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Top-Bottom: Parker 45 ‘Flighter’ BP I think that it was made in the late 1960s. Its clip-screw/cap-tassie is one of the ‘inverted cone’ ones. Note the fine grooves that have been incised around the pen during manufacture to create a ‘grip-section’ near its writing tip. This pen is the one that I reach for if I want to use a BP. It is made to a slightly higher quality than my 1991 Parker Jotter, and to a much higher quality than my 2002 Jotter ‘Flighter’. All three of those pens were made at Parker’s factory in Newhaven, but the quality of their manufacture declined along with the fortunes of the company. The grip section of the 45 BP is also slightly girthier than that on my Jotters, so I find it to be more-comfortable to use. Parker 45 ‘Flighter’ FP with 14k gold nib This pen was made in the early 1970s. This pen has a 14k gold nib that is supposedly ‘M’. It came to me in barely-used, ‘near mint’ condition. I have found the nib to be very, very ‘dry’. Under normal (light) writing pressure its line-width is only that of a Lamy Z50 nib marked ‘EF’. Under pressure it does ‘flex’ out to give a line that is slightly wider than that of a modern Parker ‘M’, and like the line written by my two Pelikan P480 ‘Pelikanos’ (whose nibs are marked ‘F’). But the amount of pressure that this nib requires me to apply in order to get it to open up to being wider than an ‘EF’, and to allow any ink to actually flow through it, is profoundly uncomfortable and tiring. I have not yet found an ink that is ‘gushy’ enough to actually flow out of this nib. I therefore suspect that it was ‘near mint’ because it is actually unusable as a pen ☹️ Parker 45 ‘Flighter’ FP with stainless steel nib This pen was made in the late 1970s. If one places these two FPs’ nibs tip-to-tip, the tipping on this pen appears to be ‘finer’ than that on the gold-nibbed pen above it. I have though found that it writes with a wider line than my gold-nibbed 45 does. I would describe its line as a narrow ‘M’, or wide ‘F’. The steel nib is a ‘nail’, and does not flex at all, but it is a reliable writer that is comfortable to use.

Top-Bottom: Parker 45 ‘Flighter BP This pen was made in the late 1960s. Note the fine grooves that have been incised around the pen during manufacture to create a ‘grip-section’ near its writing tip. Parker 45 ‘Flighter’ FP from the early 1970s This pen has a 14k gold nib that is supposedly ‘M’. I have found the nib to be very, very ‘dry’. Under normal (light) writing pressure its line-width is only that of a Lamy Z50 nib marked ‘EF’. Under pressure it does ‘flex’ out to give a line that is slightly wider than that of a modern Parker ‘M’, and like the line written by my two Pelikan P480 ‘Pelikanos’ whose nibs are marked ‘F’. I have not yet found an ink that is ‘gushy’ enough to enable me to write comfortably with this nib ☹️ Parker 45 ‘Flighter’ FP from the late 1970s This pen has a stainless-steel nib that is marked ‘M’. Its tipping is narrower than that on the 14k-gold nib on my other 45, but it writes with a wider line than that pen! The nib is a ‘nail’ - it does not ‘flex’ at all. It writes with a finer liner than do my ‘M’-nibbed Parker FPs from the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. But it is usable with light pressure.

I have tried to show that all three of these pens have the same ‘haloed arrow’ logo, and the same ‘MADE IN ENGLAND’ stamp. Top-bottom: Parker 45 ‘Flighter’ BP, late 1960s. Parker 45 ‘Flighter’ FP, early 1970s. Parker 45 ‘Flighter’, late 1970s.

I have tried to highlight that all three of these pens have the same ‘haloed arrow’ logo, and the same ‘MADE IN ENGLAND’ stamp. Top-bottom: Parker 45 ‘Flighter’ BP, late 1960s. Parker 45 ‘Flighter’ FP, early 1970s. Parker 45 ‘Flighter’, late 1970s.

A photo to show the three different types of clip-screw/cap-tassie on my Parker 45s. L-R: ‘Inverted-cone’ or ‘conical’ tassie, on my Parker 45 ‘Flighter’ BP, which I believe to date from the late 1960s. ‘Dimpled’ tassie, on my Parker 45 ‘Flighter’ FP from the early 1970s. ’Dished’ tassie, on my Parker 45 ‘Flighter’ FP from the late 1970s. Both the ‘dimpled’ and ‘dished’ tassies appear to have been in continuous production after 1970. I cannot believe that any company would invest in two different types of tooling in order to make the same small part, and so I suspect (based solely on a total guess) that the ‘dimpled’ tassie is a ‘dished’ tassie that has been machined to create the dimple. Or, if you prefer, that the ‘dished’ tassie is actually a part that was intended to be machined in to a ‘dimpled’ tassie, but which was accidentally released in to the world in an ‘unfinished’ state.