How to identify wool vs polyester fiber fill on ma-1 jackets without the tag?

[DominicB]

Hi all,

I came across a ma-1 jacket online with most of the tag missing, all that remains is the top line of text reading “jacket flyer’s man intermediate ma-1.”
The jacket looks very old with several holes and wear on the knit cuffs, waistband, and collar. The jacket also has a black scovill main double zipper and a scovill arm zipper.
My question is: Is there a way to tell the approximate year/decade of manufacture of the jacket, and whether the lining of the jacket is wool or polyester without having the original jacket tag?

Is there a way to tell by the pocket lining?, or would you have to open the jacket up and see the lining to determine the composition?
Just some thoughts.

I am new to nylon flight jackets and thought a question here might yield some answers. Hopefully this post provides some things to look for when identifying other jackets.

Thanks for your time.

 

[Shanghai-Mayne]

I am certain, you may let this one pass. Too much repair work, unless you wanted wear it in the field, no need worrying it’s appear.

 

[Pilot]

My best guess ( others may chime in ) its an Alpha from the 70s.maybe later.
All nylon and synthetic materials inside outside.
Not very rare nor wanted.. plenty of them offered on Crapbay for reasonable costs and in much better condition…
So SM is right, unless you want to plow your fields wearing a flight jacket ( or use it for spare components ), its just not worth it..IMHO.

 

[Pilot]

Similar?

 

[Pilot]

The writing on the 1960s label is different

 

[ZuZu]

You should be able to tell by feel. The wool pile lining is heavier and denser than the poly- the wool lined jackets weigh more.

 

[DominicB]

Thanks for all your helpful responses. To Shanghai Mayne and Pilot, I was never planning to purchase the jacket, I just saw it and was curious how one would identify jackets if the label was missing.
I do see a clear difference from the 1960s labels to the 1970s labels and the remnant on the jacket matches the 70s format better.
I also didn’t know the wool lined jackets are heavier than the synthetic ones, but that makes sense.

 

[johnwayne]

Bit late to the party on this but I have a 60’s Skyline Corp MA1 and it is noticeably heavier and feels just more dense than my late 80’s Alpha - and considerably warmer too!

 

[DominicB]

Hmm that is interesting John Wayne, I wonder why that is.
Though the answer is probably not that interesting, as switching from wool to polyester would be a cost decrease in manufacturing I guess. Furthermore I think polyester doesn’t “mat down” nearly as well as wool does(like on a sheep) so it can’t create as good a thermal insulation layer.