Why are you doing this?
This was a side project that I thought I’d use to attract interest to my partner site, wikiRFM.CyclicAndCollective.net. From an economic perspective, this is a pretty stupid idea. I won’t be paying off any of my credit cards no matter how many T-shirts you buy from me. So make my dream come true: buy a shirt, then navigate over here and tell me what you know about flying helicopters and instructing.
How do I order?
Wow, a customer!!! Click the image (or, in some cases, the link) associated with the design. You’ll be redirected to an external site managed by the printer, Spreadshirt.com. They’ll take over from there.
Are these cheap and crappy shirts?
I’ll let you judge the designs themselves, but the transfer process is bullet-proof. Not in a literal sense, but the design won’t fade with washing and will probably outlast the shirt itself. Most designs are printed on Men’s Heavyweight Shirts, which I thought were the best balance between cost and comfort. I can’t speak for the women’s or lightweight T-s, but the manufacturer is making a happy living off being in the T-shirt business, so you gotta trust them.
Do you really expect me to spend $25 for a T-shirt?
Well, you’ll do us all a favor if you cover up your pale, flabby chest. Look, I’ve done what I can to make the shirts as inexpensive as possible. I honestly don’t understand the pricing structure the manufacturer uses, other than more colors and more complicated designs end up costing more. You can try figuring it out by designing your own shirt using the FL005 Custom Designer. I’ll also be offering discounts to registered users and contributors to my partner site, wikiRFM.CyclicAndCollective.net. It’s going to cost me a bit and take some time for me to get that up and running, but if you think you’ve done your part to make that project a success, contact me and I’ll see if I can do something for you. But don’t ask for a free shirt–I need to be buying my own so I can cover my pale, flabby chest.
Where do you come up with these ideas?
Are you mocking my creativity? Maybe it’s well deserved. I looked around a bit and found that the prototypical T-shirt design was a silhouette of an Apache. Not that this isn’t kinda cool, but really, it is possible to do better. Hopefully I’ve succeeded in some cases, but if I haven’t you can let me know. Many of the designs are based on YouTube videos that have made the circuits on the forums. Others came to me when I was learning Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.
Why should I buy a shirt that reminds me of how dangerous it is to fly?
The High Gravity designs are all serious safety topics that should be front and center when you’re out flying. Some get sternly drilled into your head during ground lessons, or AOPA/ASF publishes a dramatic article on it. I wanted to depart some from the doom-and-gloom way these messages are usually delivered, and get them out on the tarmac and the ready room in a lighter way. Whatever works for reminding your fellow pilots that they’re an ass for going IIMC or running out of fuel. This is a line that I’ll be focusing on expanding in the near future.
When can I have my shirt?
The printer ships directly to you, which is a good thing because I hate standing in line at the post office. Coming from them, it shouldn’t take any longer than ordering from any other online company. For more info, you can follow this link.
Who are you? Do you need a job?
Just another CFI who didn’t make it to his 1000 hours before the bubble burst. Instead of giving up or just waiting around hoping somebody would hire me once Sallie Mae gets a little more generous, I started wikiRFM.CyclicAndCollective.net. For me, it’s keeping me in touch with aviation. It gets plenty of traffic, but mostly from spectators. I’m hoping you found this site and will later navigate over there and tell us what you know.
You still haven’t answered my question.
Drop me an email and I’ll do the best I can, or you can post your question as a comment below. Don’t ask me if a Robbie is better than Schweitzer, if you are too old to become a helicopter pilot, or if Sallie Mae will give you a loan.
