X-2 - The A-2 Pre Contract Test Jacket by Headwind Mfg Co

[ties70]

As much as I admire the research effort and the obsessive detailing, I still wonder if there is a interesting market for this jacket...

For me, and this is just my personal opinion, you come up with a jacket that is so far off todays "average A-2 look" that it looks closer to a mildly military-inspired leather fashion jacket than an actual military garment....which is likely a good thing and underlines its authenticity, as the originals were probably just that...a transformation phase between a jacket that was useful on a plane (A-1) and one that was part of a military uniform.

The first thought that came to my mind was "If I send a screenshot of MotA to a factory in Pakistan and ask them to make me an A-2 jacket, the result would be similar...".

Not in this craftmanship, though, and not in such a nice leather and with a Hookless ;-)

Again, great work!
Just not for me...obviously, I am more a "Coke and Rum" than a "25 year old single malt" guy..

Ties

 

[CBI]

Very interesting and great work. Would love to see some pics of someone wearing this one.

 

[entertainment]

As much as I admire the research effort and the obsessive detailing, I still wonder if there is a interesting market for this jacket...

For me, and this is just my personal opinion, you come up with a jacket that is so far off todays "average A-2 look" that it looks closer to a mildly military-inspired leather fashion jacket than an actual military garment....which is likely a good thing and underlines its authenticity, as the originals were probably just that...a transformation phase between a jacket that was useful on a plane (A-1) and one that was part of a military uniform.

The first thought that came to my mind was "If I send a screenshot of MotA to a factory in Pakistan and ask them to make me an A-2 jacket, the result would be similar...".

Not in this craftmanship, though, and not in such a nice leather and with a Hookless ;-)

Again, great work!
Just not for me...obviously, I am more "Coke and Rum" than "25 year old single malt"..

Ties

I would definitely opt for the 25 year old single malt.
Skyhawk deserves kudos for this research effort. I have his Goldsmith. I don't wear it much but I am glad to own it.

 

[billwong]

As much as I admire the research effort and the obsessive detailing, I still wonder if there is a interesting market for this jacket...

For me, and this is just my personal opinion, you come up with a jacket that is so far off todays "average A-2 look" that it looks closer to a mildly military-inspired leather fashion jacket than an actual military garment....which is likely a good thing and underlines its authenticity, as the originals were probably just that...a transformation phase between a jacket that was useful on a plane (A-1) and one that was part of a military uniform.

The first thought that came to my mind was "If I send a screenshot of MotA to a factory in Pakistan and ask them to make me an A-2 jacket, the result would be similar...".

Not in this craftmanship, though, and not in such a nice leather and with a Hookless ;-)

Again, great work!
Just not for me...obviously, I am more "Coke and Rum" than "25 year old single malt"..

Ties

Is this not why we are here? To collect and see the differences. Why else would we have more than one A2 from different contracts/makers.

 

[Skyhawk]

Weird, the quote button is not working...
Thanks for all of your thoughts and comments on the jacket.

I was a jacket collector for a long time before I ever thought of making a jacket. I do obsess over details and I am a super nerd when it comes to parts and research. The research I enjoy immensely and when a new detail or info is discovered, I get genuinely very excited!

Making money was never really the focus of this endeavor. I got started making jackets to fill gaps in my own collection that were impossible to find, like the jacket I started with, the USN Leather 37J1.

When I choose a new project, it is not because I think it going to be a huge revenue source. It's more about reproducing rare jackets that I feel should be highlighted and recognized as an important parts of aviation history.

This X-2 jacket fits into this category. It is a piece in the evolutionary chain that led from the A-1 jacket, to the iconic A-2 jacket that everyone loves.

 

[Skyhawk]

OK the day has finally come! The Spalding X-2 Jacket is now listed for sale on the site:
Spalding X-2 Jacket

 

[2BM2K]

OK the day has finally come! The Spalding X-2 Jacket is now listed for sale on the site:
Spalding X-2 Jacket

From the Headwind jacket description;

"A.G Spalding & Bros. was contracted to build a small run of prototype jackets to beta test the pattern and details. "

It is not a known or proven fact that Spalding produced this jacket.

In years to come this will lead to misinformation and knowledge of this jacket. The wording could be better in order to reflect that it is only speculation about who produced it.

 

[Skyhawk]

From the Headwind jacket description;

"A.G Spalding & Bros. was contracted to build a small run of prototype jackets to beta test the pattern and details. "

It is not a known or proven fact that Spalding produced this jacket.

In years to come this will lead to misinformation and knowledge of this jacket. The wording could be better in order to reflect that it is only speculation about who produced it.

I will edit that. I do think it can be explained more clearly. According to my extensive research, all the facts point to Spalding as the maker.

 

[Skyhawk]

Edit complete:

A jacket maker was contracted to build a small run of prototype jackets to beta test the pattern and details. All of our extensive research points to A.G. Spalding as the maker of this early A-2 Prototype. Spalding was the only flight jacket maker that installed Hookless Rivet zippers without using the rivets. They were just sewn in. In addition, at that time, Spalding was a government contractor making leather helmets and other equipment for the US Air Corps and USAS. Spalding was also contracted to make a sample jacket for the Air Corps A-1 flight jacket test program, and it is very likely that they won one of the A-1 Jacket contracts.

 

[2BM2K]

Better but not perfect.