The Flight Jacket Thread

[SLAB]

amazing jacket airfrogus, absolutely stunning evolution

id love to have a Goodwear jacket but unfortunately cant afford one, id kill (figuratively) for a russet horsehide A2 jacket from John

[Denim+]

Vintage A2 Oakwood lambskin:

[bluegoldblues]

Medal of Honor recipient G-1 on the bay!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-FLIGHT-JACKET-BOMBER-PAINTED-REVERSE-WW2-PILOT-/170637796081?pt=Vintage_Men_s_Clothing&hash=item27bace22f1#ht_500wt_1156

[devilish]

That's awesome. I put it on my watch list just to see how much it goes for.

[chamboid]

just bought this jacket what does anyone think real or repro?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=nc&nma=true&item=140547037069&si=IX%252B3sbupYAYJmYr%252BJcEZm3k1OVY%253D&viewitem=&sspagename=ADME%3AX%3ARTQ%3AUS%3A1123#ht_566wt_890

[Happy Hooligan]

just bought this jacket what does anyone think real or repro?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=nc&nma=true&item=140547037069&si=IX%252B3sbupYAYJmYr%252BJcEZm3k1OVY%253D&viewitem=&sspagename=ADME%3AX%3ARTQ%3AUS%3A1123#ht_566wt_890

Looks real to me. Seems like a lot to pay though in that condition....

[airfrogusmc]

Looks like an Eastman Foster 55J14 to me and this guys a real history buff 50s WWII I think its a repro and its the mouton that makes me think that. Also if I remember correctly these originals Fosters had Conmar zippers? I'd say Eastman 55J14

http://www.eastmanleather.com/product_info.php?products_id=182

[chamboid]

no the fosters did have talon zippers, but painted black, why does the colar make you think it's a repro? the price is a bit high, but if it was an original i'd pay it, and condition wise nothing a bit of mink oil wont fix, all the scuffed patches can be fixed in 30 mins, but cuff, well it's hard to find a jacket that doesn't need its cuff replacing

[chamboid]

sent a picture of it to a very nice guy called Rob at Eastman and he seems to think its original, and a bit of a find, he said if it were a reproduction it was a very very good one, but not one of theirs

[edmond]

bump this shit up

[airfrogusmc]

sent a picture of it to a very nice guy called Rob at Eastman and he seems to think its original, and a bit of a find, he said if it were a reproduction it was a very very good one, but not one of theirs

I've never seen an original from that time period with mouton that looks like that. It looks just like Eastmans and modern mouton. It has something to do with the way mouton used to be made and can't be made like that today anyway here in the US and most of the rest of the western world.

And then theres the gap at the top of the shoulder where the bi swing and the shoulder seam are. Its much wider than on most originals. An Eastman trait. If I were a betting man I would bet Eastman. And the leather puller on the zipper just another thing to point at an Eastman.

Oh almost forgot and the over exaggerated points on the ends of the pocket flaps. Its an Eastman.

[chamboid]

The 55j14 was confirmed to be a repro by Gary and Alan at Eastman themselves, the seller i bought it off is still trying to tell me it's an original, oh well, escalated ebay case here we go. any way thats old news now on with the new

I have recently bought a Monarch or WILLIS AND GEIGER AN-J-3A in pretty poor condition, but have all the spares ready to make it good again, first of, where is recommended, I know Eastman are now only renovating their own jackets, and Aero are meant to be the nuts, but wondered if any others are worth a pop, want it as good/authentic as possible, the collar and leather and in good shape, apart from one reasonably deep cut on the front, which should be easy enough to fix.

And is there anyone out there who has a bell zipper pull of a blackened or brass talon, all I really need is the bell itself, but if the whole mechanism is available thats fine too. would prefer original (of course)

Can put some photos up if anyone is interested, and also have a H.L Block An-6552 turning up this week as well which needs a bit of work.

Always in the market for a small size (36/38) jacket A-2 or G-1 original or repro (only repro if it's a good-un) thanks alot, hope to hear from some of you

b.chamboid @ gmail .com

[crownzip]

Speaking of Eastman, here's a couple photos of their Werber A-2 after about four years of wear on and off. The analine dyed horsehide they used back then has aged nicely.

[airfrogusmc]

The 55j14 was confirmed to be a repro by Gary and Alan at Eastman themselves, the seller i bought it off is still trying to tell me it's an original, oh well, escalated ebay case here we go. any way thats old news now on with the new

I have recently bought a Monarch or WILLIS AND GEIGER AN-J-3A in pretty poor condition, but have all the spares ready to make it good again, first of, where is recommended, I know Eastman are now only renovating their own jackets, and Aero are meant to be the nuts, but wondered if any others are worth a pop, want it as good/authentic as possible, the collar and leather and in good shape, apart from one reasonably deep cut on the front, which should be easy enough to fix.

And is there anyone out there who has a bell zipper pull of a blackened or brass talon, all I really need is the bell itself, but if the whole mechanism is available thats fine too. would prefer original (of course)

Can put some photos up if anyone is interested, and also have a H.L Block An-6552 turning up this week as well which needs a bit of work.

Always in the market for a small size (36/38) jacket A-2 or G-1 original or repro (only repro if it's a good-un) thanks alot, hope to hear from some of you

b.chamboid @ gmail .com

I knew it was an Eastman. The famous Eastman gap is always an Eastman trait. Most originals are not near that wide there

If you're in the US contact John Chapman at Goodwear

[not too tight]

Someone sold this in my store today. Said it was his grandpas and only had the knits replaced. The zipper on the one side is messed up but still has the original Talon. Was wondering of anyone could give me some more info. World war 2 era I think.

[crownzip]

Yeah, the B-9 was issued later in the war (1944). They're extremely warm and equally as heavy. There were only three contracts issued for the B-9 during the war. The B-9 also had matching trouserscalled the A-8.

Someone sold this in my store today. Said it was his grandpas and only had the knits replaced. The zipper on the one side is messed up but still has the original Talon. Was wondering of anyone could give me some more info. World war 2 era I think.

[killer b]

found an A-2 in the local rock & roll store today - they put it aside for me as they didn't take cards, so i'm picking it up in the next few days... the guy reckoned it was an 80s repro, any thoughts? i didn't have time to take any more pics... the zipper is a talon btw. leather in nice condition.

[crownzip]

Looks like an Eastman Leather Clothing repro. The green stitching gives it away as an ELC. There should be a small tag sewn inside the pocket with a number printed on it. If you contact Eastman they could probably tell you when it was made based on that number. Eastman switched from using original Talon zips to repro Crown zips a couple years ago. Just curious, how much are they charging you?

found an A-2 in the local rock & roll store today - they put it aside for me as they didn't take cards, so i'm picking it up in the next few days... the guy reckoned it was an 80s repro, any thoughts? i didn't have time to take any more pics... the zipper is a talon btw. leather in nice condition.

[killer b]

£25. thought it was a bargain either way... will post full pics once i get it home.

[crownzip]

Holy shit, that's a steal. Congrats!

£25. thought it was a bargain either way... will post full pics once i get it home.

[killer b]

any idea where the tab would be crownzip? the only identifying mark i can find on it (other than the patch inside the back pictured above) is a little white tab inside one pocket, but there's no number on it - just the letters RW, then 'No', but with no number, then the size (40). literally nothing else on the jacket, as far as i can find... a few more pics below.

[edmond]

looks liek aero leather?

[killer b]

did aero make RW branded repros?

[setterman]

did aero make RW branded repros?

It's an Eastman, and you got it at a killer price!

[killer b]

i kind of suspected it was wildly cheap when i saw it in the shop tbh... they seem to keep their resale value fairly well don't they?

[tvshooter]

wow! so you got that for about $40 US dollars? incredible. or somebody f'd up big time.

[killer b]

he was selling it for a mate who was the previous owner. he said 'i told him he should price it a bit higher' when i picked it up this afternoon.

no shit.

[devilish]

Nice score at a very, very good price.

[AntiHero84]

Super jealous of that jacket. That's an amazing find. Perfect size too...

[killer b]

it says it's a 40, but i think it's sized wartime 40 - closer to a 38 or 36 modern sizes i'd say...

fit pics tomorrow - the light's gone now.