I have never wore one 
It seems to me it’s always too hot (t-shirt, shorts, sandals) or it’s too cold (cold weather outdoor clothes). A suit would just complicate things. Proper out door clothes looks like a better choice. Need to do some shopping actually, as I have worn out my clothes.
I often wonder whether this film was inspired by an early form of Nomex.
The microlighters seem to go for Nylon/Cotton flying suits filled with Thinsulate which might be lots of things, but is probably fluffy polypropylene. The websites of the major manufacturers make no mention of flammability. Warm Nomex jackets are > £1000.
Leather has good properties but every leather jacket I’ve worn has has a synthetic (melt?) fibre lining.
I generally avoid man-made clothing materials anyway. I tend to wear only cotton and wool in the normal course of things, and it is an absolute rule flying the PA17.
No, it claims to be 100% nylon, not a nylon/cotton mix.
I see that newer ones are made of Nomex so clearly there was room for improvement. Given that I wear it over several layers of Nomex, any molten plastic would still have some resistance before meeting my skin. I am not claiming it is perfect, but I hope it would be safer than most of the other warm coats available.
It clearly won’t be made of this newer nylon, but there clearly are more and less flammable types of nylon:
“Non-melting nylon” is a bit of a misnomer. I think you may be dealing with the fabric described here.
I appreciate that. However, it is USAF/NATO military issue and a tight weave and I believe a less flammable form of nylon. My understanding is that it will potentially char and burn when exposed to flames, but not go up like a torch like some other synthetic fabrics. It claims to be ‘non-melting’.
DLA100-80-C2439
Good photos of a similar one, for as long as the link lasts.
kwlf wrote:
I have a nylon jacket (£60) which isn’t fireproof but apparently should not turn you into a human torch.
If wearing Nomex seems too much (particularly if you have passengers), the other possible approach is to avoid synthetic clothing. Melted plastics cause particularly bad burns.
Nylon does cause nasty burns. Many years ago, I was melting the ends of a nylon rope to prevent them from fraying, and carelessly touched the hardening melt with my fingers. It was quite unpleasant.
The thing about anything safety-related is that it seems like overkill and unnecessary expense, right up until it doesn’t, by saving your life.
When I redid the interior of my plane 20 years ago, I fitted the best 4-point harnesses (can’t remember the brand now). A few weeks ago they probably saved my life. Who could have known.
