Parker 51 Flighter

[MarkAL]

I mentioned in an earlier post that while on vacation in Florida, I bought what appears to be a Parker 51 Flighter. When I posted before, pics were needed, so here they are! From what I've been able to tell, this is a Parker 51 Flighter from about 1950. It seems to be in good shape overall. On the inside of the pen, it is engraved: PARKER "51" TO FILL PRESS RIBBED BAR 4 TIMES USE DRY WRITING SUPERCHROME INK HOLDING PEN POINT DOWN, WIPE WITH SOFT TISSUE THE PARKER PEN COMPANY MADE IN U.S.A.

 

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. I may send it off to be cleaned and refurbished to a brand new state. If I'm wrong about this, please let me know. I'm interested in any info about this pen anyone can provide. Even thought my photography isn't very good, here's a few pictures:

[Readymade]

Nice find! Congrats

 

Many Parker "51"s found in the wild should still work properly. Have you flushed the pen out yet?

[FarmBoy]

It is a Flghter of the 51 persuasion.

 

Is there a date code on the barrel at the end of the imprint?

 

Barrels were dated until ~1952. Superchrome was removed from the filler ~late 1957.

 

Long arrow clip discontinued in 1951 or about. Yours looks to be long.

[MarkAL]

I don't know if there's a date. There is a tiny "51" next to the "MADE IN USA" on the barrel. Is that the date? I thought it was the model.

[ljwahl]

A great find-- and the 51 in that position indicates 1951.

 

I second the suggestion to try to flush it out with water until it's relatively clear and then fill with ink. I find that Waterman Blue-black or Parker blue-black are great inks to use in this situation-- they seem to help dissolve what's left of the old ink after a water-flushing in a very gentle way. A couple fills of ink (with more water flushing in between)can really get a pen back to great working order.

[sotto2]

I will give you $35 cash this instant for that pen. ha

 

Wow, that pen has a lot of Mojo. I bought a NOS Parker 45 Flighter early in my FP collecting career. It was quirky in that the nib sort of clicked when I wrote with it. I've since heard that the clicking phenomenon may be simply due to a bur, possibly between the nib tynes. At any rate, it clicks no more and is a really nice pen now.

 

Great find, and I, like the others above, bet you could get that pen going with a fill of some ink after a good soak and flush. I have an old really beat up sterling silver capped 51 Vac, and other than getting the vac mechanism fixed, am gonna leave it "Indiana Jones'd".

[jniforat]

i bought mine in AWFUL condition for about $45, and it's on its way back from surgery w/ernesto soler! i'll post pics when it comes in

[wheezur]

Nice find. I would flush and fill and try it out. Chances are that it writes just fine. And yes, the 51 marking is a date code, not a reference to the model.

[J English Smith]

Great find, and I'll bet it's still working just fine. One of these days, I may need to get one of these pups. A classic pen! And I can't say enough good things about Ernesto S. for advice and repairs. If you haven't done so, check out his site: www.parker51.com Invaluable!

[jniforat]

Great find, and I'll bet it's still working just fine. One of these days, I may need to get one of these pups. A classic pen! And I can't say enough good things about Ernesto S. for advice and repairs. If you haven't done so, check out his site: www.parker51.com Invaluable!

 

 

A BIG +1 for Ernesto--he's also super nice...great communication!

 

Danny Fudge of TheWritePen.net did a great job recently making my 51 vac into a pen that will write for years to come.

 

best,

 

j

[MarkAL]

Thanks for all the kind comments. I'll try to flush it out and ink it up later today or tomorrow and see what happens. I'll let you know!

[Shangas]

That's a '51' Flighter alright! And beautiful pens they are! I've got one, too!

[sotto2]

Well, I offered $35 cash for this pen (tongue in cheek, of course), but today I managed to find one in excellent condition for $30, so I'm P51 Flighter-ed also. Flushed it out well and filled it with some Dupont blue ink I had sitting around. Writes just like every other P51--buttery sweet.

[MarkAL]

Awesome! Congrats! I found there's something up with the nib, so I'm going to have to send it off for some restoration at some point.

[sotto2]

Oh, sorry to hear about your nib. What's the issue with it?