James recently wrote asking about hats and sun protection esp. with regards to preventing skin cancer. Among full scale guys, the hat of choice is often a floppy tennis hat that has a constant, downward sloped soft brim, but keep in mind that they have different problems from us. They are jammed into tight cockpits with canopies just inches from their skulls, and have to have a hat that won't scratch the canopy, bruise their heads in turbulence, or prevent them from quickly checking turns by having too stiff a forward brim. A world champion in glider aerobatics, who is also an instructor, is famous for inspecting student's hats preflight, and using his viselike fingers to tear off those little 'buttons' on the tops of baseball type caps while muttering darkly in his German accent about scratching canopies and respect for the aircraft. Since we don't fly onboard, we have much more flexibility! My personal favorite for seattle winters is a FILSON* wool baseball cap with oversized brim of waxed canvas. It's warm, repels showers, and protects from cloud glare. In summer, I wear a much lighter weight breathable-fabric large-brimmed baseball cap that has a generous 'desert flap' of cloth that protects the ears and the back of the neck. This flap can be tucked up into the hat for general wear, but if the sun gets harsh, out it comes. Also has adjustable tension elastic in the headband, so it can be cinched down tight for higher wind. Lift, Scobie in Seattle *Filson is a local Seattle manufacturer that supplied rugged clothing and gear to the workers, hunters and gold miners of the Northwest since the mid 1800's, and today still makes most of the same strudy stuff. Their motto is: "Why not have the best?" I think their stuff is just skookum! RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
