RAF Leather Flying Jacket
 

Anybody know where I can source a genuine RAF Leather Flying Jacket? I'm looking for the current 'fast jet' type, not the WWII Irvin. I recall some while back seeing a picture in a brochure of Gulf War RAF Tornado crew Peters & Nichol wearing such, but can't recall the supplier's name in whose brochure I saw the picture.

Any help appreciated!

Abe

Try Aviation Leathercraft:

http://www.flying-jacket.com/

Tornado Jacket:

http://www.flying-jacket.com/jak8.asp

Pops leather has supplied many a jacket at exceptionally reasonable prices - quick google will direct you.

What a shame we no longer base right next to Pops premises! Thats where I got mine, and very nice it is too.

Me as well Mr B, had it about 11 years... copied from the one Dan Winterland took out. Took 22 hours to make and is still in great condition... took 16 weeks to get a badge made in the UK:rolleyes: typical.

Tonks (enjoying Crete:\ )

abraham i have sent you a pm - happy to sell my raf leather jacket bought it in 95. size 42 reg with detachable liner. anyone else interested then please pm me.;)

As previously said, 'POPS LEATHER' are still making them for $160. If you can get your measurements to them they will make up, including leather flight badge with wings and name, in around a week. The boys from Bzz will collect as they are staging through weekly with the beast from boeing.

Thank you all for posting the details.

I'm certain that Aviation Leathercraft was the brochure I recalled, however the Pops Leather product is more along the lines of what I was looking for.

Thanks again.

Abe

ps Thanks for your offer winkle, if I weren't a 44"L recon I'd have taken you up on it!

if Chuck Ellsworth reads this thread .....

looking at one of the links above I spotted something perfect for flying a Catalina across the North Atlantic ....

(with a matching jacket of course .... :) )

http://www.flying-jacket.com/images/jak5-big.gif

The 'official' RAF jacket isn't shown in the Aviation Leathercraft catalogue as it isn't available to the general public - you have to contact them directly.

Pop's copies are hopefully better now than they once were - they were getting progressively better every time someone bought one. But some details such as the correct colour were never quite right (you can tell a Pop's copy a mile off due to the pen pocket and epaulettes)......

If you get a jacket from Pop's, get them to use something other than the nasty polyester material they normally use for the lining. I had the lining in another jacket changed when I was in Incirlik some years ago and it made all the difference to the warmth/comfort of the jacket.

The nearest thing to the 'official' RAF jacket, which as Beags correctly points out isn't supplied by Aviation Leathercraft to those without the necessary credentials, is to purchase one of their "Jacket Type 89903 Fleet Air Arm Harrier" styles and have them:

1. Swap the "left hand sleeve combination pen pocket with zip close pouch" for a "left hand sleeve pencil pocket with velcro secured flap". (See Red Arrows Team & Type 2502 RAF Tornado jacket styles for velcro secured pencil/pen pocket).
2. Add velcro secured epaulettes. (See Aviation Aircrew & Type 2502 RAF Tornado jacket styles).

Having changed the sleeve pocket and added epaulettes, I believe the only outward difference to the 'official' RAF jacket and the 'modified at extra cost' FAA Harrier style is the lack of a press-stud fastened detachable fur collar and (possibly) a leather patch on the left breast for fixing the name/brevet badge to. (I may be wrong about the patch for the badge).

The end result is:

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f1...ht/Jacket1.jpg

Have you tried Radford Leathers?
 

Radford Leathers in Coventry have a fab service and can usually deliver within a few days.

I ordered one and it was excellent. Was delivered next day after a phone call to confirm a few details. I was surprised, but most of their jackets are from stock, which is very unusual.

Quality and service was excellent and they have Replica Jackets that make the originals look inferior!! I absolutley love mine.

Now here's a question. With the new RAF policy on wearing blues, and the inability to wear the RAF Approved Jacket when flying, the opportunity to wear this item of clothing is less than ever. Do you think we should be afforded the option to wear the RAF Approved Jacket with No2s? It is certainly smarter than the nasty cloth General Purpose Jacket (GPJ)!!!

A further option; with the jacket pictured above there is a jacket that the non-brevet wearing personnel could also wear - if they wanted to?

Anyone else got thoughts on this?

Why do I ask - I hate the GPJ, the issue rain-mac really does make me look like an RAC man (the nasty reflective strip doesn't help!) and the Greatcoat is too camp now that John Barryman wears one!

The B Word

As such a thing never existed when I was in (pre 77), as I read through this thread I assumed this was, in fact, a flying jacket? If the above quote is accurate, however, what is it for? For FJ jocks to stand around in at air shows looking steely-eyed perhaps? Not that I can believe they'd ever wish to do that, nor need a leather jacket to achieve the effect. ;)

Simply to look cool perhaps?

Some of us don't have the big boy moustaches and smoking pipes to pull the nurses, so a leather jacket and ray bans is our last chance. :ok:

Tankertrashnav

Au Contraire, I have seen plenty of 101, 10 and 216 aircrew wearing these (in fact some had brevet badges made up in Sqn colours). Also there is more than a fair share on some of the ISTAR types.

But back to the question. Do you think we should ask to wear them with No2 Blues. I've seen plenty doing it (including the old CINC and a couple of 1 stars). Simple answer of "yes", "no" or "maybe" will suffice and don't forget to think whether you might want to in future when the dreaded ground tour comes along! :(

The B Word

Yes, but without the pussy pelt collar! It looks very smart and really hacks off the SWO.....:E

Has a bit of the Erich Hartmann about it!

Well, Montgomery got away with wearing a flying jacket!