I am not entirely positive, but I believe that government provided gear classified as personal or personalized can be kept by the user. Flight jackets are one example now; you are issued it and you wear it and who would want a used piece of clothing back. I have my flight helmet; it was molded to fit my head. Kept my flight suits and flight boots. And it could be a question of who was controlling it making a decision about whether or not to get it back.
Leather Flight jackets....
- Thread starter Mandrake
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I am not entirely positive, but I believe that government provided gear classified as personal or personalized can be kept by the user. Flight jackets are one example now; you are issued it and you wear it and who would want a used piece of clothing back. I have my flight helmet; it was molded to fit my head. Kept my flight suits and flight boots. And it could be a question of who was controlling it making a decision about whether or not to get it back.
I like that.
- Thread starter
- #24
This is like DEs, razors, etc.., one is never enough!!! Now I am thinking in getting this next:
The Hartmann WWII Luftwafffe Fighter Pilots Jacket
And maybe one of this for summer:
M65 US MILITARY FIELD COMBAT JACKET
The Hartmann WWII Luftwafffe Fighter Pilots Jacket
And maybe one of this for summer:
M65 US MILITARY FIELD COMBAT JACKET
I'd suggest with $1,500 one of these guys could make you a jacket that overcame your limitations and looked authentic but flattering too?
I have an M65, great jacket i have the black one, great for fishing, bit awkward to clean though, as it's us mil' it has follow cleaning regs or whatever no proper details..... 
Tom
Tom
I have an Avirex A-2, and I love it. Back in the late '80s (Top Gun days) I bought a G-1 at NAS Pensacola's museum. I've since er outgrown it, and gave it to my son, as I always hoped I would be able to do. It looks great on him.
This is closer to mine, but mines cream rather than ginger: http://www.flying-jacket.com/product-details.aspx?id=1 A proper flying jacket.....
Tom
Tom
The Luftwaffe jacket by Vanson.
This is like DEs, razors, etc.., one is never enough!!! Now I am thinking in getting this next:
The Hartmann WWII Luftwafffe Fighter Pilots Jacket
And maybe one of this for summer:
M65 US MILITARY FIELD COMBAT JACKET
What website did you find the M65 on? Looks great!
The very one. Non plus ultra. Non pareil.
That is what struck me when I saw the picture as well. I've been wearing my leather jacket that is about 25 years old everyday this winter (no knitted cuffs). I've had it relined about 6 years back. The last couple of years I've polished it with Obenauf's Leather Oil . . . the same stuff I use to maintain my leather couches.
- Thread starter
- #33
This one in particular is from http://www.surplus-shop.de , but you should be able to find a lot sources just searching in Google or ubay for "M65 field jacket"
If I could find a slim fitting one Id wear one but this is hard for me being 130 lbs. I want it to fit like this: Note how slim the sleeves are on her and how high the armholes are. Most are way big and boxy.
Vanson's are tough. I've got one for my bike and it is incredible.
The cowhide ones are very rough and stiff when you first get them. But over time they do soften up.
Funny that it can be a "put off" to some folks who are use to the leathers they buy at retail stores etc.
They do have horsehide jackets which are buttery smooth and strong but cost more.
I've been into these for a while. Long enough to have read up on them some and to belong to a forum that is all about vintage leather flight jackets. Yep, they have those, too. There's a forum for everything.
I've seen the usual suspects mentioned: Gibson & Barnes, Aero, Eastman, but I don't believe anybody has mentioned John Chapman's Good Wear Leather Coat Company. John is one of the true aficionados of flight jackets, and has collected them and wrote about them for years.
He recently started his own business to reproduce the WWII A-2 Army Air Force jacket. His work is amazing. Some collectors started calling his jackets "1942 in a box" and that's about right. Not too perfect like some of the replicas, John's jackets look like they came out of quartermaster's supply circa 1943.
John makes individual contractor's versions of the A-2 (and now he's added some different jackets besides the A-2) and they are eerily accurate.
Last year he made a goatskin Dubow contract for me. Here ya go.
(Forgive the ugly model. The jacket's a beauty)
I've seen the usual suspects mentioned: Gibson & Barnes, Aero, Eastman, but I don't believe anybody has mentioned John Chapman's Good Wear Leather Coat Company. John is one of the true aficionados of flight jackets, and has collected them and wrote about them for years.
He recently started his own business to reproduce the WWII A-2 Army Air Force jacket. His work is amazing. Some collectors started calling his jackets "1942 in a box" and that's about right. Not too perfect like some of the replicas, John's jackets look like they came out of quartermaster's supply circa 1943.
John makes individual contractor's versions of the A-2 (and now he's added some different jackets besides the A-2) and they are eerily accurate.
Last year he made a goatskin Dubow contract for me. Here ya go.
(Forgive the ugly model. The jacket's a beauty)
That looks really good. About 99% of the ones I see are HUGE. These are jackets and should fit as such, they aren't coats. Are these made to measure? If I could get one to fit my 130lbs skinny frame that doesn' cost $1500 that would be sweet.
I've been into these for a while. Long enough to have read up on them some and to belong to a forum that is all about vintage leather flight jackets. Yep, they have those, too. There's a forum for everything.
I've seen the usual suspects mentioned: Gibson & Barnes, Aero, Eastman, but I don't believe anybody has mentioned John Chapman's Good Wear Leather Coat Company. John is one of the true aficionados of flight jackets, and has collected them and wrote about them for years.
He recently started his own business to reproduce the WWII A-2 Army Air Force jacket. His work is amazing. Some collectors started calling his jackets "1942 in a box" and that's about right. Not too perfect like some of the replicas, John's jackets look like they came out of quartermaster's supply circa 1943.
John makes individual contractor's versions of the A-2 (and now he's added some different jackets besides the A-2) and they are eerily accurate.
Last year he made a goatskin Dubow contract for me. Here ya go.
(Forgive the ugly model. The jacket's a beauty)
Thanks, I like it a lot.
The jackets are absolutely made to measure. You're right about the fit too. Some collectors call it the "WWII" fit. The jackets did tend to be worn less loose and blousy than the modern standard. John has the reputation- well earned in my experience- of being incredibly helpful and knowledgeable about getting the details of your jacket right. He's a real gentleman to deal with.
At 5'3" and skinny you're in great shape to have a perfect fitting WWII repro- any of the contractors would be fine for you. Some patterns were more athletic and 'form-fitting' than others. (For that matter, in your size range many original jackets can be had for reasonable coin.)
Check out John's website. His price for goatskin is about $900, horsehide runs $950. Prices are steep but in line with what other vendors charge for top quality repros, and in my humble opinion nobody is making the hyper accurate repros that John is. He obsesses about thread color, the label details, and subtle differences in the patterns that most people don't even know about.
Good Wear
The jackets are absolutely made to measure. You're right about the fit too. Some collectors call it the "WWII" fit. The jackets did tend to be worn less loose and blousy than the modern standard. John has the reputation- well earned in my experience- of being incredibly helpful and knowledgeable about getting the details of your jacket right. He's a real gentleman to deal with.
At 5'3" and skinny you're in great shape to have a perfect fitting WWII repro- any of the contractors would be fine for you. Some patterns were more athletic and 'form-fitting' than others. (For that matter, in your size range many original jackets can be had for reasonable coin.)
Check out John's website. His price for goatskin is about $900, horsehide runs $950. Prices are steep but in line with what other vendors charge for top quality repros, and in my humble opinion nobody is making the hyper accurate repros that John is. He obsesses about thread color, the label details, and subtle differences in the patterns that most people don't even know about.
Good Wear
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Actually Im 5'5"
I don't mind spending $900 on a quality leather that will last forever, THAT FITS.... I'll check out his site, thanks!
BTW my brother is a Chief in the NAVY and he's getting me one of those nylon flight jackets for free, one of the perks Chiefs get apparently. Im getting a leather patch to go with it too.
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