Sheepskin Aviator Hat

November 14, 2016

Get Your Own Sheepskin Aviator Hat Like Charles Lindbergh’s

On November 16, the sheepskin hat aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh lost while flying loop-the-loops over Paris after becoming the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean will be auctioned in the French capital, and the piece is expected to fetch upwards of 80,000 euros ($88,000). The cherished flying hat, a soft brown helmet-style piece with durable leather on the outside and warm sheepskin on the inside, was worn by Lindbergh during his record-setting New York to Paris flight in May 1927, which cemented the 25-year-old pilot’s status as “The Lone Eagle.”

According to reports, Charles Lindbergh lost his leather and sheepskin aviator hat twice in the span of just one week, the first time being when he was welcomed by a giant crowd at Paris-Le Bourget airport in 1927, after he completed the first solo non-stop transatlantic flight in his monoplane, the Spirit of St. Louis. A mechanic turned the hat over to the U.S. embassy that evening, but Lindbergh lost it again just seven days later, when he was given permission to perform aerobatic feats over Paris in a borrowed French fighter plane. The sheepskin aviator hat was found in a vegetable patch the following morning, and has remained in the possession of the same family ever since.

It wasn’t until 1969, just five years before his death in 1974, that the sheepskin and leather aviator hat reappeared and was identified as Charles Lindbergh’s, thanks to a famous French television show, and the hat will now be auctioned off at the Hotel Drouot auction house in Paris on November 16. Unless you have $80,000 or so burning a hole in your pocket, you probably won’t get your hands on Charles Lindbergh’s actual flying hat, but you can get your own genuine sheepskin aviator-style hat from The Sheepherder, a one-stop-shop for fine shearling garments in downtown Alma, Colorado.

Similar to the design of Lindbergh’s historic flying hat and the aviator hats made famous by pilots of long ago, our shearling bomber hat for men and women features a stylish suede on the outside that will protect you from the cold weather and wind, and authentic sheepskin on the inside, that will keep your ears warm no matter how chilly it gets. Our handcrafted aviator hat also includes a cozy sheepskin chin strap with Velcro, so you can fold the earflaps up or down, for a versatile winter-weather look. Find our genuine shearling aviator hats and other handmade sheepskin garments and accessories now at CustomSheepskinJackets.com.