MA-1 Flight jacket

[Monsoon]

B36 Crew getting their 'chutes on in mid 50s. Are those just Ball Caps with the stud removed?

Might be. The button on top of ball caps sucks when you're wearing a headset. We usually just tore them off.

I love the 1950-60s aircrew pictures. Like that SSgt on the left, I forgot how many I've seen of guys wearing low quarters when flying.

 

[Flightengineer]

Hi aviation nypon fans!
Just bought this L2B 1965 on eBay.
I look forward to delivery

 

[Doctor Damage]

^ appears to be in excellent condition, well done

 

[Flightengineer]

Thank you Doctor)))
I hope that it will please me. I have a commercial Alpha MA-1 vintage series , but I was disappointed - nylon as children's jackets)))
I also have a CWU-36 from Avirex (old with Scovill) (one my good friend gift). But Nomex is something else). I love flight jackets (despite the fact that I'm myself flying in a shirt )

 

[Doctor Damage]

Commercial pilot, that's good.

I agree, nomex is a much different animal, but I almost like it better than nylon. By the way, we have a thread dedicated to nomex flight jackets: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/nomex-flyer-jacket.75006/

 

[Flightengineer]

Not pilot, but flight engineer )))
OK I'll show mine nomex in that thread

 

[Marv]

I posted this in anothet thread but as I was MA-1 related I thought I'd post it here also.......

Speaking of Alpha quaility wise, I don't own an original MA-1 but I did pick up a second hand Alpha MA-1 size XL off the bay which was manufactured in Vietnam (not sure what year this would have been from) and the quality of the jacket I thought was ok.

The jacket being a little too big size wise, I decided to purchase a brand new Alpha MA-1 in a size L (which fits great) to which when it arrived I compared it to the other MA-1 and noticed quite a few differences between the jackets.

The jacket manufactured in Vietnam is thicker, better constructed, better quality materials and hardware used, great knits and in what I would say is the standard olive/sage green colour - albeit as size too large at XL.

The current 2015 spec MA-1 is made in China, thinner, lesser quaility materials used, construction seems ok, the nylon is of a very shiny appearence and also a lighter shade of green plus the pocket flaps have increased in size also when compaired to my other Alpha as well as the actual pockets having been pushed back slightly towards sides of the jacket.

With nylon flight jackets being new to me at this stage I am not fully versed in all the nuances of the L-2A, L-2B, MA-1 etc so this is just pre-educated opinion at present.

But I think what I am trying to say is that is seems Alpha have defiantly sucummed to the fashion market with their jackets more so losing the originality of what they first produced when styling their new jackets lesser keeping with the Mil-Spec patterns which is what we all love about flight jackets.

My search for a mint/good original is still on I think but am willing to take the time to learn more about the nylon range so as to get the best jacket I can/afford etc.

 

[bn1966]

I tried the Chinese Alpha but couldn't get on with those jackets either & don't consider them any more, Pattern was nothing like service issue for starters.

I've had Korean Alphas that were nice jackets.

I've got a 79 Alpha L2-B that I picked up cheap & a 93 N2-B that are decent service issue jackets & fit me well (46" chest). Both XL.

I've owned 'Vintage' Series Alphas but have moved most of them on, OK as a beater but that's about it. Plus I didn't like the decal on the sleeve. Kept a B-15 where the previous owner had removed the decal.

Alpha do at least two 'Replica' series made in the USA that are constructed from good textiles and have wool in the interlining. You have to watch sizing as they run BIG. I've only got one left (early MA-1), the others were moved on, XL was more like XXL & a 44 sized more like a 48. The one I kept had been washed I think, which caused the interlining to shrink and changed the jacket fit to nearer a true XL.

Saw an Alpha replica series jacket I hadn't come across before on eBay the other day that ran truer to fit & copied a late 60's model. I contacted the vendor who was trying to sell it as an original & got some details but the price was too high for me, I let him know it was a copy (made in USA on label & it was a Blue colour jacket for starters) but he sold it as an original in the end.

I've purchased original service issue late Alpha MA-1s from the States but found the fit just slightly too small in XL (too snug for my shoulders). Moved em on.

I own three early CWU jackets (late 70's early 80's) in XL that fit very well & a 76 MA-1 (same one as in the film 'The Hunter') in XL that's a good jacket (not Alpha).

Buzz I like but feel they are out of my price range now and have been slightly too 'fancy' in some models (I moved on an L-2A for that reason, plus I was scared of spilling things on it, grease marks etc) I think they've just brought out a plain later period MA-1 (Orange lining) that would e nice but £££££££££ given the current state of the £.

 

[Flightengineer]

I have repro Alpha from their vintage series MA-1 (made in USA), but I do not like it (thin and strange nylon , not correct green).

 

[bn1966]

I have repro Alpha from their vintage series MA-1 (made in USA), but I do not like it (thin and strange nylon , not correct green).

Yes, I don't like that green either & jackets don't last very long, knits tend to get a reddish tint

 

[Flightengineer]

Today I got my Skyline L-2b. Very satisfied.
In excellent condition, like new.



I am waiting for the summer )))) or flight to somewhere in Asia, where it's warm weather now and where now I can wear it)

 

[TrendyTrent]

So, I've had a bit of trouble sourcing a set of accurately coloured replacement cuffs for my MA-1. As far as I can tell, it is a vintage jacket manufactured by Alpha Industries and has the Scovill brand pullers. The thing is the original ribbing appears to be a much darker blue-gray green and evidently not sage green at all - as the pair I purchased to replace the mismatched cuffs aren't even close to being the same colour at all. So, I guess my question is: where can I find a set in a similar colour?

This is pretty much the same colour as my jacket. As you can see, it is a noticebly different shade from the rest of the jacket. Is there an official name for this colour?

 

[Doctor Damage]

You're correct, old knits were grey in colour, not matching green.

However, what's wrong with the knits? The knits in the photo look fine other than that small hole. Unless they're really chewed up bad -- which there is no evidence of in the photo -- don't change them.

 

[TrendyTrent]

Oh, that's not actually the jacket in question. I just used an image I lifted off of ebay to illustrate the colour. My jacket has had the cuffs replaced with a pair of cheap black woolen ones, and my OCD won't have it.

So, to reitterate: the cuffs I need for my jacket are colour coded as being gray - correct? Any suggestions on where to find a good replacement set? The originals feel to made of be nylon, or nomex what have you. So, I'd definitely like to replace the black woolen ones.

 

[SteveZ]

Does anybody know when the bright india orange liner was ' officially ' phased out ? I saw many AF pilots still wearing them when I left the service in 1980. What was the drill ? If you needed to replace an old MA1 you were issued a CWU type jacket that was a sage color inside and out ? Otherwise you kept on wearing the old jacket or were pilots ordered to change ?

Anybody remember ?

 

[Deacon211]

A good question. Normally, I would say that you wore your old gear until it needed to be replaced.

But switching from Nylon to Nomex might have been mandatory with a cutoff date like most uniforms.


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[Doctor Damage]

Were those pilots wearing their old jackets in aircraft, or just while schlepping around base? As Deacon has said, the nomex would likely have been mandatory for pilots and aircrew while flying, but pilots probably still wore their old MA-1 jackets at other times, probably as a subtle reminder of how long they had been in the service like pilots wearing A2s long after WWII was over.

 

[devilish]

TrendyTrent, try PM'ing bn1966 about replacement knits. He has done it to some of his jackets. Also, you can usually find sets on eBay or possibly from MASH Co. Japan. Even though in Japan they are very easy to deal with.
If you are replacing the cuffs, I would replace everything so it all matches. Depending on how old the MA-1 is, the knits could be all wool or if newer they may be a wool/nylon mix? Good luck with your search. Oh and yes, they should be a greenish grey colour. More grey than the jacket body.

 

[BlueTrain]

Those nylon flying jackets always seemed like a most practical garment to me, except that it looks like the waist would ride up because of the snug fit. I've never had one.

Two other comments, though. First, whatever is issued is "correct." Only later do people like us worry about it. Second, it is by no means assured that the uniforms you might be issued in the service will actually fit. I'm one of the tall, thin ones and fatigues were too short for me, both in the leg and in the sleeve. From attending a couple of general officer promotion and retirement ceremonies, I do know that the leather jackets are quite popular. I don't recall noticing any nylon jackets at these indoor ceremonies.

 

[Deacon211]

Well some of this depends on various weird things. Flight gear is weird in that it is technically "equipment" as I've posted before. Purely uniform items generally have a drop dead date. My wife, who is retired Air Force, jokingly said that she would put in her retirement papers so that her last day was the day old standard woodland camouflage was out and new Air Force specific camo was in.

Flight gear can be different. I was issued the old shiny Navy G-suit in Pensacola and I would probably never have been forced to turn it in for the newer standard Nomex Air Force type model, except that I wanted to. But my old school helmet (with the plastic visor guard) was replaced by the snap on, bungeed visor type immediately when I showed up to my fleet squadron, because it could be fitted with the NVG bracket. By the same token, Combat Edge guys were probably forced to trade in their old gear as soon as the full body G-gear was available since it was a major upgrade.

Eventually, all old flight gear is replaced with the newer stuff. How quickly depends on the supply chain and how great the benefit of the new gear is perceived to be. So, unlike uniforms, flight gear doesn't seem to come with a (widely known at least) drop dead date. What's different about flight jackets is that they are kind of semi uniforms (or not really in that they usually are pretty restricted as to where you can wear them IN uniform).

That's what makes a definitive answer so tough in the case of these.


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