Aero Leather RAF Flying Jacket. Should I?

[rob20uk]

Hey Guys,

I have had a good look on the forum (fantastic resource by the way). So after much research I have decided that I am seriously thinking of pulling the trigger on a classic looking aviator jacket. The one that seems to fit the bill the most is the Aero Leather Clothing RAF Flying Jacket, Battle of Britain Model (see link below)

http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/product-detail.php?id=105

After reading the reviews it looks like this is the most accurate on the market. It's also not as fluffy or teddy bearish as some of the others, so should be more user friendly for daily use (I live in the North of England so...).

I did look at the Eastman one but to be honest they seem overly expensive for what they are. The price of a WW2 wooly navy hat is £70 vs £35 on Aeros site (for what looks like exactly the same product). This sort of makes me feel Eastman are just whacking on a higher price without adding more true value.

Anyway I was just wondering if any of you have any thoughts or opinions on this jacket and its practical usability etc.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

Rob

 

[Steve27752]

I think you will be very happy with the Aero, they are easy to work with.
Welcome to VLJ. By way of an introduction, why not post a bit about yourself here.
http://www.vintageleatherjackets.org/forums/member-bios.21/

 

[s4rmark]

I recently purchased the Aero Leather pre war Irvin jacket and I am very happy with it. You won’t be disappointed. They make them to original specifications so they are quite a loose fitting jacket.

 

[Smithy]

Eastman stuff is just plain silly money now and when you think that their 2 panel Irvin is 50% more expensive than Aero's 2 panel well nuff said!

Now, and not trying to muddy the waters, I do have a 2007 vintage Eastman BoB which I bought new from them which is sublime. After nearly 12 years the fleece and outer shell are becoming spookily close to an original (I've handled quite a few working for an aviation museum). The zips aren't 100% accurate copies though but saying that I've never really felt the urge to change them.

Whatever you choose, don't get a fitted size. These were designed to be loose (originally to be worn over undergarments, shirt and SD or BD or jumper) and they look far better if they are a little larger than smaller.

 

[rob20uk]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I am emailing them at the moment to see what fit would work out best for me as normally a 40 inch chest.

 

[rob20uk]

Update; So I ended up visiting the factory and buying a stock A2 style 50s Flight Jacket + placing an order for a custom Highwayman (expensive trip!). A big thanks to Murray for showing us round and Denny for staying after hours and giving me some top quality advice.

The Flight Jacket was a perfect fit and just needs be be broken in. It's also a bit more versatile than the Irvin so will get more use. I did get the chance to see an Aero Irvin at the factory (really nice jacket), its just iIn the end I decided that if I was going to get a custom jacket I really wanted one I could use year round so the Highwayman seemed a better fit. Also when trying it on it looks pretty kick ass. I am really looking forward to getting that.

Overall I was totally blown away by the quality of all the Aero jackets, so much so that after the factory visit I decided to sell my Belstaff leather jackets and replace them with Aero ones.

Although I now have 2 I have a very strong feeling I will be buying more in the future.

I really appreciate all the help and advice you guys gave me. I am really please to have discovered Aero. Keep up the good work...

 

[unclegrumpy]

Sounds like you made some great choices!

That said, it is a pretty save bet that if you keep hanging out on this forum, one day someone will have outgrown or lost too much weight for their Irvin, and post it. Count on that to be in June or July when they are thinking they will never wear it, and about raising funds for the sunny beach holiday their wife wants to go on.