Pilot wings and other stuff

My dad's USAF wings and Foriegn wings stay in a box. I collect them, I didn't earn them. I wear the wings I got from Sporty's, with the white shirt and epalutes. I am the captain, even if its is just a 150 or 172. DaveR (didn't buy the hat)
 
Ddayle said:
My dad's USAF wings and Foriegn wings stay in a box. I collect them, I didn't earn them. I wear the wings I got from Sporty's, with the white shirt and epalutes. I am the captain, even if its is just a 150 or 172. DaveR (didn't buy the hat)
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Make sure to also get the deluxe leather chart case to carry on each flight.:D
 
"FAA Wings" leather patch on A-2 or G-1 jackets?

All:
I'm new on the field. I have two leather nametages with FAA Proficiency wings from www.nametages4u.com. I earned them ~12 years ago. What's the consencus on wearing these on an A-2 or G-1 jacket?

Also, www.acmedepot.com is a terrific source for info on the A-2 and G-1 jackets.

Please reply..(double mic. click)
 
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Re: "FAA Wings" leather patch on A-2 or G-1 jackets?

mountainpilot said:
All:
I'm new on the field. I have two leather nametage with FAA Proficiency wings from www.nametages4u.com. I earned them ~12 years ago. What's the consencus on wearing these on a jacket?

Also, www.acmedepot.com is a terrific source for info on the A-2 and G-1 jackets.

Please reply..(double mic. click)
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No consequences at all from us, the FAA, or anyone official. Your spouse may consider you a geek, but then don't they always?


Welcome on board!
 
Hey Mountain Pilot - welcome to the forum. I don't think we have an "introduce yourself" sticky (do we?) ... but anyway - welcome! Where, what, when do you fly?
 
Haven't flown in a year. Too much time on airliners. Need an Airman's medical and BFR. Also need to stop writing so many checks for kids tuition at CU! (That's not going to happen for a few years). I'm in Wheat Ridge, you recommend any Doc's for a medical?

Also FYI, My Avirtar is a P-47 training group at Peterson AAFB in '43'. I may use my uncle's photo though. He's 87 and flew P-39's and 38's in N. Africa, Sicily and Italy.

Al
 
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I highly recommend Dr. Robert Sancetta http://flightphysical.com/addmap2.cgi?14035
Hwy 93 at El Dorado Springs (west of BJC on Hwy 128)

If you have a simple medical, there's an AME that co-offices with MacAir at BJC, I think.

I'm writing those same checks to CU ... actually, just wrote my last one for the middle son - the last year's on him.

I'm working with Western Air at BJC for my BFR - one of the guys I talked to (Pete) was/is active in CAP.
 
I joined this morning and am still getting checked out with forum functionality. I posted a message, never saw it in the New Posts section. Sorry if others have seen this post earlier. www.nametages4u.com, on the Miscellaneous page, have the FAA Wings in leather and embroidered patches. Many options and colors. I purchased one each. My question is, would it be appropriate to have these on an A-2 or G-1 jacket?
 
I see the postings now.....how redundent of me. Missed approach. Thanks for the info.
 
mountainpilot said:
I joined this morning and am still getting checked out with forum functionality. I posted a message, never saw it in the New Posts section. Sorry if others have seen this post earlier.
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Welcome.

It is a little confusing. New posts are those you haven't seen yet. The post you wrote has been seen by you, so it doesn't show up until someone posts an answer that you haven't seen yet.

To see a post you have entered, scroll down to Forum Jump and select the proper forum. You'll then see the thread and you can check it out.
 
I had a little tiny pair of wings that was a simple pin. I had it on my "Remove before flight" and "Id rather be flying" keychains to keep them together and one day it disappeared :(
 
Wow, A 5 yr hiatus! I have Army Senior Aviator Wings and EMS Wings. No stories, just something awarded after completion of an approved flight program.
 
SkyHog said:
Anyone else have any interesting wing stories?
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I just remembered a story.

When I graduated Air Force basic training, I flew southwest to my tech school. On the flight the stewardess gave a shout out to all the new airmen on board and gave is those plastic wings. I decided to be funny and wear them on my dress blues (I was younger). I made sure to take them off before we were met by our training leaders at the airport. This is a wings story:yes:
 
When I first started out in the Navy as a Merchant Marine Reservist, I wore this pin:
merchant_marine_reserve_pin_by_trebornehoc-d4llkyf.jpg


As a obscure reserve insignia, most folks on active duty were unfamiliar with it. It is also quite large compared to aviator wings and other warfare pins. So when I converted to Surface Warfare Officer folks would see the pin and ask me what it was for and if I was some kind of pilot.....I would joke and tell them that I was a cargo pilot and I flew BIG airplanes.
 
I have my Command Pilot wings from my Air Force days, which I hadn't worn since 1973. In truth, they haven't been out of the dresser since then. My kids had never even seen them. Last year I joined the NY Guard and I was able to pin them on again. I will admit that it felt really good to wear them after all these years. My youngest daughter (age 30) told me I look a foot taller and 20 years younger when I have them on. ;-)

Unfortunately I knew I was a short timer even when I signed the papers. The Guard was in desperate need of chaplains, so everyone sort of looked the other way when my age came up.
All's well that ends well. I was able to bring a couple of chaplains on board this year, so my battalion is in good shape, and on May 30, I aged out. At my age, even 4 star generals are forced to retire.
But I can wear my uniform, and my wings, on Memorial Day, July 4th, and Veterans Day. :)
 
SkyHog said:
Anyone else have any interesting wing stories?
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I've got a large original Coleman, somewhat abstract painting of fibers and clouds and blue sky now peppered with 10 consecutive sets from the Old Wings program, one from the new FAAST, the old Seawings, Idaho Safety award wings, AOPA, SPA, Montana PA, Alaska, Arlington Fly-in, Reno AirRaces, NAA, and others all pinned into it in somewhat meaningful fashion.

It looks good to a pilot, but painters cringe -sacrifices must be made....
 
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Dave Krall CFII said:
I've got a large original Coleman, somewhat abstract painting of fibers and clouds and blue sky now peppered with 10 consecutive sets from the Old Wings program, one from the new FAAST, the old Seawings, Idaho Safety award wings, AOPA, SPA, Montana PA, Alaska, Arlington Fly-in, Reno AirRaces, NAA, and others all pinned into it in somewhat meaningful fashion.

It looks good to a pilot, but painters cringe -sacrifices must be made....
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__________________

Almost forgot some of the most important wings; a pair of Mile Highs awarded by an Aviatrix (the most hard-won of them all....) and a set my kid made for me!
 
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I have a set of wings that resides in a frame on the wall of my den with some other trinkets accumulated over my career. I took them off when I retired and no longer wore a uniform. I do not wear any other sort when flying as a civilian. The subject of people wearing insignia they did not earn is one I do not think much on. I suppose there is something to be said against it, but it doesn't bother me much, most who do are easy to figure out as fakes, and I find them a little sad. I do have an issue with people wearing decorations they did not earn.
 
When I had hopes of going USMC aviation, I bought a set of aviator wings. When my opportunity had passed me by, I asked my neighbor to take the wings, put them in the bottom of his sea bag on his deployment to Afghanistan and to personally return them to me. I think he understood that I (in my own macho way) was asking for his safe return.

He returned the wings to me in the original packaging, crushed of course. I still have them, but if asked I would have to search a few boxes to find them. Those wings were never taken out of their packaging and never will.
 
I have a plastic set of the old wings that AA used to give to pax.

They were found in a box at my grandparent's place after they both passed away, and I realized where they came from.

My grandmother was absolutely terrified of flying. The one and only time she ever set foot on an airplane was when she and grandpa heard I was born a month and a half prematurely and weighed less than a pound and a half.

She told grandpa to book tickets so she might get to see her only grandson in case I didn't survive. She white-knuckled it from Denver to SFO on AA.

They have her the wings.

Grandpa had stashed them in a tackle box in the back of their bedroom closet.

They now hang in my truck on the visor.
 
What a great old thread. (8 years)!!! As a flight medic for a County fire and EMS program, every flight medic gets a set of wings to where above our name tags on dress uniforms. Without explanation, I never got them. Maybe I'm too outspoken.
 
I have a hat that I wear to airshows that has miniature USAF nav wings on them, along with pins representing the more interesting airplanes I've flown and such.

I have a necktie with RAF Navigator wings on it that was given to me after I gave a presentation at RAF Cranwell many years ago. I wear that sometimes, I'm kind of proud of it.
 
I just ran across this thread about wearing wings. I recently began flying Gliders. The SSA sells small Glider Pilot Wings to wear on Pilot's Bucket Hats, but I rarely ever see them worn. In a glider club it is almost impossible to know who is a rated pilot and who isn't as everyone dresses like they are going fishing and no one wears wings. This is a puzzle to me. Why such an effort to AVOID identifying with a sport that actually requires a lot of skill? ANYONE have any ideas?
 
Hi Sink said:
I just ran across this thread about wearing wings. I recently began flying Gliders. The SSA sells small Glider Pilot Wings to wear on Pilot's Bucket Hats, but I rarely ever see them worn. In a glider club it is almost impossible to know who is a rated pilot and who isn't as everyone dresses like they are going fishing and no one wears wings. This is a puzzle to me. Why such an effort to AVOID identifying with a sport that actually requires a lot of skill? ANYONE have any ideas?
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Any sharp object in a crash has the potential to tear up flesh, no need to add superfluous ornamentation to the mix. If you have the balls to climb into the pilot's seat for a launch, it can be assumed you are qualified. If not, oh well, it'll be a good show.:lol:
 
Henning said:
If you have the balls to climb into the pilot's seat for a launch, it can be assumed you are qualified. If not, oh well, it'll be a good show.:lol:
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:rofl:

I like how this thread had about a 5 year break, then another 2 years, and it's still alive!

I pinned my AOPA wings to my solo shirt-tail.
 
Have a collection of wings,aopa,my aircrew Air Force wings,and a bunch from the wings program,occasionally I will wear a pair as a tie tac
 
A follow-up to my 2013 post.
After I got out in '73, I never talked about my military service other to acknowledge I was in the Air Force and served in S.E.A. Not even my parents knew until 30 years after I got out.
Now that my kids and grand kids have seen me in uniform, and have learned something of my colorful past, I'm always getting requests from the grand kids to "put on your wings". I found a miniature set of Air Force wings which I use on my tie, and on a hat. (which I never actually wear in public). It turns out that's not what they wanted. I was "volunteered" by my family to do the opening prayer and give the speech at the local Memorial Day event this year and the kids made me put on my Air Force uniform. It was fun.
 
Hi Sink said:
I just ran across this thread about wearing wings. I recently began flying Gliders. The SSA sells small Glider Pilot Wings to wear on Pilot's Bucket Hats, but I rarely ever see them worn. In a glider club it is almost impossible to know who is a rated pilot and who isn't as everyone dresses like they are going fishing and no one wears wings. This is a puzzle to me. Why such an effort to AVOID identifying with a sport that actually requires a lot of skill? ANYONE have any ideas?
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Why does it matter? A pilots gonna tell you in just a minute ;)

Seriously though it has to do with anything solid on your hat being able to crack the canopy if you bounce up and hit it since most people don't crank their belts down like they're supposed to.
 
I should note, I used to fly underwater, and got to wear these:

vvKMsUi.jpg
 
Hi Sink said:
I just ran across this thread about wearing wings. I recently began flying Gliders. The SSA sells small Glider Pilot Wings to wear on Pilot's Bucket Hats, but I rarely ever see them worn. In a glider club it is almost impossible to know who is a rated pilot and who isn't as everyone dresses like they are going fishing and no one wears wings. This is a puzzle to me. Why such an effort to AVOID identifying with a sport that actually requires a lot of skill? ANYONE have any ideas?
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My thought is that since piloting (glider or powered) does not require a lot of skill to do, there's no one at a glider event that has a lot of skill.
 
woodchucker said:
I should note, I used to fly underwater, and got to wear these:

vvKMsUi.jpg
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It always bugged me that my silver aviation warfare pin took precedence over my gold aircrew breast insignia. That latter was a lot harder to earn IMHO.
 
SkyHog said:
Hey guys, looking for some answers here...

How many of y'all have pilot wings of some sort (I mean physical wings, like a pin or something). Is this one of those things that you don't buy yourself, and instead earn somehow? Or one of those things that out of pride, you buy and display?
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Just on my name patch on my uniform, always were given to me by the folks I fly for, so yeah I'd say earned.


SkyHog said:
Second, and this is even sillier than the first question....is there a second meaning to the "Mile High Club" that doesn't refer to sex? I see in Sporty's catalog that there is stuff about being in the "exclusive mile high club." I was thinking maybe landing at an airport that is more than 1 mile high in elevation, but I wasn't sure (I do that everytime I fly).

Thanks guys! (and gals)
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Yup sex

Bigger question, do you need to be 5,300 feet MSL or AGL :D
 
Wear them everyday on the uniform. Never any for civilian flying. When I got my private at 17 the local EAA chapter gave a pair(think I saw them in Sporty's) to congratulate me. The pair is on my dresser right now.
 
Apologies for reviving a 3+ year old post, but as the question of military patches came up I'm curious about a certain case.

I'm a female pilot (ASEL, glider, ground instructor) and recently attended a very interesting talk on the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (of WWII). I've been aware of them for some time but it was only during this talk that I fell in love with the "Fifinella" insignia, which was drawn by Walt Disney. I was thinking of sewing the patch onto one of my jackets, which I thought would be a neat awareness-raising tribute to the WASPs. My feeling after reading previous posts is that in the world of military insignia this is a special case, but if even a single person would feel this to be inappropriate I wouldn't do it. Ideas?

Also, on the question of the original posting regarding pilots' wings: I was lucky enough to complete my primary training for free as part of a high school program, and at the end of senior year a very cool wings pin was given to those who earned it. It's unlike others I've seen for private pilots, with a black heart in the center, and I keep it in a special place. It would be neat to wear on a special occasion at an aviation-related event or something, but I've never done so.

~Justine
 
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Justine Haupt said:
...I'm a female pilot (ASEL, glider, ground instructor) and recently saw a very interesting talk on the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (of WWII). I've been aware of them for some time but it was only during this talk that I fell in love with the "Fifinella" insignia, which was drawn by Walt Disney. I was thinking of sewing the patch onto one of my jackets, which I thought would be a neat awareness-raising tribute to the WASPs. My feeling after reading previous posts is that in the world of military insignia this is a special case, but if even a single person would feel this to be inappropriate I wouldn't do it. Ideas?...
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do you mean like, wearing a hells angels patch when you're not in the hells angels kind of thing? like stolen valor kind of thing? hhmmm, tough call. I'm assuming you're not like 90+ years old, so people would know you weren't part of the original squad, so to speak. I dunno. sorry I was no help.
 
Well, the National WASP Museum sells items with that insignia so if they think its okay, who are we to argue? I don't think it rises to the level of stolen valor that wearing medals, wings, etc. would. I just wouldn't wear it on any item of clothing that looks like a military uniform or jacket. Otherwise you should be fine. I'm sure some will disagree.
 
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