what's up everyone we're going flying in just a minute but before that if you've watched
some of my previous flying videos you might have noticed that I almost always wear this
vest when I go flying and some people have started asking why do I always wear this vest
when I go flying this is because I believe it makes me look cool it's because I'm always
cold and it helps to keep me warm stick around and I'll share some of my thoughts so as promised
let's go flying
So we're going to takeoff from this airfield here
and fly to a nearby airfield which is about five minutes flying away and if it
isn't too misty over there I might shoot few circuits and um maybe even do a full stop
Kitty Hawk traffic IJC entering and back-tracking runway 19
Affirm, if I can go, I can go immediate
Kitty Hawk traffic, IJC entering runway 19 for immediate takeoff
after takeoff left turn-out departing to Rhino Park airfield
No wind.
Airspeed and rpm good
Kitty Hawk traffic IJC two miles to the east of the field
5,500 climbing 6,200 feet routing Rhino Park airfield, changing frequency 125.4 IJC
Rhino Park traffic IJC on a right-hand downwind for runway 11 on the gravel, full stop landing
full flaps
Rhino Park traffic IJC turning final approach runway 11 full stop landing
Okay so, two reasons why I wear this vest number one is convenience number two is safety so
let's cover convenience first so in these planes especially when you have a passenger
there is nowhere to put anything down while you're flying I mean you can put some things
in the back but then for the most part you're not going to be able to retrieve it in flight
especially if you have a passenger the only other place to put something is on the instrument
panel but I'm not a big fan of that unless it's papers or maps or something like that
because you know if you it tends to want to fall down if you hit turbulence or something
it comes down like let's say it's my smartphone falls down jams the controls not good even
if it just falls down on the floor um most likely it will slide back because there's holes
going back through the fuselage to the back so it will if it falls in there it will slide
all the way to the back so when you put anything then? So obviously you've got your pockets
jean pockets but I'm not a big fan of that because you know smartphones these days
they are so big um and sitting in that position it's not comfortable if you want
to take it out to take a photo or something it's a mission to do that especially if you
have a passenger next to you so I don't know you could probably can't see it but getting
a phone out of my jeans pocket like when I'm sitting like this it's just it is
so difficult. So with my phone in my vest it's easy as that. Phone out
phone back in pockets and I can reach anything on me easily while I'm flying it just makes
it so much easier to carry things on you that you can easily retrieve while you're flying
very convenient the second point is safety so there are a couple things that I always
what to have on me when I go flying small aircraft so this on this vest probably the
most prominent thing is this thing over here so what is it let me show you
it's a knife but it's not just a knife it's a knife with a seat belt cutter so the seat
belts on these airplanes are actually plastic so if they melt in a post-crash fire or they
get hit by something hard I don't trust that they will necessarily be able to release and
the one thing you need to be able to do after a crash is to get out fast and that's why
I carry this if that seat belt's not coming loose for me or my passenger I'm gonna cut
it loose it's also got a glass breaker on the tip um also if you need to get out if
the air is upside down depending on what plane you have, just take it like that hit it breaks
glass and then lastly obviously it's it's just a knife but yeah this is mostly useful
for the seat belt cutter so other things I also have in this vest are let's have a look
I've got my Leatherman I don't think I've ever gone flying without it it's I think it's
mostly out of convenience sake it's got very nice pliers on it so if I'm too lazy to grab
the proper tool in the back I usually just use this and same goes for the Phillips or
the flat head screwdriver on here and obviously it's got a bunch of knives and bottle openers
and files and things like that in here as well which is good to have on you other than
that I also carry some first aid equipment and I'll get to why I do that in just a moment
but just let me let me show you I'm gonna put the camera down again
so I've got some various forms of burn shield and burn treatment um which I always want
to have on me so the reason why that is is
and some people will disagree but when you have a crash especially if there's fire
the main rule for me is what's not on you isn't coming out of the plane with you and
you might say no but it's just it takes a second to grab something out of the back I
absolutely disagree with that because that is not the case um I know from real life experience
not me but other people that what's not only isn't coming out and that's why I carry these
things on me and the burn kit I've got is very basic and I definitely need to expand
on that another thing I carry on me in my jacket is my GPS locator or my tracker this
is a spot Gen 4 I like to have it on me to be honest in the past I've been guilty of
putting it on the instrument panel when I fly simply because then I can use the tracking
function and you can actually see the satellites when it's in my pocket it cannot see the satellites
but obviously if there's an emergency I can still use the SOS or help or any other of the functions
on it I'm not sure if I've sold you on wearing this flight vest but is it the best thing
you can do for the reasons I've described maybe but most probably it isn't and something
that I would think is probably even better than to wear a vest is to wear a flight suit
assuming it has as many pockets it's even better because number one fight suits are
extremely comfortable to wear it's almost like flying in pajamas and it's also got that
added safety against fire the more of your body you cover in any any type of clothing
assuming it's not synthetics or nylons or things like that will give you a little bit
of protection and I've seen it I promise you it is the case so fightsuit gives that extra
bit of safety that this vest obviously doesn't do so with a flight suit mentioned let's get
to the elephant in the room but first let's take off and head back
Rhino Park traffic IJC taxiing from parking area to runway intersection
There's almost no wind at the moment but um preferring to use 27
but you can go ahead and use any one you'd like, I'll wait at the holding point
Copy, I'm waiting at the holding point 27
Before takeoff checks too many pilots go fly in heaven early
T test controls free, full, correct
airspeed, rpm good
Kitty Hawk traffic IJC is a Bushbaby now joining on a right-hand downwind
for runway 01 full stop landing
So let's do a nice short landing again
I'll aim for the numbers. The 01 number
Kitty Hawk traffic IJC turning final approach runway 01 full stop landing
Aiming for that numbers
aw, just missed it
Not too bad
So let's quickly chat about the elephant in the room and I call it that because wearing
something like this or a flight suit or a helmet you always have the possibility that people
are gonna make fun of you think weird of you most pilots actually don't care what you're
wearing they don't just care about you that much but some do. I know a few pilots who
are considering getting a flight suit or a helmet and they are too concerned with what other
people are going to think and I've also heard in forums I frequent, in WhatsApp groups
people actively discouraging people from wearing flight suit or wearing helmets and I think that's
pretty despicable because if anybody wants to do anything for to improve safety in general
aviation that should be encouraged not discouraged there's nothing wrong with being concerned
what other people think about you but when it comes to safety you know I'm at that age
where I don't give a damn I know why I'm wearing why I want to wear a flight suit why I want
to wear a helmet I've got my reasons and anybody who wants to wear a flight suit or a helmet
or whatever are doing it for a reason and if people want to make fun of you or discourage
you just think about your reason for doing it because that should be enough to to make
you realize that don't give a damn what anybody else think about you you're not doing it for
them you're doing it for yourself and the people you love
okay so I do hope you enjoyed that I tried to make it as fun as possible while talking about
something that could potentially be seen as boring so let me know by leaving a comment your thoughts
on the subject of flight vest, flight suits, helmets anything like that safety related and yeah
if you watch up to this point thank you for that and I'll see you in the next one