Patched my ELC

[Wright Field]

I finally bit the bullet and had my Eastman Werber 1729 patched to resemble the authentic Wright Field flight instructor A-2 that’s on display at the National Museum of the USAF. As a historian at what used to be Wright Field, I wanted an inter-war-period correct jacket, thus the Werber, to go along with the iconic Wright Field spearhead. Member here Ties70 painted the patch for me and Sean Collins of the Reproduction A-2 Flight Jacket Patches Facebook group did the sewing. I’m thrilled with the result and have had half a dozen people ask me about it in the last couple of weeks (versus none before!). What do you think?

 

[Brettafett]

I think it looks fantastic! Well done to all... Love the weathering. Not too much, not fake-looking. Enjoy.

 

[Earloffunk]

Nice!

 

[Wright Field]

He painted a weathered and new version for me on two different colors of leather. It was a tossup and I thought I’d prefer the new one, but I decided the worn look seemed more authentic.

I think it looks fantastic! Well done to all... Love the weathering. Not too much, not fake-looking. Enjoy.

 

[Greg Gale]

Yeah, it looks very authentic!

 

[Silver Surfer]

classy, very classy.

 

[Flightengineer]

Cool! I very like "weathering".

 

[B-Man2]

You nailed everything about a jacket worn during that period .
Great job

 

[Flightengineer]

You nailed everything about a jacket worn during that period .
Great job

So great job that I beating my hands myself so as not to start make a patch for my ELC, Burt...

 

[ausreenactor]

Noice!

 

[B-Man2]

Little more wear on your jacket and you won’t be able to tell it from the one at Wright Paterson.

 

[Wright Field]

Little more wear on your jacket and you won’t be able to tell it from the one at Wright Paterson.

I keep trying to break it in, but it’s still stuff as a board. Now that it has the patch on it, I’m leery of the more drastic break-in methods because I don’t want to damage the paint.
Btw the guys at the museum loved it today

 

[B-Man2]

I keep trying to break it in, but it’s still stuff as a board. Now that it has the patch on it, I’m leery of the more drastic break-in methods because I don’t want to damage the paint.
Btw the guys at the museum loved it today

Man
I love that museum. I wish I lived near it just so I could become a volunteer there. As far as the jacket goes just wear the hell out of it and when you get home roll it in a ball and throw it in the corner until the next time you wear it. Believe me it will loosen up in time.

 

[jeremiah]

Wright field,
If you want to soften it up some add some neatsfoot oil. Not the pure but the compound. It will soak in while not darkening drastically but it will make the patch more flexible and thus allow it to bend and crease more easily and as it dries out over time you will have a nice worn in look that is natural.

 

[Edward]

fantastic! looks so authentic! and your desire to patch it was appropriate considering what you do and your interests! kudos!

 

[Wright Field]

Wright field,
If you want to soften it up some add some neatsfoot oil. Not the pure but the compound. It will soak in while not darkening drastically but it will make the patch more flexible and thus allow it to bend and crease more easily and as it dries out over time you will have a nice worn in look that is natural.

The patch is actually more flexible than the jacket!

 

[jeremiah]

Yeah I thought at first you were talking about the patch. Yeah don’t do that to your jacket. Ha.

 

[Bombing IP]

The colours of the patch are very different from the original ,was that by request.

BIP

 

[Wright Field]

The colours of the patch are very different from the original ,was that by request.

BIP

There’s no real standardization among the original patches I’ve seen. Even the real version painted on airplanes varies. Theoretically it’s blue with yellow, according to the spec. Most patches have aged so that they look black and not blue. Lighting has a big effect, too. The one in the museum isn’t really as orange as it appears in that pic (which I lifted from someone else on here). Like most squadron patches, these were hand done and therefore somewhat haphazard.

 

[Bombing IP]

Here is another original .

BIP