Going bare

[pmccarthy]

I was watching an in-cockpit video of someone doing dual training in a helicopter. OK, it was Gyrocopter Girl, but I was only there for the aviation content. She is learning to fly with a powered rotor. Anyway, her instructor had bare feet.

 

i knew someone who was badly burned in a chopper crash but rescued his pax. I am wondering how an instructor would escape through a pool of burning avgas or rescue the student without shoes. Presumably there is some elevated risk of accident during hover training.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Silly bugger. My feet go naked much of the time, but there are damned good reasons for wearing boots. Walking thru broken glass and flaming wreckage is not the only situation your feet need protection.

 

I believe driving barefoot is still an offence; in numerous road accident rescues we have found people trapped by the feet as the firewall and mudguards deform. We can usually bend or cut pedals out of the way, but sometimes it's necessary to cut away shoes to release feet. As such, footwear gives a layer of protection to much more than the soles of the feet.

 

 

[yampy]

I enjoy watching the videos from Gyrocopter Girl too , but I’ll be honest . I’m not interested in the aviation content . I can get that elsewhere .? ?

 

 

[Marty_d]

OK, it was Gyrocopter Girl, but I was only there for the aviation content.

?

 

 

[facthunter]

 I have news for you blokes . Every second person is a Girl. It's not like they are rare. Nev

 

 

[naremman]

Somebody had better alert Poteroo to this thread.

 

I can recall doing a BFR with Poteroo about 15 years ago in his Cessna 170, just before he sold the old girl. Part of the start up proceedure was being told to discard the footware and get back to socks, thankfully clean that morning. The reasoning was with the amount of footwork we were going to get in a hour of low level circuits, sans soles was going to provide more feedback from the rudder. Heels always on the floor, and probably les chance of bringing the toe brakes into play.

 

In my brief involvement in aerobatic competitions it was always interesting observing the footware of the participating pilots, usually worn down joggers with the barest of tread left on them. I had a pair of well worn tennis shoes which fitted the bill, but they were not too comfortable walking over gravel!

 

After years of farming, flying and volunteer ambulance officer I am at times astounded observing the standards of footwear, or at times lack thereof, and I suppose there are some well prepared to meet all eventualities, and whilst the intances are few, some who will wear the consequences of being poorly equiped.

 

 

[frank marriott]

I believe driving barefoot is still an offence;

A widely spread myth, but a myth just the same.

 

 

[kgwilson]

In Summer I fly in Thongs. It is just too hot for footwear. I am prepared to take the risk. I have heard a number of instructors advise students to discard shoes to get a better feel for the rudder. I would be wary of that advice if the session was at the end of a hot Summers day as the fumes may be overpowering.

 

 

[facthunter]

 You certainly don't want great heavy safety workboots  A rubber sole is better than a leather one, generally as it flexes more. I hate thongs, and am not good at keeping them on my feet. How your pedals are designed has a bit to do with it. You MUST be able to get full rudder without any chance of an inadvertent brake  application. and brake on at full rudder deflection if you need it..  Nev

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

 You certainly don't want great heavy safety workboots...

Another aspect of footwear: could it hinder your escape from a prang? I favour elastic-sided boots as they are fairly easy to slip off if caught.

 

 

[facthunter]

If you want to kick open a jammed door, boots are useful. Nev

 

 

[turboplanner]

Another aspect of footwear: could it hinder your escape from a prang? I favour elastic-sided boots as they are fairly easy to slip off if caught.

 

 

Another aspect of footwear: could it hinder your escape from a prang? I favour elastic-sided boots as they are fairly easy to slip off if caught.

Different forms of motor sport have different standards. In Speedway we’re required to wear full leather boots based on injuries from side collisions where feet can be jammed, pedals where collisions can cause deep cuts, injuries from flywheel & clutch explosions/breakages, elastic sided allows slashing of the ankle. 

 

 

[kaz3g]

I generally just wear sneakers and have no problem on the rudder during my landings.

 

kaz

 

 

[spacesailor]

" In Summer I fly in Thongs. It is just too hot for footwear."

 

Don't you mean "too hot for underwear, (ladies from South America wear Thongs )

 

I like the word NZ uses, Jandals (spelling (Japanese made sandals ))

 

spacesailor

 

 

[onetrack]

I cannot believe someone actually claims they watched Gyrocopter Girl for the aviation content - and expects us all to believe it!!

 

 

[turboplanner]

I generally just wear sneakers and have no problem on the rudder during my landings.

kaz

Are your rudder pedals flat plates or round tubes?

 

 

[kgwilson]

" In Summer I fly in Thongs. It is just too hot for footwear."

Don't you mean "too hot for underwear, (ladies from South America wear Thongs )

 

I like the word NZ uses, Jandals (spelling (Japanese made sandals ))

 

spacesailor

I agree. Jandals was trademarked in 1957 & is the Kiwi word for Flip Flops as Thongs is the Aussie word for them. The original owner was impressed by the footwear called Zoris used by the Japanese swimming team, coined the term and stared a very successful business which is still going. The term Flip Flops was given to them by the British & Americans who brought them back after WW2 and they became popular during the 1960s with the rise of Californian beach culture. I don't know how they became to be known as Thongs in Australia. Poms & Yanks think it is funny. Looks like the Kiwis won that contest as well, just like the Pavlova.

 

 

[pmccarthy]

Too hot for underwear? I would ask Fari, he has had the opportunity to check.

 

 

[kaz3g]

Are your rudder pedals flat plates or round tubes?

 

Round tubes...a bit savage on bare feet. Alsoheel brakes so footwear essential.

 

kax

 

 

[turboplanner]

Round tubes...a bit savage on bare feet. Alsoheel brakes so footwear essential.

 

kax

Gotcha! I wasn't sure about the Auster, but a lot of the aircraft of that era had round tubes.

 

The industry quickly dumped the round tubes in favour of foot plates after an in depth study of aircraft accidents was done, I think in Britain.

 

The part which seared itself into my mind when building race cars, was a large skeletal diagramme of a human foot with the bones broken and hanging down each side of the tube. The example was not from fuselage deformations or impact with external objects, but the result of leg weight flying forward when, for example the aircraft nose hit a tree, even at relatively low speeds.

 

 

[M61A1]

I cannot believe someone actually claims they watched Gyrocopter Girl for the aviation content - and expects us all to believe it!!

What's so hard to believe about that? there are plenty of far more attractive women out there.

 

I watched one once...all I could think was that must be one smooth rotor head. I've done vibe testing on B206s that made the pilot appear as though they were trotting on a shetland pony.

 

I have a set of Magnum leather lace up boots I fly with, they are nearly as light as sneakers, but I recently found that sneakers are an improvement when walking from airfields into town in hot sun. For the record, I only fly taildraggers. I can't imagine walking around country airstrips in thongs.

 

 

[djpacro]

In my brief involvement in aerobatic competitions it was always interesting observing the footware of the participating pilots, usually worn down joggers with the barest of tread left on them. I had a pair of well worn tennis shoes which fitted the bill, but they were not too comfortable walking over gravel!

Any tread on the sole will catch on the rudder pedals - usually round tubes. Often not a lot of space for big feet so I look for a profile similar to my foot. Joggers or cycling shoes have been my choices in recent years but at Oshkosh last year I bought https://liftaviationusa.com/collections/shoes - works very well in a Pitts or similar but no good for walking.

 

For my “day” job as an aerobatic pilot I wear https://workscene.com.au/mongrel-derby-safety-shoe-black.html

 

 

[Downunder]

I prefer thin soled shoes and what's important for me is the sole at the heal.

 

As I'm tall, I look for a minimal "heal" on the shoe. 

 

This surprisingly makes a great deal of difference in the angle of my legs, height of my knees and angle of feet to rudder pedal.

 

Generally "runners" these days seem to have massive protusions on the heal but bicylcle shoes don't so much, so I choose from them.

 

 

[408059]

The Varieze has two rudders each activated independently by your feet. Accordingly, resting your feet on them is a big no no. Both rudders would move giving you some uncoordinated flight and an air-brake. Also, the springs for each rudder are light. Light shoes are the order of the day. 

 

 

[facthunter]

  If your foot is broken it has to heal. If you want the other end of the foot to the toe, it's a heel . If you aren't reputable, you might be referred to as a Heel. Nev