Your first flight jacket

[bburtner@moran]

I was thinking back quite a few years and tried to figure out what was my first flight jacket.Any members out there remember their first?Mine was a really worn out 55j14 from Kaufmans in NYC,$5.00....

 

[DavidVillaJr]

Remember it? It's still hanging in my parent's closet.

I got it in 8th (?) grade and wore it all through high school and most of college. Kirk Cameron from "Growing Pains" had the "first" young-guy bomber jacket at that time, but I had him beat by MONTHS if not a full year.

Not "accurate" at all, but it was MINE. I had a patch on the chest that I glued on, but when it fell off it took some of the finish off with it... So I had mom sew a Hamilton Standard propeller company patch over the funky spot. It used to be a nice dark brown, but now it has faded to a really light tan color.

I'll get some pictures posted when I get a chance.

dv

 

[Absinthe_1900]

I had one when I was six years old, I wore with my Ideal Toy Co. official Steve Canyon helmet.

I outgrew it pretty fast, I miss the helmet too...

 

[aswatland]

It was a Cooper goatskin with the orange label. Sold it to get something more authentic!

 

[Anders]

My first and only (though not the last): A US authentic A2.

 

[MCrider]

First Flight Jacket

My first was a not totally accurate A2 "style" jacket from Berman Leathers in the mall. Still have that jacket in the closet although it seems to have shrunk slightly. My first official flight jacket was my Air Force A2 that I was issued on December 7. 1995 (no kidding on the date). It too resides in the closet but for other reasons. Took a hard spill on my motorcycle in 2002 while wearing it. The bike was repaired and the body mended, but the leather of one sleeve has a quarter size hole worn in it. Anyone know someone who repairs A2's without charging an arm and a leg?

 

[Hopalong]

My first flight jacket was my Dad's A-2 that was issued to him in the Army Air Force in WW II and I wore it when I was in the second, third and or fourth grade in 1955, 56 or 57 and I still wish I hadn't wore it out and I still had it. Mike

 

[Peacoat]

Mine was an L-2b issued in the Spring of 1966. The original got lost over the centuries, but its replacement is pictured below:

 

[jack miranda]

Mine was a pre-1969 G-1. I bought it at the Salvation Army in Seattle.

There is a large Navy base at Bremerton (still there? Don't know. All the Navy bases here in the SF Bay Area--Hunter's Point, Treasure Island, Mare Island, Alameda are closed now. Sad. As a further aside, I was working at Mare Island, which was a sub service base, on the day the 'Nautilus' sailed in to be de-commissioned. I went down to the dock to see this bit of history. There was no fanfare or ceremony that I could see; just the hulking black sub tied up dockside.)

Anyway, the Navy presence just across Puget Sound from Seattle, meant surplus and used gear was pretty readily accessible. G-1's were pretty common in used clothing stores; my girlfriend and I had matching G-1's and gray fedoras. It is good to be young and dress well.

 

[Diamondback]

Jack, Bremerton's still active--between the mothball fleet and supporting the sub facilities at Bangor and Keyport, along with the Everett carrier-port I don't see it folding anytime soon.

As for me, a Sears-catalog A2 (yes, I'm still a "frickin' n00b") that's been my daily-wear jacket since I got it a couple years ago.

 

[Satori]

Mine was and Eastman A-2 back when Gary only made house A-2s in russet and only ran little black and white ads in the trade paper 'Exchange and Mart'.

Eric

 

[omar]

Can't resist adding to this thread, Mine was was a vintage repro, probably from the 50's, and for years I thought it was the real deal. I bought it from a very cute gal at a vintage clothing stall at a antiques show being held together with a hot rod event I was at. The jacket was a true size 40, and barely fit, and the girl suggested that if maybe I lost a couple of pounds it would be perfect! And damnded if I didn't do it; I lost about 30 pounds, have kept it off for many years now, still have the jacket, and in spite of the fact it's not "the real deal" It still fits like a glove and I'll never get rid of it. The label looks like a real contract one, the manufacturer is Mil Air wear, Colorado. Looks like old mil-spec, except it has hidden handwarmers, like a modern Cockpit USA. Never underestimate the power of a great set of female eyes! I smile every time I put it on.

 

[rumblefish]

Schott "bomber" jacket, as I remember calling it. I got it 79'.
My mom said I looked like a hoodlum wearing it. Funny, you don't get that from this picture.

 

[Burnsie]

Dad's G-1

When your old man wears a leather flight jacket, you're hooked for life!
(Pic posted elsewhere, but couldn't resist - passed on to me, it was my first leather jacket -though he rarely let me wear it!)

 

[Atticus Finch]

My first real flight jacket was a 1972 MA-1 that I got in 1976 from the helicopter pilot to whom it had been issued. When he handed it to me, it was still in its original, unopened plastic bag. I wore it through college, grad school and law school, finally outgrowing it as middle-age spread beset me. Three or four years ago, I gave it to the helicopter pilot's (then) eleven-year-old grandson. He still wears it.

Thirty-some years after 1976, and after owning many other kinds of flight jackets, the old MA-1 still has a special place in my heart. I think there are at least ten of them in my collection, right now.

AF

 

[Doctor Strange]

I have always worn flight jacket TYPE jackets!

I remember that I had a blue cloth B-15 knockoff as a little kid in the 60s. And then in my college years, I had a brown vinyl G-1 knockoff.

I wore a couple of "real" N3-B parkas through high school and college. These were purchased at Army-Navy stores and were fairly close to actual spec, as far as I recall... both were navy blue with orange linings. (They were certainly better than the current-model Alpha I got my son a couple of years ago. It's a nice enough garment, but nowhere near as tough as my old N3-Bs were.)

In the early 80s, I got one of those brown naked cowhide Schott Bombers that combined the A-2 and G-1 look, sort of. (Model 164, I think - the earlier version of their current removable-fur collar jackets.) A very tough jacket - much heavier than a proper flight jacket, with a white acrylic pile lining - it got me through several NYC winters.

In the late 80s, I got a blue LL Bean MA-1 knockoff. Differences from standard include a heavier exterior (nearly packcloth density), more insulation (it was originally puffy like a down jacket), and with an orange interior, but not reversable (wallet pocket instead of inside slash pockets). Though it eventually lost a lot of its insulation, I still use it for winter hiking and snow shoveling - it's indestructable!

But my first "real" flight jacket was a Flight Suits Civil A-2 in black goatskin in late 2001. And it's still in the rotation...

 

[gtdean48]

My wife gave me an A2 knockoff, distressed as they say, I think when we were dating. There was a movie with John Cusack called A Sure Thing with the hot blonde on Desparate Housewives. He wore a similar jacket with green fatigue, bdu's & high top Chuck Taylors. My sister said the character reminded her of me & my wife agreed. I had & wore everything but the jacket. It completed the look. I had a problem that Cusack's character wore the ensemble into the pool on a floating chaise lounge.
The jacket is a 42 & I am a 44 easy. It fits kind of snug, not sure my son will want that style. It has some designer name in it that I don't recognize.

 

[Edward]

My first was a Schott-style modern civvy-A"/G1 hybrid type, bought used on eBay. Came complete with the zip-out lining, though not the fluffy collar-cover. Must have been early-mid 07 I bought that, round the time I registered here. After a couple of months, I swapped it with a friend for a nice shirt (we both got a fair deal on that). In April 2008, I bought the Aero AN6552 (in "second hand but hung in a collection and never worn" condition) which I'm wearing today. I also have a LW B3 that I bought from John Lever back around September / October 2008. That's it so far; I still have just a couple of A2s, an Irvin, a B-10, maybe a B15-C and B6 to go before my flight jacket collection is complete.....

 

[kampkatz]

A blue nylon jacket from an Army/Navy surplus store in the late 60's.

 

[HungaryTom]

My first and only
Boutique cockpit A-2 seal brown steerhide purchased in 1993.
Leather still pristine and well used, liner is not so good.
Saw a lot of dates and other nice things - companion of my heydays.
Sits in the wardrobe.