Tarquin Cooper tries a flying jacket designed with the help of some star power
There are some unique features of the British scene. The weather of course; the mix of flatlands, coastal and mountain flying. But there is one thing every site boasts – and it’s a man, always a man, usually someone who’s been flying decades – proudly sporting their trusty one-piece flying suit. They may be a retro throwback and easy to mock, but at least they’re designed for the job.
Like most pilots, I wear a mishmash of mountaineering and outdoor gear; hiking pants, ski gloves and a down jacket with a hood that’s designed to go over a helmet – and loves to flap around, catching lines on launch. Why don’t we have more clothing purposefully designed for our sport?
And so we come to the Salewa Fly Jacket, released last November. Finally, a jacket that’s fit for purpose? A joint collaboration between Salewa and Skywalk, it was designed with input by pilots such as Chrigel Maurer, Paul Guschlbauer and Elisa Deutschmann to meet...
