The Flight Jacket Thread

[airfrogusmc]

Airfrog...The fact that you kept the pics means alot;)

Dave they were all great repros. There have been a dozen or so others over the years but those are the ones I wish I hadn't sold. Heres an original Irvin Foster G-1 7823C that I will never sell.

[dave023]

Great jacket

Still seems to be in an excellent condition!

[airfrogusmc]

I had to have a little work done on it. McCoys supplied the new knits and the leather need some work (conditioning) but not bad for a mid 1960s jacket.

[seanfromiran]

Wow that A-1 is beautiful

[airfrogusmc]

Thanks I had it custom made. One piece back (some originals had one piece backs) small pockets lowered. Buttons on the bottom instead of snaps. I think Aero did an outstanding job. The capeskin is a great hide. Very different than goat and horse.

[GregNYC]

Here's an Aero I had for a few weeks and then sold 2 years ago. It was one of their unmatched horsehides "Real Deal" A-2's. It was *too* real, and one of the panels was too crumply. It fit OK, but the quality of the leather just wasn't there. Here's a link to lots more pictures:

http://www.oldskooltrack.com/stuff/aero.ebay.html

[GregNYC]

Here's the crumply panel. It would always curl up unless the jacket was zipped.

[dave023]

some great jackets!!

[airfrogusmc]

Greg gotta love that grain!

[eldave04]

Thanks for the pics airfrog, I love that dubow.

[deadpan]

Opinions please...I was thinking about starting/suggesting a new thread for Military/Repro military jackets (but NOT GENERIC M65s/military STYLE etc.)-what do you all think? I have some old jackets but didn't want to clog up this post with them as they arn't flight jackets or leather. Does anyone else have some nice jackets that arn't the leather flight type, or shall I just post 'em here?

[knucks]

post them dude

[red]

i absolutely love military wear.

anyways, as far as repros go, i really like the eastman jackets. they say they put incredible detail into thier jackets, and its no lie.

as far as the leather, most repro companies have similair quality, but use different kinds of leather. the most commonly used are horse, goat, and steerhide. horse hide was the leather originally used, but eventually, the military switched to goat hide and for good reason. goathide seems more durable, and more resistant to wear. i myself am more a fan of goathide.

when looking for repros, look for jackets that have a "one piece" back. daves has two pieces.the stitching under the arm should also allign with the stitching on the side of the body. some companies like spiewak have a bit of an offset. the epauletts are also important things to look for. make sure they dont go too far forward. they should sit right on your shoulders.

i need me some flight jackets.

the b-15 is also very nice.

[airfrogusmc]

i absolutely love military wear.

anyways, as far as repros go, i really like the eastman jackets. they say they put incredible detail into thier jackets, and its no lie.

as far as the leather, most repro companies have similair quality, but use different kinds of leather. the most commonly used are horse, goat, and steerhide. horse hide was the leather originally used, but eventually, the military switched to goat hide and for good reason. goathide seems more durable, and more resistant to wear. i myself am more a fan of goathide.

when looking for repros, look for jackets that have a "one piece" back. daves has two pieces.the stitching under the arm should also allign with the stitching on the side of the body. some companies like spiewak have a bit of an offset. the epauletts are also important things to look for. make sure they dont go too far forward. they should sit right on your shoulders. they should also cover the top seams. many companies have the back of the epauletts aligned with the top seam rather than having the epaulett cover it. some jackets may also have collar stands, but true repros usually dont.

i need me some flight jackets.

the b-15 is also very nice.

Collar stands were on all early originals. They probably dropped it to quickly produce jackets during the war. Eastmans Roughwear, several of RMNZs, and early Aero repros all have collar stands. Eastmans new Werber seems to be a very good repro. My experience with Eastman hasn't been all that positive. I've owned several and the knits they used on those particular jackets were not very good. I prefer both Real McCoys and Aero.

[red]

Collar stands were on all early originals. They probably dropped it to quickly produce jackets during the war. Eastmans Roughwear, several of RMNZs, and early Aero repros all have collar stands. Eastmans new Werber seems to be a very good repro. My experience with Eastman hasn't been all that positive. I've owned several and the knits they used on those particular jackets were not very good. I prefer both Real McCoys and Aero.

ah. thanks for catching that. i read a little article about it awhile ago and must have gotten it mixed up.

anyways, i forgot to mention hand warmers. originals didnt have them, but many jackets have them today due to demand.

[airfrogusmc]

Yep no hand warmer pockets.

A nice looking A-2 and a vintage pair of Levis...It doesn't get any better.

[percy]

that werber looks nice.. if not a tad expensive. i see they have made it a slimmer fit too than their other stuff.. about time!

[eldave04]

red, I think that most original epaulettes were placed infront of the shoulder seam on A-2s anyways. Most of the repros i have seen have uncovered seams, maybe someone else can confirm?

[red]

red, I think that most original epaulettes were placed infront of the shoulder seam on A-2s anyways. Most of the repros i have seen have uncovered seams, maybe someone else can confirm?

yes. youre right. i dont know what i was thinking. but to redeem myself, some original contracters placed the seams under the epaulets. but like you said, most didnt.

[mr.indigo]

I own both an Eastman and an Aero and i've got to say the Aero takes first place. Its the Aniversary model - like the 'Real Deal' but with better matched hides. Construction is very good on both but where it scores over the Eastman is the way colour is changing as it ages - much richer hues of red/brown.

There is a forum called www.thefedoralounge.com about vintage clothes where you can find loads of info on flight jackets.

btw - as far as customer service both companies were very friendly, I bugged the hell out of them with questions before I purchased and they were great.

p.s. have you checked out the Eastman Luftwaffe jackets? Look pretty good.

[airfrogusmc]

Way better for flight jacket info Vintage Leather Jackets

http://cornellsurgery.com/v-web/bulletin/bb/

[deadpan]

Not quite Flight Jackets but they look great with a pair of jeans. N1 deck jackets (originals). The one with the stencil is my keeper (favourite) for the mo. The one without a back stencil is my daily wearer when it's cold.

[Miles]

Fucking sick N-1s. I've been looking around for the Buzz Rickson + William Gibson repro in black, but evidently all the smalls are gone, and never to be made again.

[deadpan]

Fucking sick N-1s. I've been looking around for the Buzz Rickson + William Gibson repro in black, but evidently all the smalls are gone, and never to be made again.

Really? Have you tried yahoo auctions? Also I think there was a guy on ebay (japanese fantastic denim?) that was selling them a while back.

[derek]

man I want all of the William Gibson + Buzz Rickson collab

[Miles]

Really? Have you tried yahoo auctions? Also I think there was a guy on ebay (japanese fantastic denim?) that was selling them a while back.

Yahoo Auction has shown a bunch of Ls and XLs lately.

History Preservation has a M (38).

But an S (36) remains elusive. From what I here, they run true (if not slightly large), so at 5'8" 145 lbs, I'm hesitant to move up to the M.

[deadpan]

Yahoo Auction has shown a bunch of Ls and XLs lately.

History Preservation has a M (38).

But an S (36) remains elusive. From what I here, they run true (if not slightly large), so at 5'8" 145 lbs, I'm hesitant to move up to the M.

If you're patient one will show up i'm sure;)...or have you tried

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Japanese-fantastic-denim-store

? He's got a med, but is listing small on the size page so may have access to some

[Charlie Delta]

Bumping this because I somehow missed it before and now Airfrog his pics are gone.

Airfrog, upload them again?

pretty please with a cherry on top?

[percy]

i recently tried a couple of the new elc a1's. nicely made jackets but they just didnt seem to fit me very well. pity cos i really wanted one.

all the talk now is of the new repro jackets made by john chapman and his goodwear clothing company (see VLJ forum for details) they are something else.. look like five years wear straight out the box and very accurate also. think it is about 800 bux for an a2. some really great stuff being produced now by lots of companies so you cant go wrong with whatever you opt for.

[Charlie Delta]

^links please?