stores. Look for the rip-stop fabric, it's the key feature.

TROUSERS, man's cotton, wind resistant,
rip stop poplin, OG-107, class 1,
DSA 100-69-C-2149 (these have drawstrings at the end of the pant legs)
and
COAT, man's cotton, wind resistant,
rip stop poplin, OG-107, class 1,
DSA 100-68-C-1363 (these have slant upper pockets).

Flight suits were often traded for these.

Beware the flight suit wedgee!
:D

[ October 25, 2001: Message edited by: F4GIB ]

[tankergod]

Buddy,

Are you a tanker/Bradley crewman, infantryman or something else not as important?

To me, I would occassionally prefer a Nomex suit. Heck, you don't have to wear anything except your skivvies under the nomex. A few times on hot days out at Ft. Riley I would unzip the flaps a little bit and get a breeze going. Not a pretty site, but when you are in a branch that averages 2.0 balls per individual you don't need to impress anyone with your attire or charm.

Also, when you walk into the main post with your nomex and custom made tanker boots from good old Chung down at Ft. Knox people know that your a combat arms soldier & not one of those CS or CSS types. Besides, doesn't your unit establish an SOP for the uniform for the day??? I always made sure that my PLT SGT or 1SG enforced the dress code. Nothing worse than a hodge podge of soldiers.

Anyway, there is no good answer except personal preference if your unit gives you the choice. Don't let anybody kid you. Hell, whatever lights your fancy, right?

Remember: Chicks dig guys with a 120 smoothbore :cool:

[Double G Gunsmithing]

You GO Sgt Mjr :D

I got your six covered :cool:

Pedegree to long to list, but you, Ted
and a few others know.

Sincerely, George L. Gouger
Life Member NRA Since 1969 www.doubleggunsmithing.com (http://www.doubleggunsmithing.com)

[Master Blaster]

George,
Olah, how are you my friend? What is it here lately with all of these $hit talking, nonqual, pinheaded Mother&%*$ers? I haven't had a chance to run one down like that in a few, feels kinda nice, actually!
Take care,
Jim :D :D :D :D

[Double G Gunsmithing]

McUzi.com went belly up LOL !! :rolleyes:

Seems that the AR-15.com/ Ak47.com / McUzi crowd is coming over here :mad:

This place has alot of "class", it is up to the Members to keep it squared away :cool:

Thank You SgtMjr,

Sincerely, George L. Gouger
Life Member NRA Since 1969 www.doubleggunsmithing.com (http://www.doubleggunsmithing.com)

[Andy the Aussie]

I am thinking that the report of that 120 smooth bore of his had screwed up his brain just a little... :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

But then I guess you would have needed a brian in the first place... :rolleyes:

maybe he is just a WANKER..... :D :D

Andy :p

[Master Blaster]

Andy,
I think that your assessment is "Spot On"! :D
Regards,
Jim

[tankergod]

Wow, I try to relax a little bit and have some fun and everybody blows up. All I intended to do was raise a little friendly banter and basically tell the gentleman who initially asked the question to basically make the choice based upon how he fells about the option between BDUs and his Nomex. But noooo some people get their panties in a bunch. I guess some people take things a little too seriously.

To me reading the interesting stories and the insight from people with lots of experience on various topic is fantastic. With that said, don't take things so seriously sometimes. You will enjoy life a heck of a lot longer.

Anyway, go ahead and rail on me if it makes you feel better. I'm just here to pick up a few tidbits of info, keep myself from getting bored at work, maybe help someone when I can, and to provide an occassional piece of sarcasm to spur a volley of conversation.

Take it easy. :cool: :D

[Master Blaster]

tankergod,
It appears that YOU felt the need to be condescending, nobody else had been. There was nothing in your post that even remotely resembeled friendly banter or light hearted ribbing. Had it been so, I'm sure that no one, myself included, would have taken exception to your comments. It is regrettable that these types of exchanges occur, but they are most often initiated by someone who has nothing more in mind than starting a rowl. If you want to come in and get to know folks here, I think that you will find this board is a great place to be. If you want to troll it, expect some vigorous replies. Regarding taking things so seriously, loose the attitude and be a little more respectful. Do that and I can gurantee you that we won't have to have these kinds of talks in the future.

Regards,
Jim

[tankergod]

Master Blaster,

Simply stated: If I offended you or anyone else, I apologize. In fact, I am greatful that we have a place like this to share information across the country and globe on firearms issues, etc.

In good faith, I have a legit question that hopefully someone can answer for me? I've only had an STG-58 for about a year now. It has the straight back stock & I was wanting to replace it with a penguin type stock, as I hear these are easier to shoot with. Anyway, my question is has anyone used the US made penguin stock from TAPCO? Or, are there any other recommendations? I would prefer the TAPCO stock simply because it is fairly cheap.

Take it easy! :cool:

[Master Blaster]

tanker,
I am not a man to hold grudges, especially when someone makes the effort. I too apologize for my rather crass reply. Now to your question. I have put Penguin stocks on both of my STGs and they work fine. They look pretty sexy as well. The only thing that you have to do is determine if you have a Belgium or Austrian manufactured lower. There is a slight profile difference in the lower where the recoil/sight block inserts into the body of the receiver. I can e-mail you a picture later to show you exactly, if you need me to. A call to Gerald at penguine and he can also help you out. You will find that the rifle shoots better in general after you replace the stock. I hope this helps. No hard feelings Amigo! Feel free to contact me if you have more questions. Oh yeah! Welcome Aboard!
Regards,
Jim :D :D :D :D