Perrone A-2s

[herk115]

Am I the only one who ever knew about the Perrone Leather Apparel Comany's A-2 repros from the 1990s? They made a Rough Wear repro and a 1756 "No Name" contract repro. Perhaps others. I bought their last four back in 2000 (for about $150 apiece...a steal, as they wanted to get rid of them). I have never seen nor heard of them since. I mention them because they are without a doubt the finest repros I have ever owned. Better than any ELC I've ever had (I've never had a GW), better than any Aero, Real McCoy's, and certainly far better than the lesser repros. They have exactly the right look, the right grain, and the leather...wow, it's as supple as a wet washrag, yet nice and thick and the jackets are very well constructed. Now, I'm not a stitch-counter so maybe others could find flaws with them, but does anybody know if any of these gems are still out there? I still have two of them, but like all flight jackets, they shrink when you pass age 50, and I'd like a couple more larger ones. Thanks.

Larry

 

[dmar836]

Pics please?

 

[deeb7]

... I mention them because they are without a doubt the finest repros I have ever owned. Better than any ELC I've ever had (I've never had a GW), better than any Aero, Real McCoy's, and certainly far better than the lesser repros.

That's a bold statement ... anyway, they are alive, and well, trading out of Gloversville NY.

http://www.perroneapparel.com/index.php ... 80fdd8b91a

 

[442RCT]

Looking at their website pics, it looks like they changed hands. The goat A-2 shown on their website kinda looks like a Cooper A-2 with that collar and pocket flaps. Pics of your jackets from the 90s would be great for comparison.

My personal favorite A-2 makers so far have been, Sefton, Aero , RW and ELC in that order. (I don't have a Goodwear yet)

Pics of one of my Seftons, it's a dark seal brown and has mismatched grainy hide.

 

[watchmanjimg]

I don't know about the original maker repros, but it would seem that their current offerings can hardly be compared to those of any of the leading companies nowadays. Lambskin?

 

[442RCT]

Looking at Perrone's website, it looks like their jackets are very popular among people who actually fly for a living.
Also a company that supplies gear for flight medics sell a version with a nomex lining.
http://www.dougritter.com/dr_FlameGaurd_jacket.htm

eBay Perrone A2 from the 1970s

http://cgi.ebay.com/1970s-Mens-Perrone- ... 588b5e36d5

 

[watchmanjimg]

Looking at Perrone's website, it looks like their jackets are very popular among people who actually fly for a living.

I'm sure they are, but my comments were directed more towards some of the remarks in the original post. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

 

[deand]

That Sefton is beautiful, love the knits and the leather tone combo!






dean

 

[RCSignals]

........... The goat A-2 shown on their website kinda looks like a Cooper A-2 with that collar and pocket flaps. .................

I agree on the pocket flaps, but the Cooper's don't have a collar stand like that from what I've seen.
You can see that pocket flap shape on USWings jackets, some older Avirex and now Cockpit and some Schott A-2s. That's because all the US made versions of those jackets (including the Coopers) are made by Schott and there is a lot of pattern sharing. Makes me wonder if Schott does the Perrone jackets too.

 

[zoomer]

Looking at Perrone's website, it looks like their jackets are very popular among people who actually fly for a living.

...and who demand a high level of inauthenticity in an A-2. Only goat or lamb are now offered, and none of this two-teeny-pockets-only nonsense.

Also a company that supplies gear for flight medics sell a version with a nomex lining.
http://www.dougritter.com/dr_FlameGaurd_jacket.htm

Boy, that FlameGaurd spelling gets me every time. But guess what, there's a REASON for it.

FlameGuard is a trademark for a fireproofing paint additive.
FlameGard is a trademark for a fireplace exhaust hood.

Doug Ritter is very lucky to be marketing to a profession where spelling doesn't count!

 

[herk115]

That was my point. I guess I forgot to make it. Perrone went out of the repro business in 1999, and the jackets they offer now don't even claim to be authentic. I was asking if anyone knew of any of their repros from that period. Also, I apologize for making a "bold" statement; not my intent. What I meant was the Perrone repros were better than the ELCs of that period, not the ELCs of today, in my opinion.

Cheers,

Larry

 

[herk115]

Dave,

I can't seem to upload pictures to this forum yet, so I've uploaded them here: http://www.jetgouge.com/A-2%20Jackets.html

You'll see pics of the Perrone A-2.

Cheers,

Larry

 

[TankBuster]

Nice looking jackets. Some of those older ELC jackets look pretty good to me. Your Perrone is a nice grainy jacket.

 

[deeb7]

I can't seem to upload pictures to this forum yet ...

Here's the recipe ...

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=67

 

[442RCT]

Ya needs to post the url of your pics as img files, sandwiched between [img]url%20of%20the%20pic[/img]

Nice looking jackets.