My Flying while Kilted Expreience

[Kent Frazier]

I thought I would share with everyone my experience of flying while kilted.
We, my family and I, were returning from Salt Lake City, Utah to our home in San Angelo, Texas yesterday, Saturday, June 21, 2008. We had been up to visit family and while there we attended The Utah Scottish Association Highland Games & Scottish Festival. I decided to fly home kilted.

I wore my Sport Kilt "The Works" in Fraser Hunting, my kilt belt made by CavScout, and my SWK NightStalker leather sporran. With the metal buckles on the kilt, I knew there would be "issues" at security, but I would just take it all in stride.



When we arrived at the airport and began to go through the security checkpoint, I removed my belt and sporran and placed them in the bin for x-ray. As I approached the metal detector, I told the TSA officer "I know I'm going to set it off". He smiled and as I walked through directed me to the area for "wanding". I found the wanding experience quite funny, as it appeared that the TSA officer didn't quite know how to deal with a man not wearing pants. He was very polite and explained everything he was going to do. I've been wanded before and have never experienced this level of politeness.

During our flight one of the stewardesses stopped and asked about the kilt. I explained that I was of Scottish heritage and the kilt was in my clan tartan. I also told her that I wear one whenever I get the chance. When we changed planes, another stewardess asked if I was going to a Highland games. I told her that I was just returnign from one.

The most interesting comment was after we arrived in Midland, Texas, our final destination. We had all stopped to use the restrooms and my wife told me she overheard some woman comment "It's not every day you see a man wearing a kilt in Midland."

I would fly kilted again, but I think I would wear a kilt without any buckles to avoid the extra screening when going through security.

[CelticRanger66]

Glad You had such a good trip!

[Shriner]

I hope for a good flight on Friday. I am flying to San Diego for the games this weekend. I will be staying with Jay a fellow Xmarker, Marine and Mason.

So this will be my first trip across country kilted.

I will give a full report when I return.

John

[SteveB]

Glad you had a safe and kilted journey. The T.S.A. type may not have had any idea about the kilt. With all that is in or not in the news, he might not know the difference between kilt and skirt. You may have been wanded with all the politeness so as to not start what the agent may have thought as cross dressing incident. This happened at Boston's Logan Airport, when the TSA was first being utilized. I cheated and wore my SWK thrifty (Velcro, no buckles) through, taking my belt and sporran off to pass through the scanner with my sneakers. When the walk through device did not sound, the agent was sure something was wrong and I was carefully wanded. After closely checking the sporran, belt, and steel toed sneakers, the agent let me pass. As I was reshoeing, and reattaching the sporran and belt, I overheard him say to another agent, " I guess a skirt is one way not to set off the alarms." I turned to him and said " The garment is a kilt, designed for the male of the species for wear." then stopped as the next three in line for the scan were kilted men. He gave we a "got caught" look on his face and jumped slighlty as he caught sight of the three kilties on the way. We all laughed about that one while waiting to access the next work area.

[Rigged]

The last time I flew kilted I was wearing a black Mocker Utilikilt. As I passed through the metal detector, the T.S.A guy on the scanning machine shouted back to the T.S.A. guy with the wand, "Utilikilt!" The wand guy nodded back and was ready in case the snaps set off the detector. They didn't.

[IrishGodfather]

Great pic, and glad you had such a good experience flying kilted. I'm looking forward to flying kilted when I go to Ireland next May.

[James MacMillan]

I think I've only flown six times kilted- the best kilts from that experience (IMHO) would be a PV casual.

[Nick the DSM]

i think i'll stick with a contemporary or a tradition with velcro and an easy to take off belt.

[Tattoo Bradley]

I've wondered around Midland many times in a kilt. Though I've yet to fly in one. I'm sure the locals were a bit perplexed... they generally are.

[Shriner]

Well I am sure that flying kilted will be fun.

Add a Hay Fork and we will see what happens.

I will be checking my hay fork for the trip to San Diego.

John