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What is your definition of a "Flighter" pen?


kissing

What do YOU think makes a Parker pen a "Flighter"?  

44 members have voted

  1. 1. What do YOU think makes a Parker pen a "Flighter"?

    • They are made of stainless steel parts to give metallic look
      24
    • They are pens that are airplane-safe
      2
    • They are made of stainless steel AND airplane-safe
      12
    • They are pens with wings and a jet engine
      4
    • I have my own definition (please specify)
      2


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When I first came to be interested in fountain pens and started reading things in these forums and pictures at penhero.com, I noticed that the word "Flighter" was used a lot to describe certain Parker pens.

 

Upon observations, all the pens that were metallic in appearance seemed to be described as "Flighters", which is what made me think that metallic pens = 'flighters'.

 

However, is there a more specific definition behind "Flighters"? What is everyone's current viewpoint on what a "Flighter" is?

 

eg: this pen has been named a Vector Flighter in penhero:

 

http://www.penhero.com/PenGallery/Parker/Pics/ParkerVector05.jpg

 

 

this is a Parker stainless steel Jotter fountain pen:

 

http://www.promotionpens.com.au/Portals/8/StoreImages/Parker-Jotter-Fountain.jpg

 

Does this mean that this too is a "Flighter" since it is made of stainless steel? :huh:

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I think the "Flighter" branding scheme is merely for the cosmetics (stainless steel barrel/cap with both GT and ST. But I am no expert on this matter. I believe they are as airplane safe as a matching pen in other color (i.e. Flighter 45 vs Black 45).

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Follow-up: PenHero.com lists some info on the Parker Classic and mentions this:

A Parker pen couldn't really be Classic without a Flighter all stainless steel version.

Guess my idea of Parker Flighter was right ;)

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I am pretty sure that the First Flighter was the "51" launched in 1949 Q4. I have a 1950 example, but would get a '49er if I could :)

 

For more info than you need look here

Parker "51" Flighter and others

 

Pentrace Article - Len Provisor

 

Jim

 

edit to add another link

Edited by JimStrutton

Obi Won WD40

Re vera, cara mea, mea nil refert!

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The original definition of a Flighter, as created by the George S. Parker Company in 1949, is a pen that is made of brushed stainless steel and is flight safe. The pen that defined the term was an aerometric Parker "51". Today, collectors consider any stainless-steel pen a Flighter. (Some collectors even consider a brushed chrome finish sufficient to make a pen into a Flighter, but I balk at that one.)

 

Click this bold link to read my site's reference page on Flighters.

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/collection/zoomed/flighter2.jpg

sig.jpg.2d63a57b2eed52a0310c0428310c3731.jpg

 

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Well I voted for made of stainless steel and airplane safe, but that's only because I have read Richard's article in the past! :)

 

I decided to carry my "51" flighter today in honor of this thread.

A pen a day keeps the doctor away...

 

Parker "51" flighter; Parker 75 cisele; Conway Stewart Dandy Demonstrator; Aurora 88P chrome; Sailor Sapporo ; Lamy 2000; Lamy 27 double L; Lamy Studio; Pilot Murex; Pilot Sesenta (Red/Grey); Pilot Capless (black carbonesque); Pilot Custom 74 Demonstrator; Pilot Volex; Waterman Expert 2000 (slate blue)

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I'm glad to see that I'm not the only person who voted for fun and the jet-engined definition...

- Jonathan

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Talking of 51's and Flighters, I remember seeing an ebay ad that said the pen being sold was a "fat" model - did 51 widths vary much???

- Jonathan

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I was initially disappointed to learn that Parker "flighter" pens do not have wings and a jet engine.

 

Then, I realized, of course they don't have a jet engine. They were made in 1950. They are piston engine "props!"

 

Well, duh!

 

Knew it had to be a trick question.

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I was initially disappointed to learn that Parker "flighter" pens do not have wings and a jet engine.

 

Then, I realized, of course they don't have a jet engine. They were made in 1950. They are piston engine "props!"

 

Well, duh!

 

Knew it had to be a trick question.

dang! You saw through my deliberately-placed trick question :rolleyes:

 

Almost had you fooled :P.

 

Oh yes. Thank you Richard for that article in your website. It made things much more clear :)

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Talking of 51's and Flighters, I remember seeing an ebay ad that said the pen being sold was a "fat" model - did 51 widths vary much???

Yes and no.

 

The Standard "51" was made in one width, period.

 

In 1947, Parker introduced the "51" Demi, a shorter model. They made it shorter by shortening the barrel and the cap; the blind cap and the shell remained full size. This configuration altered the pen's aesthetics; the Demi is a dumpy little thing. Here are a Standard Vacumatic-filling "51" and Demi together:

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/collection/zoomed/51_vf_navy.jpg

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/collection/zoomed/51_demi.jpg

 

When they switched over to the aerometric filler, Parker kept exactly the same proportions for the Standard model, but for the Demi they basically shrank a Standard proportionally to make a new model. That new model, in addition to being shorter than the Standard (but longer than the original Demi) was also thinner. Here are a Standard aerometric-filling "51" and Demi together:

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/collection/zoomed/51_plum.jpg

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/collection/zoomed/51_slender.jpg

 

The new Demi's shell, collector, clutch ring, barrel, and cap are all non-interchangeable with their Standard counterparts.

 

The new Demi soon received a new name, the Slender. Now there were the Standard and the Slender, and that means the Standard must be a "fat" model.

 

Another possibility is that the pen on the 'Bay is a Vac-filling Demi, which does look fat by anyone's standards.

 

The last possibility is that the pen on the 'Bay is a "51" Magnum, an LE that Fountain Pen Hospital had built a couple of years ago.

 

(Edited to add blank lines between image pairs to fix problem in some browsers)

Edited by Richard

sig.jpg.2d63a57b2eed52a0310c0428310c3731.jpg

 

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Thanks, Richard - 51s are fascinating. So much so that I've decided to give a real one a try, even though the 329 didn't fit my hand well - they're just too interesting to ignore!

- Jonathan

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