Vintage Flight Suits

[fleet16b]

This may be a subject for the "WW2 section,?????
Anyway besides leather Flight Jackets , I collect RAF/RACAF Flight suits.
I am wondering if others here do the same and would love to see pics of what people have and their comments about them
In relation to this, are there any repro SidCot makers out there? Months back there was discussion about RAF Prestige suits. Perhaps they should also be discussed here


Lets see what you have !!
Thanks

 

[Smithy]

This may be a subject for the "WW2 section,?????
Anyway besides leather Flight Jackets , I collect RAF/RACAF Flight suits.
I am wondering if others here do the same and would love to see pics of what people have and their comments about them
In relation to this, are there any repro SidCot makers out there? Months back there was discussion about RAF Prestige suits. Perhaps they should also be discussed here


Lets see what you have !!
Thanks

Cam,

This crowd offers Sidcot repros...

http://www.blueswallowaircraft.com/

They are the only lot who do so to my knowledge. The cut of theirs looks to be incorrect though, being a far more modern flightsuit cut.

 

[BellyTank]

One of my vintage clothing regrets was selling-on a Sidcot suit I bought from a surplus shop in London- it was a New Old Stock orphan, it had the fur pockets and the fur, button-on collar stuffed in a pocket. I was impressed with the amount of zips and that it was a little large for me and I'm 5/11.
It cost me £30 and the vendor told me he would not bargain...
...fair enough, I said.

Bugger-


B
T

 

[fleet16b]

Cam,

This crowd offers Sidcot repros...

http://www.blueswallowaircraft.com/

They are the only lot who do so to my knowledge. The cut of theirs looks to be incorrect though, being a far more modern flightsuit cut.

Smithy
I agree. Their Sidcot is much too tailored a fit. Originals were way looser and bulkier. Also the colour is too light.
My area around the fly is different also.
Still if one wants a repro, I guess it would do. Wonder what they charge for their example.
The originals are now rather pricey and becoming very delicate in old age.
During the "Amelia " shoot we sought to have some reproduced from my originals . Best price was 3k us. Ouch !
As soon as I can , I will post pics from my collection so people may compare

 

[BellyTank]

I guess they are getting a little thin on the ground(in the air) by now.
I WISH I still had mine, it was brand new- an earlier one, I'm sure, it had the label but it was not dated. It had no electrical connectors, DOT zippers, I would describe it as being more green-ish than khaki and it was hu-uge.

Double Bugger!


B
T

 

[jgaertner]

BSA, LLC's Sidcot Suits from Jgaertner

Hello,

I was reading with interest your comments on the 1920s-30s Sidcot suits, my company Blue Swallow Aircraft, LLC produces. I would encourage you to take another visit to our web site and read closely the information that is presented there, regarding the type of flying suit we are recreating and the history of the Sidcot suit in general.

The patterns for our suits were professionally made by a company that makes clothing for Hollywood. We purchased and used original British Sidcot suits of the period to make our patterns. From the start, we realized that very few Americans could possibly fit in the original sizes because contemporary Americans are all so much larger than our counter parts from this time period. We also, had to take into account that no one is still producing the exact same buttons, or zippers. We searched and search to find them. Since our suits are meant for folks who really fly, actual aircraft, like the ones we build and restore, we had to make the suits affordable and practical, while still trying to stay as close as possible to the originals.

As to the "correct" color of the suits... we looked at more than one dozen different examples and I chose the color that I felt looked the closest to the one we see in the many pictures we have of pilots flying the British aircraft we are building. This is not the ugly green-gray color used in British WW II electrically heated suits. I believe you can easily find a picture of Douglas Bader wearing a pre-War Sidcot suit that look almost white in the picture. This is not a Prestige suit that can be mistaken for a Sidcot by some.

If any members of this forum would like to contact us with their concerns or suggestions, we would be delighted to hear from them. We strive to please all of our customers, and we know there are literally dozens of BSA, LLC Sidcot suits being worn by folks who are very happy with the product we produce.

Regards,

John Gaertner
BSA, LLC
Keswick, VA USA

 

[kampkatz]

Welcome to TFL, John. Thanks for the brief introduction of your company. Your products will surely be of interest to some of the users here. It can't hurt to make yourself known to the crowd who frequent these pages.
Good luck with your endeavors.