"Pilot jackets" - the history of the most popular flight leather jackets

Buying a pilot's jacket, or as they call it in Europe - "a pilot's jacket", has become a real mainstream. What is the reason for such a huge popularity of men's jackets of this type, and how exactly were they able to overtake such well-known types of jackets as windbreakers and leather jackets in demand? You will find answers to these and many other questions in the article "Pilot jackets - the history of the most popular flight leather jackets" on the blog of the AVIATOR jackets online store.

The history of flight jackets

With the need to create flight jackets, world designers faced quite recently - at the beginning of the twentieth century. After all, it is already clear from the name that jackets were created exclusively for pilots, and the first aircraft began to be created precisely at the beginning of the twentieth century. It is worth clarifying that initially these jackets were not worn by aircraft pilots at all, but by people who piloted airships and balloons, but first things first. After a scientific breakthrough by the Wright brothers, who invented the world's first glider to which they attached a small engine, humanity decided to fulfill its dream to the end and master the air. But one of the first problems that the inventors faced was the low temperatures in the high layers of the atmosphere. The fact is that the greater the height, the lower the air density and the more rarefied oxygen. Because of this, the upper layers of the Earth's air shell warms up many times slower than the air that is closer to the earth. In addition, the greater the height, the greater the force of attraction, however, the pressure is inversely proportional, which is why the air is not only cold, but also less dense. Thus, the higher the human body is, the more susceptible it is to cold, which already increases in proportion to the rise. This means that any pilot should have warm clothes that would allow him to keep his body temperature in a stable state. It would seem that there is nothing complicated in this: you just need to put on more clothes and it's in the hat (in every sense of the word - you should also not forget to warm your head). However, only airplanes could rise to great heights, because airships and hot air balloons could not fly in a rarefied environment. And aircraft pilots must have greater mobility and freedom of movement in order to be able to maneuver and control every movement of the flying machine so that it does not become a flying machine. Thus, the pilot's clothing, and in particular the pilot's jacket, must be both warm and loose, and not too bulky. Thus, fur coats, standard at that time, were immediately excluded because of their weight and high density, which hindered movement. Down jackets, which were a novelty of that time, were also not suitable due to their large volume. Therefore, there was a need to create a new type of jackets that would meet the necessary requirements. It was then that they created the world's first pilot's jacket.

Pilot jackets - features and specifications

The world's first pilot's jacket was an ordinary leather jacket with a thin fur lining. This composition of the jacket allowed a person to withstand low temperatures for a long time, and at the same time have freedom of movement. However, this jacket was far from ideal. However, the well-known today, but the brand Aeronautica Militare, which was starting at that time, proposed the idea of ​​using tanned leather of a specific dressing for such jackets. It is thinner, just as dense, but at the same time it has greater tissue flexibility. This made it possible to make movements in such a jacket less energy-intensive. However, with the development of technology, aircraft became more advanced and began to have more functionality, which is why more and more new instruments and technical means began to be added to the cockpit, which again renewed the problem of excess volume. And again I had to turn to the refinement and improvement of men's leather flight jackets. This time, the fur lining has been replaced by a sheared fur and dense textile lining. This made it possible to keep the level of heat transfer at the same level, but the volume of the jacket and its weight decreased by 17%. This design of the pilot's jackets is still preserved, so everyone can buy a pilot's jacket with these characteristics.

Promotion of flying jackets

Speaking of buying: it’s easy to buy a pilot’s jacket nowadays, but literally 50-60 years ago, an ordinary person could not afford to do this, since these jackets were not made for sale to civilians and were exclusively military uniforms. It was this limited accessibility that aroused great interest among everyone. Every boy envied some kid whose father worked as a pilot and let his son wear his pilot's jacket on weekends. These jackets caused delight in children, and in adults - interest. The girls were completely crazy about men who could show off on the street in this brutal and stylish jacket, which in the 60s in America and Europe became a kind of symbol of masculinity and selflessness, because only a real brave and strong man could become a real pilot . However, today such a hype around these jackets has remained, and the only difference is that you can buy a pilot's jacket right here and right now, unlike those times when no one could afford it. But 2 companies changed this: Aeronautica Militare (Italian brand of men's clothing in military style) and Alpha Industries (American brand with a similar stylistic direction). It was they who began to produce the first leather flight jackets and pilot jackets and received a patent for their sale. At first, the prices for men's pilot jackets were simply cosmic, since the production technologies were imperfect and costly. However, in the mid-seventies, thanks to the scientific and technical process, both companies were able to put the processing and dressing of leather on conveyor production, which made it possible to reduce the cost of jackets without loss of quality by as much as 170%. Then a real leather boom began, and anyone could buy a pilot's jacket. Since then, the popularity of jackets of this type has been growing every day, as they have not only a stylish and brutal appearance, but also great practicality, but at the same time they have a relatively affordable price that matches the quality more than.

Where to buy a pilot jacket in Ukraine?

Despite its great popularity, it is not so easy to buy a flight jacket in Ukraine, because real original pilot jackets are quite difficult to find. However, if you find a store with original clothing from the Aeronautica Militare or Alpha Industries brands, then you can buy a men's pilot's jacket there quite easily. In Ukraine, the official representative of the Italian brand Aeronautica Militare is the AVIATOR online store. We not only provide exclusively branded products of the brand, but also provide free delivery throughout Ukraine.