Parker VP Flighter on eBay

[goodguy]

There is a Parker VP Flighter on eBay.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Very-Rare-Excellent-19...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

For the first minute I got all excited and was starting to plan my strategy to bid on it and then a thought got in my head that maybe its a Frankenpen.

I never saw or heard of a Parker VP Flighter.On the other hand it doesnt mean one was never made.

 

What do you think is this the real deal ?

[Glenn-SC]

I don't know if such a thing ever existed. But from the time period these were made it would match up with the "51" and 61 (?) Flighters.

 

I've watched this Seller before but something about him/her bothers me.

[Dan Carmell]

I wonder! The cap and section are the real deal, I think. Looking at the barrel, I cannot tell if the end of the barrel is a grey jewel set in without tassie as on the plastic VP barrels, or if the steel barrel is just finished to that shape. I guess either could be correct for a pen that none of the pen books mention!

 

The one reason I think it COULD be genuine is that it would be a lot of work to machine one barrel just to make one sale.

 

Dan

 

p.s. I've emailed Bob Spreerbacher to ask him what he thinks about this pen. Bob knows Parkers pretty well and he also knows the seller. If he has anything to add to the discussion, I'll bring it back here.

Edited July 1, 2007 by Dan Carmell

[OldGriz]

Aren't the barrels on that pen the same as a 61 barrel... if so it could be a 61 flighter barrel and cap with a VP section...

[PAKMAN]

One of the pictures shows the "VP" engraved on the Cap.

[Dan Carmell]

Interesting point, so I tried it, Tom. The 61 Flighter barrel is about 1/8" shorter than the plastic barrel, but it will thread onto the VP's section. HOWEVER--it won't slip over the VP's filler; it stops about a 1/2 away from the threads and gentle force suggested it wasn't going much further.

 

Still, it does suggest what type of Franken Parker it might be. Any other substitution possibilities?

[goodguy]

I also tried a Parker 61 with the VP section and just like you the barrel is too short for the VP filler.

So we can scratch the 61/65 flighters.It also cant be a 21 or 51 flighter cause they dont have a jewel at the end of the barrel so that lives me with the posibility that it might be a real VP flighter but then I still have my doubts.

[Dan Carmell]

Bob must be working late in Bangkok, because I just got this response from him:

 

"Doesn't seem right to me. I have never heard of a flighter VP and it doesn't look right. Also no bids on it so I bet others are thinking the same. I have seen this guy put together a few Frankenpens here and there so maybe he found another barrel that fit a VP. Or maybe it is something rare. Probably worth a bit more investigations."

 

So Bob holds out some possibility, but is very skeptical, as is merited. Given that the guy has done Frankenpens before, I think it's highly doubtful this is a never before known Flighter VP.

 

However, if it stays at $9.99, that not a bad price for VP parts and then you could figure out where that barrel came from!

 

Dan

[goodguy]

Bob must be working late in Bangkok, because I just got this response from him:

 

"Doesn't seem right to me. I have never heard of a flighter VP and it doesn't look right. Also no bids on it so I bet others are thinking the same. I have seen this guy put together a few Frankenpens here and there so maybe he found another barrel that fit a VP. Or maybe it is something rare. Probably worth a bit more investigations."

 

So Bob holds out some possibility, but is very skeptical, as is merited. Given that the guy has done Frankenpens before, I think it's highly doubtful this is a never before known Flighter VP.

 

However, if it stays at $9.99, that not a bad price for VP parts and then you could figure out where that barrel came from!

 

Dan

Hi Dan

 

Thank you VERY VERY much.I dont think I will bother bidding on it.Add 20$ shipping+ he doesnt take Paypal so its an added agrivation so I will pass on this "treasure".

 

[gvl]

I noticed this one too.

 

Would agree with comments already posted. Also, there seems to be a difference in the 'shine' of the cap and the barrel which to me indicates that these parts are from two pens.

 

Price now nearly $50 + postage.

 

G

 

 

[icardoth]

Six years after the last message in this thread, another "Flighter VP" came out on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Parker-VP-Flighter-Gold-14K-Nib-Fountain-Pen-Parts-/200932472564?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ec88236f4

 

I recently bought a spare Parker VP gold filled cap (only the cap) from the same Thai seller, and it arrived as expected. So I have no reason to disbelieve from him.

 

What do you think?

Edited June 9, 2013 by icardoth

[Ernst Bitterman]

I think you'll need to track down a new point/feed unit, regardless. The solid black jewels give some pause, too.

[FlighterGuy]

One of the pictures shows a crooked VP stamped into the cap. My VP looks like it is engraved into the cap.

The jewel should be slightly recessed into the end of the barrel and black bothers me a lot also.

Aren't VP caps slightly frosted as well.

 

I'm going to side with the skeptics on this item. If a Stainless VP Flighter were to exist, I would have heard about it before now.

[donnweinberg]

I just purchased and received a VP Flighter from an eBay seller in Switzerland.  Here are the photos from the eBay site.

 

           

 

Last night, I cleaned the pen out with water, water mixed with FP Flush, and water again, and then set it out on a towel to dry.  The cap fits perfectly but does not have the “VP” etched on its front.  The converter is the special VP-type aerometric one found on all VPs.  The section is grey, just like the grey version of the VP.  I, too, was skeptical about the existence of a VP Flighter, and I read the above and another extensive set of comments on another site, all leading to no clear conclusion.  Of course, one possibility is that this is a prototype made by Parker and another is that it is an Ariel Kullock creation.  Other possibilities can be imagined.  The bottom line is that I’m glad I obtained this pen and that I’m adding it to my otherwise complete VP collection.

[donnweinberg]

Correction to my post just above.  I took a closer look at the cap, and it does have a faded "VP" on the lower front below the clip.  The cap jewel is the typical grey, but the barrel jewel is black.  It has the VP medium (# 66) nib. 

[Jorge]

Hi, Don

The only Parker barrels with a bottom jewel (apart from the original VPs of course) that I have found would fit nicely on a VP section are those of P61s made in Argentina . I also believe that the flighter version would have black jewels (mine has a black one in the cap but the barrel one is missing).

There is however a simple way for you to verify whether this is your case, just by comparing the length of your flighter barrel with that of any of your other VPs: The argentinian made P61 barrels are 5mm longer than the standard VP barrels. 

Edited June 1, 2024 by Jorge
better text

[TheRedBeard]

On 5/30/2024 at 2:36 PM, donnweinberg said:

I just purchased and received a VP Flighter from an eBay seller in Switzerland.  Here are the photos from the eBay site.

 

           

 

Last night, I cleaned the pen out with water, water mixed with FP Flush, and water again, and then set it out on a towel to dry.  The cap fits perfectly but does not have the “VP” etched on its front.  The converter is the special VP-type aerometric one found on all VPs.  The section is grey, just like the grey version of the VP.  I, too, was skeptical about the existence of a VP Flighter, and I read the above and another extensive set of comments on another site, all leading to no clear conclusion.  Of course, one possibility is that this is a prototype made by Parker and another is that it is an Ariel Kullock creation.  Other possibilities can be imagined.  The bottom line is that I’m glad I obtained this pen and that I’m adding it to my otherwise complete VP collection.

Congratulations!  

I have no VPs in my collection so far...