posted 10-10-2019 12:12 PM               

Flite Wear - Type 1

These jackets are built from the ground up using historic examples to recreate the original "Type 1" NASA Flight Jacket, exactly as they were worn by Gemini, and Apollo astronauts and crews.

All facets match the original Type 1 jackets exactly: including single-piece woven cuffs, exposed sleeve zipper, khaki colored main zipper, original new-old-stock nickel pocket snaps, custom dyed vintage lining fabric, and a shell fabric that is indistinguishable from the original.

Each jacket comes with a vintage-style "Type 1" NASA logo patch sewn on. These are embroidered on original machinery with vintage materials, matching the originals in every way. Also sewn to the jacket is a Velcro loop tape for your name badge and wings on the right chest, as worn originally by NASA astronauts.

Flite Wear - Type 2

Luna Replicas brings you our flagship line, "Flight Wear" Type 2 NASA flight jackets. These jackets are built from the ground up using historic examples to recreate the original jackets, exactly as they were made for the Apollo astronauts and crews.

All facets match the original Type 2 jackets exactly: including single-piece woven cuffs, reinforced sleeve zipper, navy blue colored main zipper, original new-old-stock black enameled pocket snaps, custom dyed lining fabric, and a water-resistant shell fabric that is indistinguishable from the original.

These jackets are authentically tougher and a little better reinforced than the earlier Type 1s. We have also added some water resistant treatment to the fabric, so these jackets will get you through a rainstorm or an accidental spill!

Each jacket comes with a vintage-style "Type 3" NASA logo patch sewn on; an homage to the Apollo 1 crew that wore the same patch as well as the crew of Apollo 11 aboard recovery ship USS HORNET. These patches are embroidered on original machinery with vintage materials, matching the originals in every way. Also sewn to the jacket is a Velcro loop tape for your name badge and wings on the right chest, as worn originally by NASA astronauts.

posted 10-10-2019 12:15 PM            

The blues are very similar, but the Luna Replicas lining is more red than the orange used by STRS. Both agree well with period photographs, and the differences are probably within an acceptable tolerance for different order batches. The STRS outer and liner fabrics both have a nicer feel than the Luna Replicas.

The zippers on the Luna Replicas jacket seem a bit cheap and "rough" in comparison to the Scovills of STRS. The cross-over flap covering the bottom of the zip is better shaped on the STRS jacket. Add to that the fact that it was made to measure and in my opinion the STRS jacket wins hands down.

The only area where I felt Luna Replicas has the edge is in the knit components, collar, wrists and waist. Overall, given a choice (which currently, there isn't), I'd pay the extra and get a STRS. That said, I'm very satisfied with Luna Replicas, and may purchase a second one.

posted 01-28-2020 11:58 AM               

Regarding the cut and materials of our jacket as it relates to authenticity: we used three original jackets in hand, one on loan and two purchased, made by Land Manufacturing of Wichita Kansas. I am a huge stickler for authenticity, coming from a historical living history and museum volunteer background. I believe we have produced a jacket that is about 95-98% authentic to the original, as described below.

Land Mfg., then Kings Point, and Bowlers Apparel, made the original flight jackets from the early 1960s through about 1975. All of which use materials that are currently rare or impossible to find, and patterns that do not exactly match any other military flight wear. As such, Luna Replicas set out to recreate both the materials and the original cut of these jackets as closely as possible. Without deconstruction, we were able to match the pattern and cut, scaled for sizes 36 through 52 in the same grading proportions as the originals.

Our materials were selected to match the fabric weight, consistency, custom dyed pre- and post-milling: Our outer shell material is about a 7oz poly/cotton blend, dyed then treated with waterproofing as we believe the original Type 2 and Type 3 jackets as well as the blue flight suits were. Type 1 jackets were untreated.

Our lining material was completely custom made. Unfortunately the woven, silk-like, heavy satin nylon of the original lining is no longer available anywhere, so we made a decision to match it as close as possible with a heavyweight "combat nylon," dyed to match exactly. Type 3 jackets use a similar lining but in white. The winter version of the flight jackets by Land Mfg. use nylon lining fabric as the shell fabric, and a faux white fur or fleece lining (depending on the type), which we are also in the process of recreating.

Our knits were also custom made for us in wool, nylon, and elastic mix, seamlessly loomed with a taper for the cuffs. These were steam, heat, and wear tested to pick the longest-lasting knit material available.

Our zippers are custom made in-house, and match the original solid brass teeth, head and pulls. With wear they break in well, but we're exploring options for tightening the tolerances up on these so they are better right out of the box. Our sleeve pocket zippers include the correct brass crimped stop at the top, which are New Old Stock and nearly impossible to find.

Also, we use a nylon reinforcing twine stitched inside the edge of the pocket welt, as done on military jackets and the original Flite Wear jackets specified by NASA.

STRS made a very nice product, I wish I had one myself. However their cut and materials are an excellent interpretation rather than a true replica. Their jackets were made to measure and have tapered, boxy style that is common with earlier leather A2 and some other flight jackets. We simply achieved a different goal than them, and I'm very proud that we were both able to pay homage to NASA crews and make the jackets available in this way.

posted 01-30-2020 02:08 AM            

After reading your post I went back to compare the cross over flaps on the Still The Right Stuff (STRS) and Luna Replicas blue jackets that I own and compared those to Apollo 8 crew pictures. It still looks to me think yours is maybe a little too pointed, and STRS too rounded. There doesn't seem to be much to it. Certainly not the win for STRS that I originally thought it was. If you say the shape of the Luna Replicas jacket is identical to vintage examples, I'll buy that. You've studied them up close.

posted 04-07-2020 08:33 AM               

Yes, we'll have several jackets every run that are unpatched. All ones that have patches are sewn, never glued, so they can be removed with care. After a dry cleaning only some tiny holes may be visible up close.

posted 04-08-2020 07:25 AM               

I own an example of the Still The Right Stuff (STRS) flight jacket, and I do agree regarding the crossover flap being a more accurate example on the STRS version. It closely matches the jacket worn by Dave Scott during Apollo 15 training for example, which is natural taking into account the late Col. Wordens involvement.

Back in January 2015, I corresponded with the director of STRS. He noted that he had worked with Al on the jackets for six years prior to their release, making sure the details such as dye colours were absolutely correct, and that the shell and lining were of the correct weave and specification, utilising Col. Worden's example as template. Snaps and zips were also obtained from the original manufacturer (Al had also secured the loan of Wally Schira’s jacket from the Astronaut Hall of Fame to help assist with some research).

The type II NASA meatball patch, which was issued with the jacket, was copied "stitch for stitch" from an example issued to Robert Crippen which Col. Worden also loaned from Crip himself.