Jump to content

Pens For Pilots/aviation


nigeldsouza

Recommended Posts

I got asked this question by two people, a friend and a student, on the same day.

 

"Are there fountain pens that are made to take the rigors of flying?" Considering we fly in lower atmospheric pressures and are exposed to a range of acceleration and deceleration, is there a fountain pen that will not leak while being used by a pilot?

 

I didn't really have an answer for them, so it got me thinking. Anyone have any information regarding such a pen???

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 12
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • nigeldsouza

    3

  • Wolverine1

    1

  • DanF

    1

  • rwilsonedn

    1

Top Posters In This Topic

My friend Otto is a commercial pilot- flys big jets for a company that has contracts flying US Military cargo to Afghanistan and previously to Iraq. He usually carries a Lamy 2000 fp, and a Namiki VP fp. Says he has been using both pens for years without problems like leaking etc. But, conditions might be different if we are talking about pen carried in the sort of planes uses in private aviation, since the planes are not pressurised.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you Wolverine1. They do tend to leak a little in unpressurised training airplanes. Though ive found it depends more on the pen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the natural would be a Pilot Custom 823, has an ink shutoff valve to prevent pressure mishaps, as does the TWSBI Vac 700 model. On both pens, you turn the end piece on the barrel a bit to open the valve.

 

Dan

"Life is like an analogy" -Anon-

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l279/T-Caster/DSC_0334_2.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Complicated question. First, what kind of flying? I'm not sure that any liquid-ink pen will behave well if subjected to high-g aerobatics. But many modern pens will write in pressurized cabins, and most pens including some vintage will be fine as long as you keep them capped and in a nib-up attitude.

Next, do you intend to write with the pen while flying? If you do, then you want a pen with an elaborate ink collector behind the feed, such as the disposable Pilot Varsity, modern Sheaffers, or the Parker 51. There are rumors that Parker directed the development of the 51 in part because of his enthusiasm for civil aviation--also supposedly the reason for the Flighter design style, which has nothing to do with writing at altitude, but looks like his aluminum-bodied favorite aircraft in the day.

If you need to write during aerobatics or while using oxygen, you may be out of luck.

ron

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Dan F, I will probably be looking at the TWSBI Vac 700. :)

 

Ron, thank you for that detailed explanation. Well, we mostly do General Aviation Flying and training here. We range in altitude from sea level - 15000 ft unpressurised. I have had problems with some pens leaking at even moderate altitudes and slight to moderate turbulence, while others held up quite well. I guess as you say it depends from pen to pen. As Dan F pointed out, looks like the Vac 700 should do well with its shutoff valve, maybe later when I do save up a little ill look into buying a Parker 51 :). Its on my list, but after a year or so :D.

As for aerobatics, we make sure not to carry any pens or pencils, incase they fly out and poke someone during a maneuver :P

 

Thanks Dan F and Ron for your input :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Though many say that there is no issues in flying with a pen, it is always better to carry it with either full ink or no ink to avoid pressure difference. i carry a small plastic 3 ml ink container and empty pen and never use it onboard.

I generally carry Parker Sonnet and Parker 45 always.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Let me quote from David Nishimura's "profile" of the Parker 51 on his excellent Web site, www.vintagepens.com: "... the Aerometric was simpler and more robust, with a more intuitive mode of filling and a special vented breather tube to reduce the likelihood of leakage during flight."


The key phrase is "reduce the likelihood." Nishimura does not say that the design made leakage impossible or even grossly improbable. There are people on FPN who believe the Aero 51 is more rather than less likely to leak in flight than many a simple converter-or-cartridge pen.


As it happens, the Aero 51 is my favorite pen and I would be happy to see people buying them for the way they write and/or for their splendid late-1930s design. I wouldn't be happy for people to buy them because of an idea that the design entirely prevents leaks. Mine have leaked, though not often. Design is one thing and magic is another. In practice that hole in the breather tube has not magically prevented leaks.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most modern fp's are fine in terms of flight use, albeit some are better off than others. The more fins in the feed (and the larger the feed), the better. More ink capacity. 51's are definitely one of the best thanks to the ink collector design; so long as you empty the collector, you should be fine, barring extreme forces. Any ink moved by air pressure will simply end up in the ink collector. That said, in my experience, 51's are quite resistant to leaks due to shocks or air pressure. I go mountain biking with a Lamy 2k and 51 clipped in a secure pocket, and no ink has spilled in either of their caps to date. Both are generally mostly full, with the feeds relatively empty.

Calculating.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I carry two Aero Parker 51s flying military aviation. My EDC.

 

I have the TWSBI 700 Vac, and it's too large for a flight suit pocket. It's also unwieldy in the close confines of a flight deck. I also have the Lamy 2k, but I don't use it flying as it has enough nib creep to not make my list.

 

This is heresy, but the one pen that has never let me down in combat, remote, or home station flying... The Space Pen. It's the one on my kneeboard next to my pencil.

 

Buzz

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The more fins in the feed (and the larger the feed), the better.

 

Sheaffer knew this back in the 1940's when they developed the "Flo-Rite" system, a radial comb feed that extends into the section to absorb ink flow. The same design also allows a pen to be carried horizontally in a purse or pocket, which is why the early Tuckaways had no clip.

 

I've never had a problem flying commercially with fountain pens. They can only leak during ascent anyway. Once the plane reaches altitude your pens are safe. They won't leak on the way back down (going from low pressure to high).

Carpe Stilo

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...