Recent acquisition: Early USAF F-1 nylon flying trousers

[watchmanjimg]

Earlier this week I decided to drop by a friend's antique/militaria shop and was fortunate to catch him right in the middle of unloading a heap of new items from his car. Among the goodies was this pair of USAF F-1 heavy flying trousers in near mint condition, complete with suspenders. There's just a little discoloration of the lining in the rear waist area, but otherwise they're fantastic and even the ankle knits are perfect. OD nylon retains strong color and the USAF stencils are still legible as seen in the attached pics. The trousers also feature the desirable Crown zippers with spring-loaded pullers. Overall a great score and I'm pleased to have these in my collection of early USAF nylon clothing. Now to find the N-3 parka to go with them . . .

 

[dujardin]

looks very nice

 

[a2jacketpatches]

They do look minty!

 

[watchmanjimg]

They do look minty!

But here's the real question: What are they worth? :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

 

[a2jacketpatches]

:lol: Believe I had two or three pairs with two F-1 Pilot suits, half a dozen G-Suits, still have the blue F-2's that I couldn't get twenty for, along with a number of other nylon flight gear all purchased at the same time. Sold it all and got just about what I thought based on a little research. Thinking about 20- or maybe 40- in such great shape but what the hell do I know? :lol: I do know a guy who likely has no clue one way or the other but probably agrees with someone who may or may not know though. I just don't hear much from him since making a forum adjustment

 

[watchmanjimg]

:lol: Believe I had two or three pairs with two F-1 Pilot suits, half a dozen G-Suits, still have the blue F-2's that I couldn't get twenty for, along with a number of other nylon flight gear all purchased at the same time. Sold it all and got just about what I thought based on a little research. Thinking about 20- or maybe 40- in such great shape but what the hell do I know? :lol: I do know a guy who likely has no clue one way or the other but probably agrees with someone who may or may not know though. I just don't hear much from him since making a forum adjustment

In my opinion the notion of "value" is the real joke as applied to this type of item. I'm sure I've said this before, but I believe all militaria is worth what a buyer is willing to pay at the particular time and place of the sale--no more and no less. What makes stuff like this interesting (to me anyway) is its sheer rarity. For years I've had a standing policy of purchasing every piece of OD nylon USAF clothing I find for sale in acceptable size/condition, and I haven't exactly gone broke in this pursuit because these trousers are the first such article I've run across in years. Greyhound52's L-2 and a size 44 Gardner B-15B from eBay are the only other OD nylon USAF pieces I own (gee, doesn't life suck?), and with this in mind I felt that $75 was a fair price to pay for an item I'll never have to worry about upgrading. At $20-$40 I'd gladly buy 10 more in this size and condition, but I'm not holding my breath that I'll see them.

 

[a2jacketpatches]

I'm with you, nylon is available and reasonably priced. For a guy like myself who's flipping all the time Ebay is a good way to gauge the current pricing. Out in the field I'll usually pay a little less than that if I can help it but just can't resist either way if it's in super shape. I've got quite a bit of room in the new place so I started build up the stock again setting aside special items like an great CWU/45P first year issued, and I got a nice blue N-2A from a guy here on a pending patch trade once he figures out what he wants. A couple of minty M-51's as well and the list goes on.