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Pilot Shoes?

RVBottomly

PATRON
Asotin County Washington (KLWS)
I've suddenly been getting advertisements and feed alerts for pilot shoes. I feel completely out of touch.

My pilot shoes are what I wear for everything else: basic Ariat boots.

Is this really a thing? Do I now need special shoes if I want to be a real pilot?....
 
My Skywagon instructor insists his students wear thin-soled shoes. I have to admit wearing minimalist trail runners provides a lot more feedback through the pedals.

But I’ve been told you’re not a real pilot unless you wear bunny boots. . . .*shrug*
 
"But I’ve been told you’re not a real pilot unless you wear bunny boots"

TRUER WORDS HAVE NEVER BEEN SAID!!!
DENNY
 
For those pilots that really need to stay quick on the rudder and brakes, look no further:

Heelys-Children-Adult-font-b-Shoes-b-font-With-Wheels-font-b-Kids-b-font-Fashion.jpg



In the Cub, I wear the same style of pull-on Red Wing boots I've been wearing for a few decades. Feels weird to fly in anything else. If I was flying a Pitts, I might look for something different.
 
I like to wear something that I could walk in for a day or two if I had to and was able. In 20 mins. I can be a day or two walk from anything resembling civilization. I like light gear with me that I can wet in for a beach or something. And lots of fly dope just in case.
 
Since most of my flying is in the winter my go to boot is my Scarpas. Best boot I have ever owned. You do have to warm them up at temps of -20 to get them on in the morning. Other than that they fly nice and can be used as a tool or weapon depending on how many Sasquatch are in the area.

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In the summer and fall I always have some sort of hiking boot on depending on what food source I'm after.

Jerry
 

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Since most of my flying is in the winter my go to boot is my Scarpas. Best boot I have ever owned. You do have to warm them up at temps of -20 to get them on in the morning. Other than that they fly nice and can be used as a tool or weapon depending on how many Sasquatch are in the area.

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In the summer and fall I always have some sort of hiking boot on depending on what food source I'm after.

Jerry
Dying laughing at this post! Who does this lol!
 
I'll readily admit that when I was learning the Cub that I kept a pair of boat shoes in it and changed from street shoes, it really helped with the feel. Today I fly in what I'm walking around in, well except for Muck Boots that is but regardless I can't imagine buying special flying shoes.
 
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All the crap I get about flying barefoot.. Usually throw some flip flops in the plane in case I have to go into a public place, sometimes people give you crap if you don't have shoes. Now I understand they give you crap if you aren't wearing a mask. I'd tell them no shoes or mask, but in the interest of public safety I am wearing a condom. Flying is all about risk assessment.
 
All the crap I get about flying barefoot.. Usually throw some flip flops in the plane in case I have to go into a public place, sometimes people give you crap if you don't have shoes. Now I understand they give you crap if you aren't wearing a mask. I'd tell them no shoes or mask, but in the interest of public safety I am wearing a condom. Flying is all about risk assessment.
And who does this? Between you and Jerry I think we have the ends of the spectrum covered LOL!
 
Anything works in a cub so I wear whatever I want to walk home in in case of a crash. For me footwear in the Cessna is all about ground handling. Big boots make it difficult for a full rudder use without hitting the toe brakes. I wear dress shoes in the Cessna when flying in carry the set of walk home boots in the back.
DENNY
 
Since most of my flying is in the winter my go to boot is my Scarpas. Best boot I have ever owned. You do have to warm them up at temps of -20 to get them on in the morning. Other than that they fly nice and can be used as a tool or weapon depending on how many Sasquatch are in the area.

View attachment 50792
In the summer and fall I always have some sort of hiking boot on depending on what food source I'm after.

Jerry

Which boot? I’m always looking for warm winter boots


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Wear what ever you want, but some of the most talented Cub pilots in the world do it in hip boots most of the time. Any other foot wear is just an excuse for lazy feet.

Glenn
 
Experience has taught me that anytime i get in a plane there's a remote chance i may be walking home. The terrain im flying over will usually determine my choice of footwear.
 
Not sure how many runs Jerry makes in his Scarpas between flights, but I’ve spent a little time packing my Lange Tii’s up a mountainside. And while I don’t believe it was ever -20 unless you count the windchill, there was one time in particular it took two of us to get one foot in a boot at time, then we had to warm up, before attacking the second boot. A bit nervous to find out our feet warmed up once in the ski boots that day, but then Tuckermans could bring weather like that. No way I could fly in them. ;)


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Which boot? I’m always looking for warm winter boots


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Poor Joe pointed me in the direction of Mukluks made by Steger. Well made, light, soft flexible bottoms and warm.
 
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Flying floats in the summer I want something on my feet that won't hinder swimming to shore. Since I can be as much as 100-miles from "civilization" (or at least the Nunavut version of civilization), walking out is not an option.

I find my "Bunny Boots" (the Canadian military Sorels) are too bulky to fly in so I keep them in the back and use Steger mukluks in the winter months.

In the summer, a crash on floats may leave you with nothing but what's in your jeans or life-vest pockets. At least with a crash in the winter months there's a good chance you will have access to all of your survival equipment, including footwear.
 
Folks should not overlook the fact that many times during winter months, special consideration should be observed on footwear. I know of LOTS of winter time accidents, where guys got pinned in the plane;[emoji20] until help finally arrived.Your feet are about the first thing to freeze, in sub zero temps.
I have known of many guys loosing their feet to frostbite, wearing a bunch of different footwear. But I can not recall of EVER hearing of 'anyone' EVER loosing their feet if they were wearing "[emoji195] bunny boots".
Something for the flip-flop crowd to consider if your ever going flying up North?
Be safe
E


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I wear whatever I have on my feet at the time. I do have some "easy on, easy off" boots that I wear during the winter so that I can slip my feet out of them after getting into the plane because otherwise my feet get totally cooked by the heater while my wife is still cold in the back seat.

I have used some auto racing shoes I have on a couple of occasions, which are very narrow shoes with thin soles. They work great when there is limited access in the foot/rudder pedal area, and as a bonus they are fire resistant. Hopefully that feature won't be needed though.

Funny story: We had a fellow back at my old home field who made it through his entire private pilot training without ever really flying in any appreciable wind. Thus, he was of course reluctant to fly anytime the wind was blowing more than a few miles an hour. So we were all out at the airport on a beautiful but somewhat breezy day. Everyone was flying and we asked this fellow if he was going to go up. He said "no, not today. I haven't got my flying shoes on"! After that we constantly encouraged him to put a shoe rack in the plane so he'd always have his "flying shoes".
 
Copied from a similar thread from a few years ago:


“I second the suggestion of always wearing clothing that is appropriate for the environment you intend to fly in.

A couple years ago camping in ID. I made acquaintance with a small group of pilots. The following morning we had agreed to an early departure and explore some strips then Big Cr. for breakfast. I was sitting next my plane switching out my hiking shoes for my flat soled "flying shoes". An old timer took note and, in a very considerate manor, suggested I ought to get used to flying in hiking shoes. I respectfully put my hiking shoes back on and we went flying.
A few hours later, on a steep base to final into Big Cr, a flash of white caught my eye, I looked down and caught a brief glimpse of a plane wreck on the steep, heavily timbered, north slope of the approach end. I announced final and mentioned the downed plane. I got an immediate response re a half hr overdue missing pilot whos location was still unknown.
Apparently, the pilot had the misfortune of stall spinning into trees on base turn behind the "hog back" and went unnoticed in spite of lots of activity in the field that morning.
With the wherabouts of the wreck fresh in my mind I landed and proceeded on foot a 1/4 mi. thru some of the steepest, nastiest, rain soaked black timber and blow down, with a small group of guys in tow.
What followed was three hours of backbreaking superhuman effort of a small group of dedicated men to extract the stricken pilot and deliver via improvised backboard to an awaiting lifeflight on the field.
The significance of the old timers comment really hit home that afternoon when i arrived back at camp and noticed my "flying shoes" sitting on the cooler.“
 
My Skywagon instructor insists his students wear thin-soled shoes. I have to admit wearing minimalist trail runners provides a lot more feedback through the pedals.

But I’ve been told you’re not a real pilot unless you wear bunny boots. . . .*shrug*
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Which boot? I’m always looking for warm winter boots


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I wouldn't call Scarpa's warm, at least my old pair of Denali's but they are light and easy to walk in for a ski boot. The big plus is they would clip right into a pair of Salomon Pilot's.
 
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Just a quick shout out to a shoe company. I found this brand of shoes that are great to fly in and also to hike around in. They don't have a heel to speak of, so it does not get caught in the heel brake. Very easy to fly in, get in and out of the plane and hike around in

https://www.vivobarefoot.com/us
 
Vans... Flat soles. Suck for a hike but Kevin Q. wears them... 8) plus you can hop on your One Wheel and scoot around the strip like Trent P. !!! Seriously, I do like flying in Vans... your mileage might vary...
 
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