Later this month, the Cockpit USA crew are packing up and leaving our New York HQ to head for the PROJECT trade show in Las Vegas. On the 13th, 14th and 15th of February, we are setting up camp at the Mandalay Bay convention centre to showcase the Cockpit USA Fall/Winter 2012 collection. As ever, we aim to add a touch of excitement to proceedings and this year is no exception! PROJECT attendees are invited to visit us at booth #18114 and leave a business card to be automatically entered into an exclusive draw to win one of our iconic leather jackets and the chance to ride in the CPT bi-plane at the American Airpower Museum! Trade shows just got a whole lot more exhilarating, courtesy of Cockpit USA.
Here at Cockpit USA we count a whole host of celebrities among our devoted fan base, including Tom Selleck, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cuba Gooding Junior. The newest addition to our famous following is celebrated actor and star of the X-Men movies, Hugh Jackman. Filmed in a field in Hungary, Jackman appears in the new and hilarious Lipton Ice Tea commercial playing himself, getting slapped numerous times and wearing a famed Cockpit USA WWII Government Issue A-2 Bomber. It seems Hollywood has good taste when it comes to leather outerwear!
At Cockpit USA the creation of each and every one of our jackets is a dedicated labor of love. Our production ethics have never changed; an allegiance to quality craftsmanship, authenticity and painstaking precision in order to create jackets far superior to their mass manufactured counterparts. Take a look at this behind the scenes video of the making of the B-3 featuring Cockpit USA founder Jeff Clyman discussing the history of the shearling flyer’s jacket.
The Appalachian Trail is the world’s most popular hike; renowned for its unbridled natural beauty and hailed as a ‘super trail’, it is also the major inspiration behind CPT by Cockpit USA’s Spring 2012 line. Designed to emulate the hike’s prestige as the ultimate respite from the concrete chaos of the city, the collection emanates the tranquil yet rugged nature of the wilderness with an array of relaxed fit shirts, jerseys and utility shorts in a geological colour palette of olive greens, stone hued khakis greys and burnt orange accents. Located along the eastern margin of the US, the trail takes an estimated 5 million footsteps to complete, passing through small towns and traversing untamed terrains home to over 2,000 species of rare and endangered plants and animals. Since its conception in 1921, the scenic path has been extended from Maine to Georgia and has been rambled across in its entirety by over 5000 hikers. This number now includes the Cockpit USA team too as the trail served as the backdrop for the stunning Spring lookbook! Each piece in the collection is named after an element of the hike and as advocates of braving new adventures and grappling with the great American outdoors, we at Cockpit USA self-profess to being the trail’s clothing brand of choice. After all, who would be caught dead hiking through the undergrowth without one of our ‘The Cherokee’ bombers or ‘Water Gap’ jackets on…?!
Check out this exclusive behind the scenes video for a sneaky peak at what is in store for next season…
With its historic hangars, sprawling runways and impressive fleet of WWII aircraft and ground vehicles, no other setting is more fitting for period dramas than our very own American Airpower Museum, which is sponsored by Jeff and Jacky Clyman as well as Cockpit USA. After serving as the backdrop for an Ebony Magazine photo shoot with stars of the new WWII George Lucas film, ‘Red Tails’, the Museum also set the scene for ABC’s sensational new show Pan Am. Starring Christina Ricci, Margot Robbie and Mike Vogel, the show tells the tales of the exciting lives of the famous airline’s glamourous stewardesses and pilots. However, no crew is complete without its aircraft and it was John Travolta’s Boeing 707 bearing the iconic Pan Am emblem that stole the show. There’s nothing quite as exciting as a touch of Hollywood in Farmingdale…!
Here at Cockpit USA we take pride in the skill and artistry put into each and every single one of our A-2 jackets. Hand cut, stitched, constructed and finished by our seasoned craftsmen and women, these leather jackets are made to impeccable standards. The thorough and individual expert attention given to each piece upholds the signature superior quality of our brand, and only when this is fulfilled does a jacket qualify as a Cockpit USA product. Have a look at this ‘Behind the Scenes’ video we made to give you a peak into the craftsmanship put into our iconic A-2 jackets. Proudly made in the USA.
In celebration of the upcoming WWII movie, ‘Red Tails’, Ebony Magazine and some of the film’s star-studded cast went to the American Airpower Museum for the production of a special edition for Ebony Magazine. Produced by George Lucas and starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrance Howard, Nate Parker and David Ayelowo, ‘Red Tails’ tells the heroic story of the struggles and triumphs of the Black American fighter pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen, during WWII. Jeff Clyman, the President and Founder of the Museum, along with AAM Board member Jacky Clyman proudly presented the actors each with a special edition Cockpit USA Tuskegee Airmen A-2 Jacket, designed and produced in collaboration with a group of real, New York based Tuskegee Airmen.
The action packed and inspirational movie is set to show in movie theatres across the country in January 2012. It is not to be missed!
With the colder climes of winter fast encroaching, the ladies at Cockpit USA headquarters are scrambling for our signature women’s leathers. Of the most coveted jackets is the elegant WWII Amelia. Inspired by the groundbreaking first lady of aviation, Amelia Earhart, the trench is made from velvety French lambskin, flawlessly tailored and belted to cinch in at the waist for an ultra feminine silhouette. Also on the winter wish list is the WASP flight jacket, a beautifully made women’s A-2 bomber, reminiscent of the classic men’s equivalent and featuring a delicately embroidered patriotic motif followed closely by the vintage lambskin G-1 jacket complete with an on-trend luxurious real shearling mouton collar for extra toastiness against the big freeze! We’re firm believers that despite the bone-chillingly arctic weather outside, there is no excuse to let your style guard down… and with Cockpit USA on side, you never have to!
It was another day of great victory in WWII history when it was announced in March this year that the American Airpower Museum was to be saved from certain demise thanks to the dedicated efforts of Congressman Steve Israel and Senator Charles Schumer. The historic gem in Long Island’s crown almost almost fell victim to the Federal Aviation Administration’s runway safety program which would have seen the site completely demolished. However, with the unrelenting combined efforts of Israel and Schumer, it was indisputably proved that the FAA had no authority to take such actions, thus saving the museum and preserving the modern day monument to those who bravely fought for the nation during WWII.
Senator Charles Schumer says: “The fighters, bombers, and transport planes housed and displayed here were vital to the defence of our nation. It’s imperative that our children and our grandchildren can visit the American Airpower Museum and understand role these aircraft played and the sacrifices that were made by these pilots to ensure our freedom.”
Managed solely by a team of volunteers, primarily made up of veterans and contributors to our history, the museum is home to many relics of a valiant American chapter, including the B-17 Flying Fortress emblazoned with the famous Memphis Belle, a Republic P47 Thunderbolt and the renowned Curtiss-Wright P-40 Warhawk. As proud sponsors, Cockpit USA regard the museum as a testament to American pride and as a treasure trove of inspiration for our designs! The colossal success of protecting the AAM not only symbolically safeguarded reverence for veterans and the armed forces, but the triumph also paved the way to establishing the American Airpower Museum as a true and official landmark of the nation’s proud aviation heritage.
It was on a sunny fall morning when Team Cockpit USA joined thousands of other sprightly New Yorker’s in Manhattan’s Central Park for this year’s annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer fundraising walk. Led by our favorite girl, Whitney Adele Garlick, Team Cockpit USA raised hundreds of dollars and completed the five mile scenic stride across Central Park in an impressive two hours. Sponsored by the American Cancer Society, the charity event raised $60 million dollars with the help of almost 800,000 walkers in 2010 alone. With breast cancer being the No. 1 cancer that affects women in the USA, the walks are imperative in the effort to save lives and there’s nothing more we take joy in than a Sunday morning stroll, especially if it’s for a good cause!
