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Gift for newly winged son?

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snamom2

New Member
I am new to the world of Navy aviation. My son is on his way to advanced flight training, and I know that his winging is about 1-2 years away. I have read about the "traditional" winging gift of "wings of gold". Where would one get them, do you need special permission to purchase them, and how much do they cost? Are there different wings for different aviation communities?

If not the "wings of gold" are there other suggestions for a winging gift?

Also, I have my father's navy wings from WWII. He flew in the Pacific theater off of an aircraft carrier. Any idea what they would be made of?

Thanks for your assistance.

SNAmom2:)
 
E

exhelodrvr

Well-Known Member
pilot
snamom2 said:
I am new to the world of Navy aviation. My son is on his way to advanced flight training, and I know that his winging is about 1-2 years away. I have read about the "traditional" winging gift of "wings of gold". Where would one get them, do you need special permission to purchase them, and how much do they cost? Are there different wings for different aviation communities?

If not the "wings of gold" are there other suggestions for a winging gift?

Also, I have my father's navy wings from WWII. He flew in the Pacific theater off of an aircraft carrier. Any idea what they would be made of?

Thanks for your assistance.

SNAmom2:)
Click to expand...

The best gift I can think of would be to give your father's wings to your son.
 
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snamom2

New Member
Would the wings from 60 years ago be identical to those issued now? Are there different designs for different aviation communities?
 
HeyJoe

HeyJoe

Fly Navy! ...or USMC
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
exhelodrvr said:
The best gift I can think of would be to give your father's wings to your son.
Click to expand...

That would be hard to beat. Maybe have them engraved with names and dates of wingings for both aviators.

PS - If he is heading to Advanced, it's going to be considerably shorter than 2 years to wing.
 
HAL Pilot

HAL Pilot

Well-Known Member
None
Contributor
And with a little planning, you could probably get your Father's wings pinned on your son's chest at the ceremony. I'm sure there will be someone on the site in the same training squadron that could help you.
 
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snamom2

New Member
Thanks for your input. When the ceremony is closer, I will have to ask (here) about how to arrange for the wings to be used in the ceremony.

I have two sets of my Dad's wings, one has a long pin parallel to the wings with a locking mechanism at the opposite end to the swivel, similar to a women's jewelry pin clasp, the other with two straight pins perpendicular to the wings, which each have a circular metal clasp which would keep the wings in place. Which type is used today?

Thanks again:)
 
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snamom2

New Member
Thank you for the link to the history of the wings. I never realized the significance of them until now. My Dad's have the "dots" as described in the article. There is no engraving on the back, but he had several sets which my Mother gave to us (the kids) to hold for the grandkids after my Dad passed away. It may be that one of the other pins was engraved.

The back is imprinted with "AMICO" and "1/20 10K G ON S". Does this mean gold plated on silver? (I am guessing that AMICO stands for the manufacturer.)

When a pilot is "winged" what are the are the standard wings made of? Are the new "wings of gold" often spoken about as a winging gift gold plate or solid 14k gold? And how would one go about getting them?

Thanks again for your help.
 
HeyJoe

HeyJoe

Fly Navy! ...or USMC
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Super Moderator
Contributor
Of course, if some of the traditions mentioned in another ongoing thread are still in play, you might want to pin and replace them after the ceremony lest someone impart great force upon them (thereby ruining them).
 
HAL Pilot

HAL Pilot

Well-Known Member
None
Contributor
Wings of Gold just refers to the color. While many of us have bought wings made of gold or gold-plated wings, the standard issue wings are just gold colored metal.

My 14 carat gold NFO wings only came out for formal occasions.
 
FLY_USMC

FLY_USMC

Well-Known Member
pilot
For my winging gift, my wife had one of those "all the planes you've flown pictures" made plus a VERY nice pencil drawing of the Hornet in the middle that I don't think I've seen anywhere else. It's almost exactly like the plaques that you can get at flywings.com but she bought the pictures, and then had them custom framed with a set of wings on them at like "Hobby Lobby" or "Michael's" when they have 50% off custom framing. AND, she bought the custom mat online for it somewhere for like 75% what a store charges for custom mats......my wife is thrifty. It's probably the greatest thing I've ever got....and she essentially did it all. She also hot glued some of my Squadron Patches on it..I love it.
 
HeyJoe

HeyJoe

Fly Navy! ...or USMC
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Byo...w

HAL Pilot said:
And with a little planning, you could probably get your Father's wings pinned on your son's chest at the ceremony.
Click to expand...

Planning? Presuming he wants you to help pin on his wings, you can always tell the presiding official "No thanks, we brought our own (wings)" when they try to use theirs.
 
zipmartin

zipmartin

Never been better
pilot
Contributor
For my winging, my wife had a wooden plaque made with a set of wings mounted at the top. Below the wings was a brass plate with my rank and name engraved along with the date and "Designated Naval Aviator" and below that was another brass plate with the poem "High Flight" etched on it. But a set of wings passed down through the family would be primo.
 
Flash

Flash

SEVAL/ECMO
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
snamom2 said:
The back is imprinted with "AMICO" and "1/20 10K G ON S". Does this mean gold plated on silver? (I am guessing that AMICO stands for the manufacturer.)
Click to expand...

Apparently AMICO stands for 'American Insignia Manufacturing Company' that was based out of NYC.

Link I

Link II

From the links it appears it was an authorized manufacturer of US military insignia. From the inscription I would guess the wings were gold-plated on sterling silver, but that would just be a guess. If you want an expert opinion these two museums might be able to help you out:

Naval Aviation Museum

US Navy Museum

I interned at the Navy Museum years ago and they had a very large collection of wings and other Navy insignia so they might know some more specifics. And there are a bunch of guys here on the forum who are at Pensacola and who might be able ask the Naval Aviation Museum staff in person if you don't get anywhere on the phone or via email.

Good luck to you and your son, the wings would be a rare gift that I am sure would be treasured.
 
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