Alpha Industries - Top Flight Jacket Manufacturer

Travel back to 1959. Knoxville, Tennessee. The United States Department of Defense recruits Alpha to revamp its military jacket. Why? Because as the jet age takes flight to greater heights and ground troops encounter trickier terrain, the technological needs and real-life demands of our soldiers change. Simply put, but not simply achieved, Alpha re-engineers outdated designs. As better fabrics are developed and tested, Alpha makes better jackets for our soldiers-better designed, better produced, and more reliable. Alpha garments are ranked as warmer, more comfortable, and designed to meet any climatic challenge or test of time.

Today, Alpha Industries is not only a global enterprise, manufacturing and selling its products throughout the world, but also the premier supplier of jackets for the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Army, and Marine Corps. Alpha sets the standard as a leader in cutting-edge outerwear design. From flight decks to civilian sidewalks, Alpha stands on the frontlines of quality and fashion, as a testament to innovation, creativity and manufacturing know-how. The honest truth is that Alpha is tried, and tested, and proven. And that's where you come in. Now it's your turn to try it out.

About Alpha Industries
Over 40 Million Served Alpha's history as a manufacturer for the U.S. Military is a long and successful one. For over 40 years, the United States Department of Defense has relied on Alpha Industries for outerwear to protect Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps personnel. Since first opening our factory in 1959, Alpha has continuously manufactured the M-65 Field Coat, fabricating more of these coats than any other company. And, since the mid-1960's, we've manufactured virtually every MA-1 Flight Jacket used by U.S. Air Force, Army and Navy pilots. All told, Alpha Industries has produced over 40 million pieces of military outerwear to perform under the most severe conditions imaginable.

3-Bars Make The Difference
Long before anyone even knew the name Alpha, the three bars they put on their flight jackets had earned quite a reputation among purchasers of surplus military apparel. In surplus stores throughout the country, customers sought out the jackets with the three bars on the military specifications tag.

There's an interesting story behind this; when Alpha Industries received a military contract and that contract was fulfilled, "surplus" materials were always left over. In order to use these materials and keep our factories operating, we continued to make jackets following the strict military specifications. These jackets would be sold to surplus stores. But, for internal purposes, we needed to develop a way to separate these jackets from the ones that were actually going to be shipped to the military.

Alpha Industries Flight Jackets going to the military the label contained a single black bar separating the identification of the type of jacket and its specifications. Alpha developed a replacement label to be used for surplus jackets. The only difference between this and the actual military label was that we put three black bars between these two pieces of information. And this label was the only difference between these surplus jackets and those that were actually to be worn by the military. Other contractors also manufactured surplus coats, but they changed to lower grade materials using lighter fabric, thinner insulation, less durable zippers and fasteners. And they didn't change the internal labels; their garments still had the single black bar. Over time, customers at surplus stores began to notice that the jackets with the three bars were the best. And no wonder; because, after all, these were the exact same jackets that American pilots and ground crews were wearing at bases around the world. In fact, if you look closely at the Alpha logo, you'll see that we integrated these three bars into the mark that has come to symbolize our company and its products.

Known Around The World
From the streets of virtually every city in the U.S., to the streets of Europe and Japan, the Alpha name is known. In fact, at one time a single store in Japan had a waiting list of over 900 people hoping to get an Alpha jacket. Alpha continues to produce the same quality garments be began making back in 1959, only now, we adjust and modify our products to meet your demands. Alpha continues to be the most sought after Authentic military brand in Europe and abroad.

FAQs
Why is the MA-1 orange on the inside?
In 1960, the MA-1 was changed to a reversible jacket with an orange lining instead of green. By reversing their MA-1 jacket to the orange side, downed pilots could easily be located by search and rescue teams.

What is the sleeve pocket on the MA-1 for?
This pocket was originally created to hold a pack of cigarettes. Why is there a tab on the front of the vintage MA-1? True to the original military spec, this tab was placed on the front of the jacket so that the pilot could clip his oxygen mask to it.

What is the M-65 made of?
The fabric for the M-65 outershell is a wind-resistant 50% Cotton/50% Nylon Sateen with a 225 lb. Breaking strength.

Has Alpha ever made a floating jacket?
Yes. It was called the Impermeable Extreme Cold Weather Waterproof Clothing Ensemble. This was originally designed for U.S. Navy shipboard use during extreme cold, wet weather.

Why are the "pen bullets" sewn into the MA-1?
These bullets are sewn into the MA-1 to cover the tip of the pen when it is placed in the pen pocket, assuring that the ink does not leak on to the sleeve of the jacket.

Why are the pockets angled on the CWU 45/P?
When the jacket was designed officers realized the need for pockets from a functional standpoint, but did not want their pilots walking around with their hands in their pockets. Consequently, they asked that the pockets be angled and placed high on the front of the jacket.

Recognize the Original
Don't Settle For Less Than An Original

If imitation is the highest form of flattery, Alpha jackets get high praise--there are knock-offs around the world. So, you need to know how to recognize an original. There are telltale signs to look for.

The first, and easiest to find, is the authentic Alpha three-bar logo. There is a tab version of this logo on the sleeve of our flight jackets. Also, look in the pocket of our reversible models and you should find a larger logo patch in there as well. Finally, look at the black-and-white military specification tag. In between the identification of the type of jacket it is and the actual specifications, there will be three solid black bars.

Other signs include the feel of the fabric. Fabric for Alpha jackets has a heavy, high-quality feel. Look closely at the seams and you'll notice authentic Alpha jackets have a distinctive pucker, created by following the strict military standards for tear strength at the seam.

And the brass zippers will have the word ALPHA and/or ALPHA logo on it.

Alpha Industries. The world's leading brand of authentic flight jackets.

Aircraft Auxiliary Power Units - APU

Over the past 10 years aircraft avionics have become increasingly powerful offering glass cockpits, moving maps and various data bases of information for the pilot to compute. The benifit of this new technology is immense, allowing direct routes, precision approches into many backwood airports and the overall situational awareness. At the same time, all of this additional equipment can divert the pilots attention away from the most important task, which is flying the aircraft. "Safety" is and will always rank #1 in every aviation situation.

Unfortunately the avionics can not be powered up until the aircraft engine is started and stabilized. Then precious time and money can be wasted testing and programming the avionics while the hobbs meter is running. The answer is to plug your aircraft into an auxiliary power unit (APU). Bycan Systems Corporation has designed a series of low cost power units that plug directly into the APU receptacle on the aircaft. The Red Baron series are designed to operate all of the avonics equipment without starting the aircraft.

Auxiliary Power Units are being used by everyday pilots who wish to progam or run their aircraft avionics before start up. Flight training schools love the fact that they can teach students how to operate GPS units while still safely situated on the ground. Static displays and airshows also use APU units to demonstrate their full array of equipment while parked or hangered.

As aviation takes this next technology leap, pilots must stay focused on the number one priority which is to fly the aircarft safely and not become fixated on the avionics. Aircraft Auxiliary Units are an important tool to allow the avionics set-up and programming to be performed prior to start- up.

Aircraft Auxiliary Power Units - APU