Aviation Leathercrft

Has anyone heard of this company, Aviation Leathercraft, based out of England ?
I don't recall any discussion of them in any of the posts here or websites about flight jackets.
http://www.flying-jacket.com/

Hi Jay they work very hard prosecuting people using the word Irvin ,shame they do not put that amount of effort into jacket research so they can produce quality period reproductions .Pathetic best decribes their product line all the way down to rubbish .Buts that my point of view maybe someone else has a different view.


All the best Jeff

442RCT said:

I don't recall any discussion of them in any of the posts here or websites about flight jackets.

Click to expand...

Yes, we've discussed them in the past, just try Search.

Here's the last thread, where John Lever sums them up as pants ...

viewtopic.php?p=38523#p38523

:roll: All the time I've been posting on this site, I didn't know there was a "Search"...duh!

to add balance, what they turn out is good solid well made jackets with a professional finish. If you are interested in aircraft more than jackets but feel you want a jacket then they have a diverse range including RAF 'tornado' jackets.
What f's me off about them is that their claims to produce authentic garments are very ill founded.
I can see a vintage open topped sports car owner springing for one and neither knowing nor ever caring that it is not hard core ww2 and as long as the zip works will never spare a thought for the fact that it doesnt say dot talon crown etc
personally
never.

Perhaps a decent jacket as 'high street' standards go but simply put, if you want a 'faithful repro' these guys dont make the list!!!

Wayne

I agree with the above. They're probably nice jackets for the man about town but the only authentic thing about them is that they're made of leather. Chrome tanned at that too.

To reiterate what Tim has already mentioned and as a ALC irvin owner, they make a first class jacket in terms of material and quality (better than your average mall jacket) but are way off the mark for authenticity.
So if you are looking for just a sheepskin flying jacket then these will do the job very well but if you are looking for authenticity then go with the Aero and ELC jackets, depending on your size you should be able to find a original in good condition.

Hope that helps........

I'm left wondering why they don't just tweak the pattern slightly to get a more authentic cut? Is it very difficult? Or more a case of not mending what isn't broken - presumably they sell well enough as they are. They're certainly very well made and will add pockets on request but the fact they're always for sale on ebay might be telling ......? Down to the individuals priorities I guess.

I have seen plenty of their offerings but for some reason have never taken the plunge! I wish they would remove their very dated colour advert which appears every month in Flypast. It really is a shame they don't offer an authentic Irvin. Some of their '70s Irvins were fairly close to originals.

Clearly they are appealing to the mass market/man on the street (or ladies!) who want a 'flying jacket' but probably don't know or care how it faithful it is!! But we know differently don't we - I wore my Aero M442A to work and after the mickey taking, arms out wings style joking, one of the guys said 'thats the wrong colour 'fur' on the collar, flying jackets should be white' - I
didn't bother responding but he's exactly the type guy who would buy from AL and if he's happy so be it!!!!

Wayne

I had one of their Irvins back in the late '70's and it looked very realistic in a market that at the time they were the only repro maker of that style. I also had one of their A-2's back then as a daily wearer as all my other ones were valuable originals..again, no other real alternatives here in UK at that time but obviously now there are so many better alernatives to choose from.

havocpaul said:

I had one of their Irvins back in the late '70's and it looked very realistic in a market that at the time they were the only repro maker of that style. I also had one of their A-2's back then as a daily wearer as all my other ones were valuable originals..again, no other real alternatives here in UK at that time but obviously now there are so many better alernatives to choose from.

Click to expand...

So I take it you wont be wearing one of their jackets to Duxford at the weekend? :lol:

Well, against the counsel of all VLJ consigliere, I bid on an Aviation Leathercraft A-2. i kind of liked the Made In England cachet. :roll: Since I was the only bidder, I 'won'...or lost, depending on one's definition. :?

It is a moohide sz.42 A-2 style jacket. It pretty much fits like my house ELC 40. The sleeves are about 1-1.5" longer. The cowhide is very, very thick and HEAVY, I guess it's for those English fall and winters...about twice the weight and thickness of the ELC horsehide. The surface of the steerhide was made to look like goat or lamb. It's pretty much styled like an Avirex mall jacket. Collar snaps, but no throat latch. The hardware, snaps and zip were pretty puny and tinny compared to the weight of the leather. They put a small superfluous snap at the bottom of the jacket where the zipper starts. I don't know if this jacket was customized for a female or what, but the zipper pull is on the opposite side of a 'male' jacket...it could get pretty annoying after a bit. I'll see if I can live with it, but when I was pointing out the zip was on the female side to my wife, she cast a covetous glance at it...which was fine with me...she can have it.

On a scale of 1-10, and mind you this is from a guy who actually likes Avirex jackets and gives them a 6, in my opinion this Aviation Leathercraft A-2 would be a 4 for quality and finish and a 2 for authenticity...it's not worth anywhere near the 276 pounds they list it for...matter of fact, not even the $61 dollars I paid.

http://www.flying-jacket.com/product-details.aspx?id=10

the zip is just european spec. mall jackets basically. i am sure thta it is ok. just unauthentic.

I had one long ago ......but just the one, and it was a long time ago !!!!!

Cliff said:

I had one long ago ......but just the one, and it was a long time ago !!!!!

Click to expand...

There wasn't much choice then though Cliff - I had a Cirrus before I 'discovered' ALC, I've got a photo of it somewhere. If they'd only sharpen up the cut a little here and there........... maybe John should send them his template too. To my credit, I did send the Cirrus back, it had a suede collar - how bad is that?

Still got my ALC Irvin, it's robust, in good condition and very, very warm......however it never sees the light of day anymore and weather permitting only my ELC 42 pattern gets an airing these days along with my G1 and A2.