As we move into the early spring season the temperature can still be very brisk. Depending where you live, in BC there is usually still fresh snow on the local mountains but in lower mainland during the afternoon the temperature can be warm or we encounter rain and even the odd snow flurries during March early April months.

When traveling to the office or going shopping, walking your dog or heading to a gathering it is important to have a casual jacket for all of the above occasions.

For a casual fashion I suggest a jacket that is less dressy than a suit overcoat or for milder weather and somewhat lighter then a leather bomber jacket but still eye-catching. One jacket that fits this bill perfectly is the iconicMA-1 flight jacket made by Alpha Industries.

History

First of all, what is the MA-1 flight jacket? The MA-1 flight jacket, also called the MA-1 bomber jacket is an American military jacket that was first developed in 1949 and was originally developed for the new jet aircrafts that required new performance for the pilots providing more safety and comfort. The first MA-1 jackets were issued to the United States Air Force and Navy pilots and flight crews.

Prior to the invention of the jet aircraft the military pilots of the 1940’s and WW11 used heavier fleece-lined horsehide leather jackets. However with the new jets available in the 1950’s the pilots could fly at much higher altitudes and in much colder temperatures.

If the heavy bulky leather jackets became wet from rain when the pilot walked to his aircraft the water left on the pilots jacket would freeze at the high altitudes, making the jacket uncomfortable. The new jet cockpits were more cramped so it was important to make this MA-1 bomber jacket to be of a lighter weight. What makes the MA-1 jacket so lightweight is the high quality nylon fabrics and polyester inner linings used instead of heavy leather materials used the 1940’s.

One of the very cool characteristics of the MA-1 jacket is the outer lining is usually an olive green, but is also available in many other colors like black and Navy, but the inner lining is always a very bright orange color. The reason the inner lining is a very bright orange color is so that when a pilot is ejected from his plane and stranded on the ground he can wear the entire jacket inside out so he can be spotted by air rescuers.

Alpha Industries founded in 1959 in Knoxville, Tennessee by Samuel Gelber was a company that issued military clothing and was awarded the contract to produce the MA-1 flight jacket for the U.S Department of Defence in 1963. By the 1970’s Alpha Industries started to cater to the consumer market. In 1982 founder Samuel Gelber died and left his company to his wife Mildred and from there she formed new management expanding the commercial side of the business.

During that time President Ronald Reagan’s administration called for an increase in the department of defense spending which exceeded 1.8 billion dollars in textile alone. Alpha became the leading producer of the new CWU 36/P and 45/P Nomex flight jackets which eventually replaced the MA-1 flight jacket.

Resurgence

During the 1980’s the jacket had exposure in style magazines such as The Face and I-D and also appeared in many movies. The famous actor Steve McQueen wore an olive color MA-1 jacket in his last movie before his death The Hunter (1980). 

McQueen played a modern day bounty hunter based on a true story and in the film McQueen wore the jacket in every action scene and that gave the jacket a cool guy outerwear look. A few years later Kevin Costner wore the same jacket model that McQueen wore 8 years earlier in the film Bill Durham (1988) and Michael Douglas wore a black color MA-1 jacket in the film Basic Instinct (1992). Today the jacket is just as popular with modern day Hollywood celebrities like Bradley Cooper and Daniel Craig and many others.

Many people mistakenly think the MA-1 jacket appeared in the Tom Cruise Top Gun movies (1986 and 2022) But the MA-1 jacket was not in either movie. Top Gun 2 featured Tom Cruise wearing a similar jacket, the MA-2 jacket but clearly not the same and that model has a fold down collar and different style pockets.

The MA-1 jacket today is used in several police forces and security agencies in regions in the world where the weather is not very pleasant. They were chosen over several other designs because of the jacket's sturdy design.

Today Alpha Industries still produces for the consumer market the MA-1 flight jacket and it is a very popular jacket for civilians. The jacket looks great with a white or navy shirt and a pair of jeans. Also worth noting that Alpha Industries makes a version of this jacket for both men and women. 

One of the best things about this iconic jacket it’s affordable with a price tag anywhere from $160.00 to $300.00.

There are many other manufactures that make their own version of the MA-1 flight jacket for the consumer market that look great and offering different price points.

The MA-1 flight jacket has survived the test of time and is an icon that will never go out of style.