THE QATSPY® Quapaw Aviation Tactical Sportswear Performance Yukon Outfitter Company, An Authorized Dealer & Distributor for US WINGS®
MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, and a PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!
By: Charles W. Boatright
We’ve Seen a Tiger on the Golf Course; But How about Flying? The Flying Tigers was an Elite Volunteer Group of Pilots & Aviators during WWII.
The American Volunteer Group (AVG) flew the popular and nostalgic Flying Tiger, P-40 Warhawk, with the iconic Tiger teeth painted on the nose of their aircraft. They also wore the G-1 Leather Flight Jacket with Flying Tigers patches that distinguish them and their brave service.
The aerial maneuvering tactics demonstrated in the blockbuster movie TOP GUN: MAVERICK starring Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, and Monica Barbaro, with the guest appearance of Val Kilmer, were incredible. Especially the Cobra maneuver by the F-18 Hornet and the Stall-Drift maneuver tactic by the F-35 Lightning in the head-to-head dog fight with the F-14 that Maverick and Rooster flew back to the Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln.
NOTE: You can also watch Glen Powell in the movie Devotion about a Hattiesburg, MS man, Jesse Brown, who became the first African- American Navy Aviator in the U.S. Navy who flew in the Korean War.
The Prestigious Flying Tigers
The Navy Aviators that flew the aerial maneuvers in the TOP GUN: MAVERICK Movie demonstrated some of the most impressive aerial maneuvers seen on the silver screen. There was a group of pilots and aviators, before TOP GUN, that formed a prestigious group, which was the precursor to the aviators that flew the scenes in both TOP GUN Movies.
This prestigious group was made up of pilots from the U.S. Army Air Corps and aviators from the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps that formed what became the Flying Tigers. This group was established in April of 1941 at the request of President Franklin Roosevelt, even before the Pearl Harbor Attack. Their mission was to help defend China, Burma, and India from the invasion forces of the Imperial Japanese Military.
My first model remote control aircraft that I built was the P-40 Warhawk that I flew at the Ridge Road Junior High School Football Field for hours.
The Flying Tigers successes were legendary, scoring 296 kills of enemy aircraft, while losing only 14 pilots in aerial combat sorties that they flew until July 4th, 1942. The P-40 Warhawk that the Flying Tigers flew didn’t have the maneuverability that the Japanese Nakajima Ki-27 had.
But the tactic devised by Brigadier General Claire Chennault, called Dive & Slash Attack, gave the Flying Tigers P-40 Warhawk a significant edge in their success in flying aerial combat sorties against the Japanese Nakajima Ki-27.
The Flying Tiger Nose Art
Their reputation was even enhanced by the Tiger’s eyes and Tiger teeth that were painted on the nose of their P-40 Warhawk Aircraft and the patches sewn onto their Flying Tiger Leather Flight Jackets. Even today, this leather jacket has that same charisma that it had in World War-II in the cockpit of the P-40 Warhawk.
We are the Official Licensee of the Flying Tigers G-1 Leather Flight Jackets
We are proud to be the official licensee of the 14th Air Force Flying Tiger G-1 Cape Buffalo Leather Flight Jacket to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the formation of the Flying Tigers in 1941.
These nostalgic Flying Tiger Leather Flight Jackets are so iconic that Tom Cruise wore his TOP GUN G-1 Leather Flight Jacket with the 17 patches, while flying his P-51 Mustang that was another notable aircraft during World War-II. Tom Cruise is shown wearing his G-1 Leather Flight Jacket with his P-51 Mustang during the first and last part of TOP GUN:MAVERICK Movie. The P-51 even made an appearance in the Lady Gaga Video-Soundtrack Hold My Hand, below:
We are offering the same G-1 Leather Flight Jacket that we supply to the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard to the public, with the hand-painted Flying Tiger on the front left panel and the China, Burma, India patch on the left shoulder, as shown in the feature image with DOC in our hangar and below.
Why Cooper?
Cooper Sportswear has been in business since 1920 and supplied jackets for the U.S. Army Air Corps and began supplying many of the jackets for the Flying Tigers in late 1941.
Purchase Your US Wings Cooper Original™ Flying Tigers Cape Buffalo G-1 Leather Flight Jacket today with these Features:
- A honey-colored vintage-style fur collar
- Two front cargo pockets with side-entry hand-warmers
- An interior pocket
- A nylon lining
- A hand-painted leather 14th Air Force Flying Tigers patch on the left chest
- A hand-painted leather USAAF patch on the left sleeve.
- The jacket also features a WWII-style leather name strip, which will be embossed with your name (or any other lettering up to 14 characters in length) at no additional charge; optionally, the leather name strip can also be left blank if you wish to add your own lettering at a later date.
We also Carry the TOP ACE MAVERICK COLLECTION:
THE QUAPAW AVIATION TACTICAL SPORTSWEAR & PERFORMANCE COLLECTION:
