I went out to the airport this morning to go flying. While I waited for my instructor to finish with the student just before me, they came into the room and she got some scissors from behind the desk. Then she started cutting up from the bottom of the student's shirt! She kept on cutting from bottom to top. Whaaaaat? Well, it turns out that the student had just made his first solo flight in an aircraft, without his instructor. This is a great moment in any pilot's education. To this day I can remember exactly the moment I took off alone and while on downwind for landing, turned around because I couldn't believe my instructor was not in the back seat of the airplane. What a great moment! The thing I don't quite get here, is that I am familiar with the custom of cutting off a shirt tail after a first solo. I have never heard of cutting off the entire shirt! In any case, it was a grand celebration, as you can see, and we all enjoyed the moment.
8 comments:
OMG! Most people do not wear dress shirts with tails anymore - except for Kenny!
Joan
Hope that shirt wasn't a favorite.....
It prolly wasn't a favorite, and he obviously expected it to happen because he had another shirt underneath it. It sure was fun to see this!
WAIT! My sister is making fun of me because I wear white dress shirts with tails! Even when I am not working... Wahhhhhh... :-)
I know we can't believe everything we read on Wikipedia, but here's what it says about the shirttail cutting: Traditions
Student aircraft pilot who has had the tail of his shirt cut off after a solo flight.Several traditions have developed in the USA around "soloing", including drenching the student with water and cutting off and permanently displaying the back of his or her shirt.
In American aviation lore, the traditional removal of a new pilot's shirt tail is a sign of the instructor's new confidence in his student after successful completion of the 1st solo flight. In the days of tandem trainers, the student sat in the front seat, with the instructor behind. As there were often no radios in these early days of aviation, the instructor would tug on the student pilot's shirttail to get his attention, and then yell in his ear. A successful first solo flight is an indication that the student can fly without the instructor ("instructor-less" flight). Hence, there is no longer a need for the shirt tail, and it is cut off by the (often) proud instructor, and sometimes displayed as a trophy.[2]
In Canada, the dumping of water is a common tradition and is often intended as a surprise to the newly minted solo pilot.
Also, here a link to Pilots of America with a discussion of flyers who have and haven't been through the ritual: www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22572
off the subject a bit...ken, do you know what this is about?
www.gastonsflyin.com/flying_in.php
Thanks for the Wikipedia link! Wonderful reading! I never thought to check there. My first instructor was a "yeller" but he never cut off my shirt tail when I soloed.
It was a grand celebration for you. Really nice to see that.
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