My last A-2 (hopefully) - Good Wear

[mulceber]

Thanks all! I'm wowed by it, and all the NOS hardware was just the cherry on top.

What is the size on the tag ? 44 ?

Yep, 44R. You can see some pics of John wearing it here, and you can tell it's a bit tight on him, while it's slightly relaxed on me.

I guess it's pretty comfortable and nice to wear ? As warm as your other sheepskin jackets ?

Well, my main other shearling jacket is a B-3, so definitely not as warm as that. It's about 54 F/12 C here in Michigan today, and I was able to wear the B-6 unzipped on my walk to work without breaking a sweat. I estimate though that it would be good down to about 20 F/-7 C without a problem. I think when yours arrives, you'll have no trouble wearing it in the south of France in winter.

 

[MaydayWei]

Congrats! Holy Moly. Very nice indeed!
JC reached out to you? A real big name on campus!

 

[mulceber]

We chat now and then, mostly over email, about the details of originals and how they were made. He weighed in on several issues when we were researching the recent Star Sportswear thread, for example. He's a really fun person to chat with and I've learned a lot from talking with him.

 

[Wz1999]

...and it's not my Monarch A-2, sorry to get your hopes up!

A little while ago, John got in touch with me because he had an Acme B-6 that he'd made it for himself, but it was a little tight, and so he wanted to offer it to me. I dithered a bit - but not too long! - and accepted.
View attachment 68039
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As a bonus, it was made with an original Kwik zip slider on a repro chain, and has original Talon side zips and United Carr snaps.
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Needless to say, I'm thrilled with it. I'm shocked I managed to find a B-6 repro this nice.

Congrats! Beautiful B-6 indeed! Great fit!

 

[Smithy]

We chat now and then, mostly over email, about the details of originals and how they were made. He weighed in on several issues when we were researching the recent Star Sportswear thread, for example. He's a really fun person to chat with and I've learned a lot from talking with him.

Not only is he so knowledgeable Jan but he's just such a lovely chap too. Nicest fellow in the entire vintage jacket industry.

 

[mulceber]

Not only is he so knowledgeable Jan but he's just such a lovely chap too. Nicest fellow in the entire vintage jacket industry.

Absolutely. John deserves every bit of the success he's had. A real example of good things happening to good people.

 

[saucerfiend]

Wow, John sure called the right guy. Perfect fit!

 

[Mr. Mike]

...and it's not my Monarch A-2, sorry to get your hopes up!

A little while ago, John got in touch with me because he had an Acme B-6 that he'd made for himself, but it was a little tight, and so he wanted to offer it to me. I dithered a bit (but not too long!) and accepted.
View attachment 68039
View attachment 68040
View attachment 68041

As a bonus, it was made with an original Kwik zip slider on a repro chain, and has original Talon side zips and United Carr snaps.
View attachment 68042
View attachment 68043
View attachment 68044
Needless to say, I'm thrilled with it. I'm shocked I managed to find a B-6 repro this nice.

Jan, congrats! This is really a great jacket fitting you perfectly. You can surely be glad that this one crossed your way unexpectedly. "Luck is with the ones who can wait" was stated earlier in this thread and that is the way it is, so enjoy!
Btw. - would you mind to share the measures of your 44R as well? Sizing is delusive these days ) THANKS!

 

[mulceber]

Jan, congrats! This is really a great jacket fitting you perfectly. You can surely be glad that this one crossed your way unexpectedly. "Luck is with the ones who can wait" was stated earlier in this thread and that is the way it is, so enjoy!
Btw. - would you mind to share the measures of your 44R as well? Sizing is delusive these days ) THANKS!

Hey, thanks! I took measurements as closely as I could, and here's what I got:

p-2-p: 23.5"
shoulders: 21"
sleeves: 25.5"
back: 26"

 

[blackrat2]

Way to go Jan, great fit and all those original parts, doesn’t get any better
I echo what you say about JC, have mainly been lucky enough to email but have chatted a couple of times on the phone, so knowledgeable and enthusiastic on the subject, top guy

 

[Lorenzo_l]

...and it's not my Monarch A-2, sorry to get your hopes up!

A little while ago, John got in touch with me because he had an Acme B-6 that he'd made for himself, but it was a little tight, and so he wanted to offer it to me. I dithered a bit (but not too long!) and accepted.
View attachment 68039
View attachment 68040
View attachment 68041

As a bonus, it was made with an original Kwik zip slider on a repro chain, and has original Talon side zips and United Carr snaps.
View attachment 68042
View attachment 68043
View attachment 68044
Needless to say, I'm thrilled with it. I'm shocked I managed to find a B-6 repro this nice.

What a beauty. And with original parts to boot. You definitely scored there Jan.

 

[mulceber]

Others have commented on this I think, but being on John's list, I'm spending a lot of time browsing through his sites, and the various jackets he's created (which makes me think having a year-long wait list isn't so much a problem as a brilliant marketing strategy, from his perspective). Lately the offering that's really been grabbing my attention has been his A-1s. The one listed on the main site looks par for the course with the G&F A-1 offered by Eastman, BK, etc., but this one that was included in a bunch of photos he sent me a while back really looks cool:

Index of /Leo_GW_A1

Just random thoughts as I idle on the waitlist for that Monarch.

 

[B-Man2]

Jan
Interesting commentary . What I find interesting is that many of us , myself included, started out thinking that paying $1000 plus for a jacket was absolutely nuts . So we looked for other cheaper options out there that looked the same as GWs and ELCs and fit our desires to have a decent and close approximation of a WWII A2 or other flight jacket . So we went with the less expensive options and we were happy with them for a time . However, as time passed we got caught up in the hobby and the hype, and at some point we convinced ourselves that having a GW or an ELC would be the best way to own a repro jacket that was the closet thing to an original out there. At least closer than what we already owned . Additionally, we worked all our lives and we wanted to treat ourselves to one , hell we deserved one , WE NEED ONE DAMMIT!
Of course once you have a GW,ELC, Aero or any of the other top tier jacket it’s like your first taste of sugar or pizza (or weed or drugs if you’re into that kinda thing) you need another . Then you start to want different contracts . And thus you are now addicted to the hobby and find yourself on VLJ not to seek a 12 step program to help you through the addiction , but rather to hang out with your other addicted bro’s to support your habit .
At least….. that’s how I got here
That’s my story …. And I’m sticking to it !

 

[mulceber]

So basically what you're saying is "abandon hope, all ye who enter?"

 

[B-Man2]

Well Done Jan
Dante Alegheri would be very proud of you
Well done Doctor …
While we didn’t exactly cross the river Phlegethôn to get here …. Yeah abandon all hope !!

 

[tda003]

Yep. Sorta like potato chips except $ instead of calories.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

So, Burt, this is a great place to indulge your curiosity about flying jackets and before you know it you have learnt more about them than you thought there was to know and (although it makes no sense) the little details start to count. And you know it certainly makes no sense to part with all that cash on the dream of that “just right” jacket. But you do. And you know the next jacket will be even better too. And eventually you’ve got one contract repro from ELC but it makes sense to order a GW of the same contract so you can compare.

And it all makes perfect sense.

Hope. Is that perfect jacket.

 

[Sideslip]

All of your prophetic words are making a noob like me strangely excited and petrified at the same time. So much so I bought a couple of lottery tickets for the euro millions £98m draw tonight

 

[MaydayWei]

All of your prophetic words are making a noob like me strangely excited and petrified at the same time. So much so I bought a couple of lottery tickets for the euro millions £98m draw tonight

Well, if you do win 98 million quid, I'm guessing its only polite to treat everyone one of us to a new GW?

 

[mulceber]

Well, if you do win 98 million quid, I'm guessing its only polite to treat everyone one of us to a new GW?

I'll second that - consider it a thank you to the people who introduced you to a whole new universe of ways to spend money.