FRZ tees
Aviation T-shirts made in the Flight Restricted Zone
By Collin Callahan
“Support your local airport,” reads a shirt paired with an illustration of a Piper Cub. It’s the design and creation of Tony Fletcher, the owner of FRZ Tees. Fletcher started FRZ Tees after buying a four-color screen-printing press at an auction.
A graphic designer, he taught himself the printing process and began applying his designs to T-shirts and sweatshirts. Because he prints his shirts in Alexandria, Virginia—smack in the middle of the Flight Restricted Zone—the FRZ, pronounced “freeze”—he landed on the name FRZ Tees. Fletcher is a pilot, and flies out of Potomac Airfield (VKX), one of the two operating GA airports inside the FRZ. The name seemed appropriate, he said.
“I’ve found the screen-printing process very fun, and it’s neat to see your designs come to life so to speak,” Fletcher said.
Another of Fletcher’s designs features a line-art illustration of the Wright Flyer, with the word “first” creatively included in the rigging. Fletcher has even created a custom-size label to print on the inside collar of the shirts. Accompanying the standard “small,” “medium,” and “large” tags on the shirts is the outline of a correlating airplane. Small? A Beech 18. Medium? A DC–3. XL? A Boeing 707.
The shirts are high quality and comfortable—most are made of a tri-blend fabric. They stand up to repeated wearing and washing (I have worn a couple for more than two years). Shipping fees are reasonable, and if you’re also located in the FRZ, Fletcher offers a local pickup option.
BVR Design
Beyond Visual Range creates wearable aviation art
By Alicia Herron
Dylan Wreggelsworth, founder of St. Augustine, Florida-based BVR Design, takes aviation, combines it with art, and creates wearable, stylish clothing, décor, and accessories. His online shop has everything from hats and mugs to throw blankets, posters, and shirts. When deciding what to create, Wreggelsworth says he lets the design drive what products he produces.
“I run BVR like it’s an art studio and whatever ends up in the shop is a byproduct of that,” he says.
BVR, which stands for Beyond Visual Range, uses a modern approach to aviation-themed gear, and Wreggelsworth wants his products to appeal to a broad audience. The beauty of BVR, he says, is in the eye of the beholder.
“I try to stay away from the airshow booth vibe. If it looks like something you find that’s kind of typical I kind of avoid it. I feel like that’s something you would get at an event and then will never wear again.”
Beyond his original designs, Wreggelsworth also explores the public domain for inspiration. “I was looking into F–104 Starfighter history and NASA has a great history with that jet. That led to me reproducing that as a patch for a hat.” The BVR shop also features the Thunderbirds, another logo in the public domain, this time on a desert-inspired bandana as a nod to the Thunderbirds’ Nellis home.
Wreggelsworth regularly rotates goods in and out, and there’s no guarantee that a product will get a reprint—so if you see something you like, add to cart before it is sold out for good.
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Instagram: @bvrdesign
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