Flying Equipment Co. of Chicago: G-1 Jackets

[ZuZu]

Flying Equpment Company was the name Star Sportswear put on jackets they made for non-issue use. I've heard they were sold in PXs and officer's stores but I really don't know. The FEC Navy jackets were exactly like the 55J14s and G-1s Star made- except they almost always had a Talon instead of Conmar zipper and sometimes later they had slightly different lining and mouton collar materials. The early FECs are spectacular as they are made with the beautiful goatskin and mouton of the Star 55J14. By the late 50s they seemd to go a bit off course with a painted Talon zipper and more rounded pocket flaps a la Foster Bros. 7823. In the 60s they had an exact version of the Star 'C' jacket but later and by the early 70s they had a weird G-1 with a dark collar.

They also made an A-2 in the 50s but that's for another thread.

The early FECs look to me to be exact 55J14s with a Talon zipper:

Star 55J14 zippers:

Early FEC Talon:

The first Star and Foster 55J14 labels were almost identical and didn't carry the company name:

Early Star 55J14:

Early Foster 55J14 label:

Early FEC label:

 

[ZuZu]

This early 50s FEC is an exact 55J14 and has a G-1 label with the goofy FEC contract number:

 

[ZuZu]

This later 50s FEC has beautiful thick goatskin, slightly more subdued pocket flaps and a strange painted Talon zipper:

 

[ZuZu]

This example from 1964 is exactly like the Star C. It has the receipt from the uniform shop it was bought from:

 

[ZuZu]

This 50s FEC has a sheepskin (not mouton) collar:

Weird pointy pocket flaps:

 

[ZuZu]

The 70s jacket is just a copy of the Star 'E':

 

[ZuZu]

FECs pretty much followed Star's G-1 jackets except for the Talon zippers and some weird details like the sheepskin collar on some, the painted Talon zipper and the label variations. A lot of them were uses=d as would be an issue jacket. If anyone knows more about the history of these please chime in!

 

[ZuZu]

The receipt seems to imply that if you were in the military you could keep the jacket as yours unlike issue items!

 

[B-Man2]

Now that brings back some memories !!
I think it’s safe to call this one vintage .

 

[Lord Flashheart]

That receipt is quite something.

 

[ZuZu]

Wearing my early 50s FEC this summer. Exactly like my issue Star but for a darkened brass Talon. This size 44 fits me perfectly- the goatskin is really nice.

 

[CBI]

based on the info above, is this an FEC?

SOLD Star 55J14 Size 42

 

[ZuZu]

based on the info above, is this an FEC?

SOLD Star 55J14 Size 42

It's really hard to tell because the first issue 55J14s seem to have had the same label without the contractor's name. As pure speculation I think that in the early days of the 55J14 the contractors made batches with both issue and commercial jackets at the same time. The Talon zipper makes me think it's a potential FEC but maube early Star Navy jackets had the Talons sometimes too.

 

[Grant]

Sorry for my ignorance, but do you have any documentation showing Star Sportswear made civilian jacket under the Flying Equipment name?
Lynn, Mass is a long way from Chicago, Ill. Thanks!

 

[mulceber]

Sorry for my ignorance, but do you have any documentation showing Star Sportswear made civilian jacket under the Flying Equipment name?
Lynn, Mass is a long way from Chicago, Ill. Thanks!

Yeah, that was the thing that stood out for me.

 

[ZuZu]

Sorry for my ignorance, but do you have any documentation showing Star Sportswear made civilian jacket under the Flying Equipment name?
Lynn, Mass is a long way from Chicago, Ill. Thanks!

Yeah, that was the thing that stood out for me.

I guess I worded this all wrong- in fact I was a bit wrong about the history of FEC- I put the cart before the horse. A Higher Authority, The Meister, JC himself has explained to me that Flying Equipment Company wasn't Star- rather Star Sportswear made jackets FOR Flying Equipment Company which was a company that sold all sorts of flight gear- definitely to the military and civilians.

Here's a couple of their ads for jackets:

And here is a receipt which shows they also sold to servicemen:

The FEC jacket from the early 50s (under the made up #261953- probably from 1953) is EXACTLY the same in sewing, pattern, goatskin, mouton etc. as the Star 55J14. So it's reasonable to infer that Star made jackets for FEC. MAYBE there was a little crew of elves making these exact copies elsewhere but I've no evidence for this perfect repro 1950s elven company. JC figured out early in this century that the FEC pattern and the Star 55J14 pattern were exactly the same. I guess I assumed it was common knowledge. No other 55J14 jacket from another contractor looks like the FEC- the details are all exactly the same as Star.

As if to confirm that Star made jackets for FEC- check out this FEC A-2- again- all the details are EXACTLY like the Star A-2- pocket shape, collar shape, throat clip placement, skinny eps and arm seam (from the inset arm). So some of the FEC A-2s were definitely Stars and they had the same goofy contract number.

So Star definitely made jackets for FEC- the patterns of the FEC G-1 55J14 and the pattern of the above referenced A-2 show this unequivocably. You are right in pointing out that at this point I have no paperwork to prove that ALL FEC jackets were Stars .

So in summary- FEC was a flight equipment company in Chicago which bought jackets from Star Sportswear to sell.There are definitely FEC A-2 jackets I have seen that weren't made by Star and it's possible that some of the later FEC G-1s weren't made by Star. For sure (by looking at details) some FEC G-1s and A-2s were made by Star. FEC was a distributor of Star made jackets.

 

[ZuZu]

Sorry for my ignorance, but do you have any documentation showing Star Sportswear made civilian jacket under the Flying Equipment name?
Lynn, Mass is a long way from Chicago, Ill. Thanks!

Yeah, that was the thing that stood out for me.

Good Wear Leather Coat Company — Sale Star Sportswear G-1 55J14 Jacket

www.goodwearleather.com

 

[Grant]

Got it, thanks.
I agree both G-1 and A-2 designed look similar to Star Sportswear made jackets, but with no clear documentation other than observation, it's a well educated guess.
BTW, I used to own both FEC G-1's and an A-2. Nice jackets!

 

[ZuZu]

Got it, thanks.
I agree both G-1 and A-2 designed look similar to Star Sportswear made jackets, but with no clear documentation other than observation, it's a well educated guess.
BTW, I used to own both FEC G-1's and an A-2. Nice jackets!

Educated guess= very expert analysis! (not mine). Kind of like Theory of Evolution or Relativity. All the evidence points to one conclusion. Star made some (if not all of) FEC jackets. Can be tested with the same results. If you guys need a detail by detail explanation I can do that.

 

[Dumpster D]

I had to do a quick inflation check. Apparently $40 USD in 1964 would be worth $396.99 in 2023.