**NEWS EXTRA**Good Wear flying jackets take vintage authenticity to new heights!!

[sphughes]

I am loving that No Name Contract (27753). I think I need to call John and get in the queue.

-Scott

 

[Mike K.]

I love the look of that Dubow pocket!!
Fedoralover - have you seen John's capri chocolate hide? It's amazing!
On a separate note, John has informed me that he should be getting some new russet horsehide in stock soon.

 

[fedoralover]

I love the look of that Dubow pocket!!
Fedoralover - have you seen John's capri chocolate hide? It's amazing!
On a separate note, John has informed me that he should be getting some new russet horsehide in stock soon.

No I haven't as I never asked for any leather samples. I wanted a dark seal brown A-2 with a lot of grain character and when I saw the close-ups of the English Pub Coffee I new that was exactly what I was looking for. But from the pic of it on the Aero 16160 it looks pretty good, I have time to change my mind yet, so we'll see.

Attention John, if you read this post, I'm amazed that you are making 8 different contracts. Do you plan on making others in the future??

fedoralover

 

[sphughes]

Well, I did it........I just got off the phone with John and I have my place in line. I ordered a 27753 in Pueblo Chocolate Cowhide.

The waiting will be rough but worth it.

-Scott

 

[fedoralover]

It looks like there will be a number of us sporting new Goodwear A-2s in 08. Make sure you post some pics.

fedoralover

 

[aswatland]

Useful thread. Of course JC is such a master craftsman that one can rest assured that he will get the pocket details of every jacket spot on.

 

[Tariacuri]

I have an order in for a 16160 - hope to have it toward the end of Jan. Very elegant pattern!!

 

[CBI]

I should be getting my Goodwear Aero (earlier contract - rounded pocket bottom corners, brownish knits, Sierra Mesa hide) within the next few days. The number of orders John has right now has doubled since the time I placed my order a few months ago. The pockets shown above look great. I think GW is the new gold standard. I will confirm this once the jacket arrives. After SO MANY "almosts" by ELC, Aero, LW and RM I am really looking forward to this!

 

[aswatland]

I should be getting my Goodwear Aero (earlier contract - rounded pocket bottom corners, brownish knits, Sierra Mesa hide) within the next few days. The number of orders John has right now has doubled since the time I placed my order a few months ago. The pockets shown above look great. I think GW is the new gold standard. I will confirm this once the jacket arrives. After SO MANY "almosts" by ELC, Aero, LW and RM I am really looking forward to this!

I'm sure you wont be disappointed when it arrives. A GW A2 is worth the wait!

 

[fedoralover]

I think GW is the new gold standard. I will confirm this once the jacket arrives. After SO MANY "almosts" by ELC, Aero, LW and RM I am really looking forward to this!

I think you are right. Here's a picture of an original Bronco pocket right off of a vendor's website.

Take a look at their reproduction of it and then look at Johns and you tell me who's making an effort to accurately reproduce it. Sorry if this ruffles any feathers or steps on any toes, but the pics don't lie, they aren't photoshopped.

fedoralover

 

[Mike K.]

Anyone know if Good Wear jackets have high armholes (similar to the Aero of Scotland A-2s)??

 

[fedoralover]

Anyone know if Good Wear jackets have high armholes (similar to the Aero of Scotland A-2s)??

Mike, since John takes his patterns off of originals, I would say that if they are high on originals his Goodwear repro's will be too. If they weren't, then they won't. But since each jacket is basically custom made, you could probably specify to John what you want.

fedoralover

 

[Jacob Dubow]

Anyone know if Good Wear jackets have high armholes (similar to the Aero of Scotland A-2s)??

I think it all depends on how the specific original manufacturer designed their jackets. John pretty much duplicates what the original maker did. But as fedoralover said, JC is willing to make adjustments, I think.

 

[Mike K.]

Thanks guys. Not knowing the specifics about each manufacturer, I guess I'll contact John to get more details about how different jackets fit.

 

[CBI]

My New Goodwear A-2 Part I

A quick note to say my new Goodwear Aero A-2 arrived today. I won't be able to post pics until next week but easily the best of the premium A-2's I have encountered. I have purchased Lost Worlds, ELC, Aero and Real McCoys before and would put the satisfaction range of these A-2's from 70-90%. Not bad except these things are pretty expensive to be "almost" happy. Of course I don't have first hand experiences with EVERY A-2 these guys make! With Goodwear its 100%. I would venture to say that GW jacket's are considerably better buys in terms of authenticity. I owned many original A-2's in my day. I will take it step further: GW may very well be "preferable” in some ways than the real thing. There is nothing like saying you have and actually owning a piece of history. I don't know about you all but I am just not 100% comfortable wearing an original and I find myself always monitoring my movements so as not to damage these 40-60 year old jackets (G-1's and A-2's). From GW I purchased the Aero 21996 but had John use the 18775 rounded bottom pockets. Bonanza Mesa hide - GREAT. With John and GW you get a handcrafted jacket made by one person who is a fanatic about jackets. I would not call the other premium folks mass producers but they do deal with more of a volume manufacturing approach and hence the quality however great is not in John's class. Save your money get a Goodwear and get it right the first time. I had no plans to get into the online repro wars but the GW is THAT good. By the way, John nailed the fit and got the WWII drape perfectly.

 

[Fletch]

Take us some pix if you can!

 

[Boris K]

.

Sounds good, CBI. Can't wait to see it.

 

[fedoralover]

I can't wait to see the pics. I haven't owned all the high end repro's and quite frankly I'm glad I'm getting into this game late. It's saved me a lot of frustration and thousands of dollars. I've read all the major vendor's ads saying they make "Exact" copies of A-2s made in in the 40s. Then you look at pics of the originals and look at the ones on their websites and they don't look like the originals at all. If you look at Johns and compare them to the originals, you KNOW you are getting something that is as close to the originals as possible today. He shows it can be done and it makes one wonder why the others haven't been doing it already.

fedoralover

 

[Windsock]

If you look at Johns and compare them to the originals, you KNOW you are getting something that is as close to the originals as possible today. He shows it can be done and it makes one wonder why the others haven't been doing it already.

fedoralover

The guys who started off the other Companies had a similar passion and interest, but as with all things there are those who have naturally built up a greater or different knowledge on a subject. JC is a definite one off however in that his knowledge is vast having handled so many both originals and repros in putting his CD together but he also has the ability to pattern make and create the jackets using his own hands and I don't know if the others started off that way. That's why this venture is just being done now. Plus, the level of appreciation for these items is probably at it's maximum right now being driven by Forums like this and VLJ. The age of IT has helped immensely in making a wider appreciation for it putting the info at our fingertips.

CBI you will love it- i'm getting another next year.

 

[Mike K.]

Glad you like your new jacket CBI...can't wait to see your photos of it.
I'm curious how the fit of the GW Aero compares with the Aero of Scotland jacket (especially in regard to the height of the armholes).