Raise your brand awareness with personalized pilot wings for your flight crew. Options are plenty, and wings will add a perfect final touch to your pilot uniform. They not only signify rank and experience but also add a touch of personalization to the overall look. When it comes to creating a professional and polished look for your flight crew, every detail counts.
The importance of the pilot wings
A pilot’s wings are special. They represent decades of tradition and add to the mystical character of airline pilots. Pilots have been adding wings to their uniforms for years, and they have always been essential to an airline uniform.
When a pilot receives "his/her wings," it means that the pilot has completed pilot training and has officially received a certificate and the pilot license. Therefore, you can say that the pilot earns the wings by completing tough and intense training.
Pilot wings on caps and jackets
Do you prefer the pilot wings on the cap? On the jacket? Or both? Some airlines are moving away from the use of pilot caps, despite the fact that they have been used for decades. This means that commercial pilot wings only feature on uniform jackets at these carriers.
However, others still stay true to tradition and feature flight pins on caps and jackets, highlighting a classic, professional look. These pins vary in size, but the smaller ones are great as understated metal pilot wings on the jacket. Pins for the jacket are typically smaller than those pins used on the caps.
Understated metal pilot wings with company logo
Pilot wings can look very different from each other, and we recommend incorporating your company logo or company name – and maybe one or two insignia if fitting. Oftentimes, the most successful and elegant pilot pins boast a clean, sharp design with a few carefully chosen details to make it stand out. Too many details will make brand message hard to decode – or result in an unproportionally large wing that does not suit the cap or jacket.
However, on occasion the company name can be too long to feature on custom pilot wings. Abbreviated names or a logo can be the way to go if you face that conundrum. You should also carefully consider your colour combinations.
Pilot wings should convey professionalism and boast of authority. They should never look cheap. For that reason, we recommend our clients to opt for metal pins with a gold or silver finish.
Making the pilot wing match the cap
A perfect result requires more than a great design. You also need to take a close look at the shape of the wing and match it to the cap. The pin should follow the contours of the cap and bend slightly inward.
For cap wings, in our view, there is only one right way of attaching them, namely with crews. You rarely, if ever, need to take it off, and the screws will hold it firmly in place. The only small catch is that the cap must have holes in the right positions unless you want to pierce holes to fit the wing.
Applying a pilot wing to a jacket
Attaching the jacket wing is not quite as straightforward as the cap wing. Generally, you will see wings with three types of attaching: two pins with butterfly clasps, a safety pin, and various types of screws, sometimes with a back plate:
Safety pin
Naturally, there are pros and cons for each one. However, in our experience, you should not even consider the safety pin option. Firstly, it is quite difficult to stick the pin through the lapel, lock it on the backside and, at the same time, place the wing straight in the pocket. Even worse, the wing will not sit neat and firmly, as it will tend to lean forward.
Butterfly clasps
The most commonly used type of attachment is the pins with the butterfly clasps on the inside. It is easy to attach in the right position, which you will appreciate if you often take it off and put it back on, for example, before cleaning the jacket. Moreover, this device holds the wing quite tightly to the pocket.
The only disadvantage to this type of attaching is that the tips of the wings stick out a bit and may get caught by outerwear.
Screwing
The third option, screwing the wing onto the jacket, has pros and cons as well. It is more trouble mounting it onto the jacket as you have to pierce a hole for the bolt in the middle of the pocket lapel. Once the bolt is through the fabric, you need to tighten the back plate with the nut on the inside. The idea is that the back plate holds the wing tightly to the pocket from tip to tip. This type of attaching not only looks neat but also prevents the wing tips from getting caught.
Uniform pins for cabin crew
Flight pins are not limited to pilots. Pins will also add a unique look to cabin crew uniforms, whether they feature on flight attendant hats or on the jacket or a dress.
Some airway companies complement their crew look by adding a custom pin. Several other carriers have also added half wings to uniform jackets and dresses.
Flight pins offer a great addition to any brand look and will make your flight and cabin crews stand out as they are easily recognizable to passengers. Reach out if you want to boost your airline uniforms with custom solutions.
Shop custom and ready-made wings
So, are you looking for customized pilot wings? Then contact us today, and together we can figure out how the design of your pins should look.
If you do not need customized pilot wings, Olino has also designed two pilot wings in silver and gold. This way, you can still get the perfect airline uniform look. You can purchase them in our webshop or by contacting our customer service at olino@olino.dk.
