John Lever
Moderator
Oh no no...Aero took over a decade to have the jacket made. Ken bought the jacket just before he retired and so the jacket was forgotten for years and years,though I did badger Will every couple of years to make a copy for me. So the first person in to instigate interest in a reproduction was me when I spotted a poorly listed gem on eBay 14 years ago long before anyone else was making one. At that time only LW and Aero were making A-1's, and I don't think there was much demand.
Ken knew it was a beautiful design and always planned to produce it but his involvement at Aero became semi-retirement. When Ken returned to the factory one of his first projects was to get the jacket made. He even had some special leather reserved for the project.
I like the pointed pockets and those 'spade ' shaped ones on my Menlo even more. Many of these jackets lacked a lining , I wonder why ? It does make the arms difficult to put on but there must be a reason. Some lovely old buckles would look good on the waist belts. The ones on my Airmotive would be perfect.
Ken knew it was a beautiful design and always planned to produce it but his involvement at Aero became semi-retirement. When Ken returned to the factory one of his first projects was to get the jacket made. He even had some special leather reserved for the project.
I like the pointed pockets and those 'spade ' shaped ones on my Menlo even more. Many of these jackets lacked a lining , I wonder why ? It does make the arms difficult to put on but there must be a reason. Some lovely old buckles would look good on the waist belts. The ones on my Airmotive would be perfect.