It's not in 11-301. I remember seeing it in a memo from AFE. I'll try and track it down.

I always thought it had to do with ejection seats and flammibility

Question: Where do the AFIs (or some other reg) state that thou shalt not wear your leather jacket in flight/while flying?

AFE reg, and varies by airframe, if I recall correctly.

On a side note, last time I went through Pops, they said they are looking to open a store in Ramstein by next summer and maybe a store or two in the states.

Copy. I also checked AFI 36-2903 and here is all it said:

"The Leather A-2 Flying Jacket is authorized for wear

unless prohibited by MAJCOM supplement or restricted due to safety of flight concerns."

ACC sup says nothing about the leather jacket at all. The only thing I could see is if someone tried to make the link between safety of flight (i.e. not being NOMEX) and then applied that to all mankind. A bit of a jump if you ask me. If anyone does have a AFPD, AFGM, MFR, FCIF, SRF, SS to a T.O. or sticky note from Orville Wright banning leather jackets in-flight I would love to see it.

Curious to hear how this came up.

On a side note, last time I went through Pops, they said they are looking to open a store in Ramstein by next summer and maybe a store or two in the states.

When I was there in Sept he told me the one in Landstuhl is supposed to open the beginning of the year...

Any update to a Pops location in the Ramstein area?

I just stopped by Pops today. They are still working on the location. No time frame yet. I'll see if I can get more info soon. Update to what's going on. They are still planning to put a store in the area. They said that they want it close to base so ktown it out. Just working on the German permits to open the store and have people come over to work. It is planned to be just a retail store. If you want some custom work it will be atleast a 15 day turn around. They did tell me that if it goes well and they can expand they might bring a few of thier backshop workers over to do custom work or make some stuff. The current time frame would be summer at the earliest.

Edited March 7, 201510 yr by cragspider

Anyone been to Misawa know if there is a place similar to Pops nearby that have some leather flight jackets?

2 hours ago, WayUp said:

Anyone been to Misawa know if there is a place similar to Pops nearby that have some leather flight jackets?

Osan.

Nothing around Misawa that I'm aware of - everyone pretty much picked theirs up from Mr. Lim, Darkhorse or Pops.

Go to dark horse in osan

Mr Lim is still alive and kicking?

Yep, though his marketing has outstripped his quality in my opinion. Dark horse is legit. 

11 hours ago, Huggyu2 said:

Mr Lim is still alive and kicking?

As of Oct 2014 he was. His son primarily runs it now I think.

So today I noticed my ~2 month old issue jacket has little leather flakes/rolls coming off at the front of the collar.  Any fixes, or do I go straight to Pops?

So today I noticed my ~2 month old issue jacket has little leather flakes/rolls coming off at the front of the collar.  Any fixes, or do I go straight to Pops?

Straight to Pops. If you get a chance to get one fitted at Incirlik, the price break is pretty significant compared to the website. I replaced my "100% [P]Leather" a few months ago and deeply regret not having done it much much sooner.


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My Pops jacket looks exactly like it did 10 yrs ago when I bought it. Had to replace zipper when some of the teeth were ripped out a few years back.


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My issued jacket from the early '90's is still holding up...with the Pop's mod since around 2000. Obviously before the shitty "leather" that they use now...


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I got issued the same shitty type of jacket when I was an lt.  Started flaking within a year.  You're authorized two in your career.  I opted to go ahead and get my second one, and chose one of better quality.  Or, buy one from Pop's and never worry about it again. 

1 hour ago, 08Dawg said:

I got issued the same shitty type of jacket when I was an lt.  Started flaking within a year.  You're authorized two in your career.  I opted to go ahead and get my second one, and chose one of better quality.  Or, buy one from Pop's and never worry about it again. 

You got to pick?  We passed our sizes along to that one civilian who runs the squadron and she ordered them for us...

Sounds like Pops is the winner.  Glad to be rid of that terrible pleather smell too.

5 years later my pops jacket still looks almost brand new, I'd go straight to Pops, the jacket quality only seems to be going downhill.

I got mine from the Pops website.  Like others have said, you'll pay a premium, but it's worth it.  I had my brother-in-law take the measurements as instructed on the site and a few weeks later I had my custom jacket. If you can't get there in person, the website is a good substitute.

Edited February 4, 20178 yr by zmoney

I've gotten two issue jackets. The first one (coming up on 3 decades old) was ok but seemed more like plastic. After a few brews at the Falcon Bar (when the falcon was still alive) and feeling like a rich Lt I decided to fork over the $70 so I'd have two jackets. My 1991 Pops original is by far the best. Not sure what they cost now, but I'm sure it's worth it. The second issued jacket (maybe 10 years old) is a little better and had the mods previously only available at Pops but still no comparison.