A-1 Jacket / A1 Flying Jacket - The ultimate Golden Era flying accessory!

[Boyo]

^^sick tip, Bret... Too small for me though

 

[Dinerman]

Seeing as the A-1 jacket was adopted from a civilian hunting / outdoors jacket style, this take on the design done in waxed cotton seems appropriate to me.

 

[Biggles88a]

Good day to all,
a couple of days ago I have acquired an AERO A-1 from a very friendly Ebayer, for a reasonable and fair price. It is a size 44 and he noted the arm length at 24 inches. This and a little tight fit was his reason for selling. I have received the jacket with some subdued expectation with regards to fit (shoulders and arm length). I have a rather comfortably fitting AERO BOOTLEGGER in 44 but have also AERO A-2s in size 44 that are definitely too tight for comfort. But slipping on the A-1 was a great and swell surprise. The fit is very comfortable for me, not too baggy and fitting in the shoulder for good movement (considering no bi-swing back). The arms seem to tunnel a little but in moving they feel perfect for length. With this particular AERO model no discussion about authenticity is required, that was not the reason I bought the jacket. The HH finish is what stirred my interest, the colour and like-new condition for the price. I would think it will take some 2-3 years of good wear to mold the leather - which feels like a tank - into form. I like this feeling because it proposes a challenge to tame the HH. Overall I am quite happy with AEROs work and thankful for the opportunity on Ebay. Please find some pictures attached.

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Cheers,
Biggles88a
"I bought some really nice trousers in Camden,..." Armstrong and Miller (RAF sketch)

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Looks pretty good to me Biggles and will get better as you wear it and break it in.
Congrats
HD

 

[Doctor Damage]

Palm trees in Germany???

 

[Worf]

Palm trees in Germany???

Errr what he said and I won't even ask about the baseball glove... Jacket though looks absolutely marvelous.

Worf

 

[Capesofwrath]

Yes it does look good. Is it FQHH or the midweight HH? It's a bit hard to tell since it's obviously very new. Purists, and they do exist, may quibble that the hide is a bit too stiff for this jacket of course. But it is what it is, and for what it is it looks very nice.

 

[Biggles88a]

Good Morning, Doktor Damage,
please find attached following link: http://www.palmenstandorte.de/en/index_en.php. I personally cannot comment as I am not botanically conversant. Great jacket, though.
Cheers, Biggles88a

 

[Biggles88a]

Yes it does look good. Is it FQHH or the midweight HH? It's a bit hard to tell since it's obviously very new. Purists, and they do exist, may quibble that the hide is a bit too stiff for this jacket of course. But it is what it is, and for what it is it looks very nice.

Hello Capesofwrath, actually I don't know exactly what kind of leather it is. It is very heavy and feels like a BOOTLEGGER I have which I am fairly certain is made of FQHH. But as I have read these days one better pays a DNA test to see what type of leather one buys/ wears. I could not comment on the purist topic, though, Sir, as I don't know what that is with regards to the A-1. Thank you for the comments, though. Please enjoy a fine day.

Biggles88a

 

[Dr H]

The comment about A-1 purists probably relates to historically accurate choice of hide (i.e. Capeskin), number of buttons, position of pockets, etc.
plenty of threads/vintage images on FL if you're interested.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Well, we all know that so-called, self-styled "purists" are typically quite silly.

I've seen and owned jackets of this type successfully created in pretty much any hide and fabric you can name. The style is quite adaptable. As DMan noted above, it is developed from a civilian style and so has almost certainly always been knockin' around in endless variations of materials. I just bought another British one in light calf, btw, and was looking at a knit one today on a market stall with a very early (c. 1932) Dot separating zipper, but it was too big.

 

[Dr H]

As you say Baron, the Type A-1 mil spec is pretty well documented, but the sports/cycling/civilian flying/windcheater jackets have been around for ages in all sorts of configurations.

 

[devilish]

Just bought the A-1 from the Good Wear sales page. Hopefully it will be here Tuesday and hopefully it fits. Will post pictures as soon as I'm able.

 

[Boyo]

Heres a first look at my Eastman A1 purchased recently from ebay. It looks to my eyes to be very new but was listed as used (a good thing),and according to current exchange rates I was able to get this for slightly less that 1/2 price. The jacket appears identical to those listed on the Eastman site as cape skin, but there is no indication of what type of leather was used for this jacket, although it is definitely not FQHH. The leather is very light and soft to the touch, I am confident it is a cape skin version. overall the jacket has the feel of a cardigan sweater. The jacket is listed as a size 48 and fits me very "trim". I could not wear more than a collared shirt or t-shirt underneath. As is usual for me the jacket feels snug across the shoulders, the forearm/wrist area is especially narrow as I have to pull the jacket off over my hands. I have wanted an A1 for awhile now and Im happy with this edition.

 

[Grayland]

Looks really good, Boyo!

 

[Dr H]

It's capeskin.

 

[Boyo]

Grayland, thanks I really like it, the jacket is a lot lighter than I expected but very well put together.. Dr. H thanks for the confirmation, I was pretty confident that it was cape (or sheep) skin.

I forgot to mention the pockets...they are so small, There is not much you can get in there, maybe a few pieces of paper or a book of matches. I don't think you can fit a pencil in the pencil slot... forget about your hands

 

[thor]

Too bad about the small pockets; I thought a wallet or iPhone might fit but I guess not. That's my one reservation about these new "aeronaut" style button-front aviator jackets that afew manufacturers are producing: small button-close pockets. Probably accurate to 1920's styling but not very useful for modern times and securing necessary daily items.

 

[2jakes]

Grayland, thanks I really like it, the jacket is a lot lighter than I expected but very well put together.. Dr. H thanks for the confirmation, I was pretty confident that it was cape (or sheep) skin.

I forgot to mention the pockets...they are so small, There is not much you can get in there, maybe a few pieces of paper or a book of matches. I don't think you can fit a pencil in the pencil slot... forget about your hands

I didn't make this up...I just notice it...not sure where...[huh]

"Hands in the pockets were considered unfit for a military bearing ".

 

[rocketeer]

I didn't make this up...I just notice it...not sure where...[huh]

"Hands in the pockets were considered unfit for a military bearing ".

Says something similar in the book Hell Bent for Leather, one of the first books to document the history of aviation leather jackets.