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Flight Apparel Industries Inc.

deeb7

Gone, but not forgotten.
I had one recently that I resold, and I was impressed ... surprised even. It fitted well, good colour, knits, and hide ... the only strange feature was the epaulets which faced forward, like a nametag. I guess the shoulder seam should be further back.

I read a thread here, or on TFL, where one member advised to go for the goatskin version, as it was much nicer, and the cow/steerhide was thin. Mine wasn't like that, good weight, and quite horselike.
 

Hamsterbear

Member
The FAI A-2 is a typical late 1970's early 1980's reproduction, I've had 3 of them. They are decent jackets for the period, and can occasionally be found on eBay for cheap. The A-2 came in two hides; cowhide and goatskin, the latter being a better choice. These make great jackets to paint artwork on the back, or sew patches to. They also made a G-1 that was a notch above their A-2 in quality, supposedly they had a Navy contract.
The owner of the company was killed in a light plane accident, and the company went out of business.
I have a virtually new goatskin FAI A-2 in a 38 Reg. if anyone is interested.
-Brian
 

442RCT

New Member
These make great jackets to paint artwork on the back, or sew patches to.

The guy selling painted jackets said the ones in size 42 were FAI jackets.
The ones in size 44 were made by Cooper.

Is FAI sizing equivalent to a mil spec snug or a civilian roomy ?
 

fjm

Member
In the early 1980's I went to the airport in Hammonton NJ a few times where they made these jackets & would pick ones thet I liked.
I owned a few & still have their G1 which is adequate.
The A2 was OK but the collar & pocket details were not correct & the sizes seemed to run just a little on the small side, however if the price is low & you can get your size why not.
Hope this helps.
 

Ed Rooney

Well-Known Member
I just picked up one of these on the cheap from eBay. It was brand new, unworn, and had some promotional branding embroidered on the left breast. I thought I could just pluck the embroidery and slap a patch on it if the jacket fit well. The branding would fit perfectly under a WWII name strip, or a 4x2 nametag.

Alas, these do run small, and a 42 was tight on me. It’s less comfortable than my Cooper, and my Cooper is not comfortable.

Leather looks like cowhide, and it is still totally smooth. Thickness is like horse. I think it would break in well and be a good facsimile of HH.

Collar is quite large.

Knits look like poly+wool. Probably very durable.

It’s probably going back to the ‘bay, albeit without the tire company logo.
 

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Ed Rooney

Well-Known Member
Thanks. That’s the thing - the jacket looks good on static display, but doesn’t quite get it done in motion. I guess I am just used to a G1 or a CWU.

Moments after I took this pic, I went downstairs to fix a bowl of soup for lunch. I could not reach the above-stove microwave without the jacket riding up to my navel.

I found an un-worn, closet queen 1990-ish size 44 Avirex horsehide (not the MacArthur) from an estate seller a few days ago. Well under $100. We’ll see if that fits any better.
 

Cocker

Well-Known Member
Nothing abnormal for an A-2, it's only those pesky G1 that are WAY too comfortable and spoiling their owners forever! :p
 

Juanito

Well-Known Member
That is a maker I haven't heard of in a long, long time. When I was doing nothing other than traveling and scrounging around leather shops and thrift stores on the east coast in 1997, 98, and 99, these things were everywhere for about $100-$135, particularly in Massachusetts. I bought and eBayed a couple of cheap ones, but a terrible quality, ill fitting reproduction they were.
 

MauldinFan

Well-Known Member
That is a maker I haven't heard of in a long, long time. When I was doing nothing other than traveling and scrounging around leather shops and thrift stores on the east coast in 1997, 98, and 99, these things were everywhere for about $100-$135, particularly in Massachusetts. I bought and eBayed a couple of cheap ones, but a terrible quality, ill fitting reproduction they were.
Maybe I got lucky on mine because it was decently made?
I have owned several originals back in the day and this one really isn't bad, much better than the more expensive Cooper ones, that's for sure...
 

Juanito

Well-Known Member
Maybe I got lucky on mine because it was decently made?
I have owned several originals back in the day and this one really isn't bad, much better than the more expensive Cooper ones, that's for sure...
It would not surprise me if there was variation over the years, but the paper thin leather that made a Members Only jacket stout, the single stitched epaulets, the odd.collar constructio, and narrow chest area with odd sleeve holes were just some of the things I remember about them.
 

dbtk44

Member
I've had this one since the 80s. The leather definitely is not paper-thin, but I do need to condition it, a little stiff....I got this WAY before I knew anything about conditioning leather. It's a 48 but fits more like a 46...back when I was a bit more fluffy, it fit perfect with just a t-shirt. I'm probably a 43-44 now so it's a tad roomier, but perfect for a sweater or fleece underneath.
 

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dbtk44

Member
I just don't wear it too often these days, been spoiled by the G-1. Have to admit though, it's a nice A-2. I kind of questioned the collar size when I started getting into flight jackets, but then I saw a pic of Jimmy Stewart in his A-2 with pretty much the same collar size. Enough validation for me.
Giving some thought to selling it, just don't wear it enough anymore.
 

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Chandler

Well-Known Member
I just don't wear it too often these days, been spoiled by the G-1. Have to admit though, it's a nice A-2. I kind of questioned the collar size when I started getting into flight jackets, but then I saw a pic of Jimmy Stewart in his A-2 with pretty much the same collar size. Enough validation for me.
Giving some thought to selling it, just don't wear it enough anymore.
It is interesting that FAI seemed to have a few different factories putting together their jackets. Maybe they evolved as customers provided input (I wish I had -- "Money Back Guaranteed!").

I also notice that the position of the pockets on yours is more true to authentic than mine.
 

MauldinFan

Well-Known Member
So my question still pends; when did they stop production?
It is interesting that FAI seemed to have a few different factories putting together their jackets. Maybe they evolved as customers provided input (I wish I had -- "Money Back Guaranteed!").
It's funny to me to come to this kind of discussion decades after the fact but as mine is so different from the others posted, I think you might be right.
I've never heard of such a difference across a single company's production run.
Mine has issues, make no mistake, but for what I paid it looks quite decent.
 
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