Flite Wear Grumman Test Pilot Jacket

Started by Ed Land in Kansas in 1959 Flite Wear by Land MFG would become widely known for making the flight jackets worn by NASA and other test pilots. Ed was initially employed by Fruhauf, a band uniform company and sometime maker of small batch flying clothing for the Air Force and aircraft manufacturers. When the Fruhauf owners threw away a government contract wanting to focus on band uniforms, Ed would take the contract out of the bin and found Land MFG, and it's brand Flite Wear. Flite Wear would most famously make the jackets worn by Astronauts of the Apollo era, but also manufactured for many of the aircraft makers of the age.

This example, very rarely patched, was used by test flight crew at Grumman. Finding these with original patches is next level hard. A very rare jacket.

Condition

Used condition. The outer shell and knits are very nice, but there is some obvious wear to the lining.

Size

• Tagged a Large-regular
• Fits large
• Pit to pit 26"
• Shoulder to shoulder (approx raglan) 17"
• Shoulder to cuff (approx raglan) 23" (its a touch short on my 6'1 frame/arms)
• Collar to hem 26"