Dressed for success

The A2 has to be the greatest jacket that any pilot could own and use. It is warm and comfortable. It has two patch cargo pockets, epaulette straps and two hand warmer pockets. It looks great with a collar and tie and looks just as good with a tee shirt. It even smells right. I can wear it in a Cessna or when flying an open cockpit aircraft. It is simply a great practical functional pilot’s jacket.

The history of the A2 goes back to the years just after WW1. Pilots of the era found that the woollen flight jackets then in use just did not keep pilots insulated from the breeze in the open cockpits of the day. The A1 jacket came into being. It was leather and had buttons down the front. Around 1925 zippers came into being for clothing use. The A1 got a zipper down the front and it became the A2 in 1930. It is much what we see to day. A leather jacket with two large cargo pockets.

The jacket became the staple flight wear of the US Army Air Force up until late 1942. The massive number of jackets then being made for the armed forces must have put a strain on the supply of leather for flight jackets. The replacement jacket was the cotton B-10.

It was in 1988 that the USAF again issued the A2 to flight crew. Could it have been that the 1986 release of the Tom Cruise movie ‘Top Gun’ influenced the USAF to reissue the A2? For the record Tom Cruise, ‘Maverick’ wore a US Navy G2 jacket with a lamb’s wool collar.

Various US Presidents’ have been known to wear an A2 flight jacket but one notable wearer was actor and pilot, Steve McQueen. McQueen wore an A2 in the movie The War Lover and again in The Great Escape as well as for casual wear. One or two US airlines issued leather jackets that were influenced by the A2 and even here Virgin Blue issued leather jackets to its pilots but no longer. The RAAF allows its pilots to wear the A2, with or without patches.

The RAAF allows its pilots to wear the A2, with or without patches.

Now an A2 can be bought second hand for as little as $75 or new for up to $630 via EBay. You only get what you pay for. Modern A2 jackets are copies of the original but some have pen pockets on the sleeve or an extra inside pocket.

Makers will vary from the USA to Korea, Turkey and a few other countries. The European air forces like leather flight jackets and there are a variety of similar-to jackets to be found via the internet.

The original leather was horse hide but later goat skin was used. The goatskin is slightly softer. The usual colour is what is called seal brown.

It is not unusual to see pilots and others wearing an A2 jacket around local airports and aviation events. Some jackets have a number of decorative patches sewn on them but it has been said that the number of patches is usually in inverse ratio to the flight experience of the wearer.

If you are to buy an A2 jacket here are a few tips. I am normally a size M in jackets but have found that the L size gives more freedom of movement and can be worn over a flight suit. A size M would probably be a tighter fit and look better as part of a uniform. The L also allows things to be put in the patch pockets and I can put my hands into the hand warmer pockets without difficulty.

When taking off the jacket put your hand past the knitted cuffs and grasp the leather sleeve to assist in taking the jacket off. By doing so prevents the cuff being stretched and expanded.

To get the jacket cleaned take it to a dry cleaner that specialises in leather wear. To not do so might end up with the jacket being damaged.

The A2. A great pilot’s flight jacket that looks good wears well and yet is a practical and functional piece of flight kit.

Contact Dave by email at: [email protected]