I felt it was time to buy another A-2 jacket since my old one is 27 years old. The A-2 I received was as advertised. The goatskin leather appears to be of good quality and the rich leather smell had my bedroom smelling like a leather shop for a week or two; I loved it! I had occasion to wear it a few times before our Florida weather began to turn warm again and the comments I got from fellow workers was overwhelming. The squeak of the leather, the nice dark brown color and the leather smell permeated the work area with no complaints.
Aside from the way it wears looks and smells, it would appear that even with wearing apparel, the economic crunch is felt and seen. This jacket is lighter in weight that my other and the lining is much thinner, making me think that this A-2 was made more for fashion than practical use. When compared to my old A-2, the goatskin is lighter in weight and the lining is considerably thinner. My older one has a "cross sewn", slightly padded nylon lining than seems to offer more warmth on cold damp days. This new one required a sweater or sweatshirt to be worn underneath where my old one would have me sweating in forty degree weather if I wore anything other than just a long sleeve shirt.
Aside from that, the jacket fit perfectly and there were no rips or tears and mypilotstore.com did a great job packaging for shipping. I would certainly recommend buying from mypilotstore.com to all of my friends.
You have to have had a terrible experience with a poorly designed product in order to deeply appreciate just how much thoughtfulness, and consideration went into the manufacturing process of this jacket. The knitted cuffs, and the knitted waist that add untold layers of protection on cold, and windy days is superb.
The single cut design of the back of the jacket (one piece) is not (in my opinion) available with any other jacket out there. One less large seam to stress over while riding your favorite machine on the highway on a brisk day.
I am pleased to have served and had this same jacket issued to me as an Aeromedical Evacuation Technician while serving in the Air Force at Rheine Main Air Base Germany (1984-1989). I continued to wear it past my retirement in December 2001. Unfortunately it was stolen from a local bar in Seattle Washington in 2005.
In review of all of the reviews that you have posted I am delighted to see that for those reviews that had complaints about the jacket, their concerns were the same as all of the active duty that had the jacket issued to them. Ironically no one complained because they all knew that the manufacturer followed specific Air Force specifications. It was not designed for comfort or for fashion. It was made specifically for technical requirements.
What I did find was that as you wore it, those little issues most likely fade away. Just like a good pair of jeans that are stiff when new, just get better with wear!
The reviews indicate to me that the manufacturer has chosen to stick with the original design.
...Outstanding, keep up the good work.
I ordered my usual suit size - 42. The same as my OLD Avirex flight jacket.
After a short while, I realized it was too big - came down to far below the waist, bloused out in the back too much.
So, I ordered a 40, and gave the 42 to my brother, who is happy.
The side pockets on the new model are behind the flap pockets, so they are not as deep as the on-seam pockets of the previous design. Gloves will not stay in the new new side pockets, I stash them in one the inside breast pockets.
I still love it!
Where's my aeroplane?
This is my second A2 in 22 years when I've gone from a 44T to 48Tall (which is slightly oversized for me) but I use it a lot when travelling and have room to layer with sweaters as i fly between climates from 0 F to rainy 70F.
My only concern was that the zipper seemed a bit light/thin for such a heavy duty jacket but it looks like it will survive . Of course the new jacket was a bit stiff but after beating it on the floor a few times and sleeping in it on long flights to Asia/Europe it is becoming a second skin like my first one. I have a bunch of various North Face jackets which are fine but too delicate for many conditions I'm in. This A2 is indestructible however and a keeper.
Leather quality is great. Like the old days, not like the cheap leather you find today. Jacket is well made for years of use. Follow mypilotstore directions for size if you want correct fit