Another possibility is that since he normally flies while conscious, he is subconsciously extending his personal field to minimize the friction through the air (so his cape won't burn.
During the fall in Nightfall, since he was unconscious, he was unable to compensate and his personal field went into survival mode - stopped at his skin - which also explains the suit burning off.
And yes, living things are much more fragile than non-living things, plus there's the matter of temperature and air pressure.
