Tattoos In Flight: Airplane, Flying, Aviation & Flight Themed Tattoos

Our featured aviation tattoo on Tattoos In Flight today honors a revolutionary aircraft that never truly had the opportunity to take shape — the Avro CF-105 Arrow high-altitude jet interceptor aircraft designed for the Royal Canadian Air Force by Avro Aircraft Limited in Ontario, Canada in the late 1950′s.  This tattoo by Canadian tattoo artist Derek Dufresne of Fleshworks Tattoo Studio in Victoria, British Columbia pays tribute to the aircraft that many aviation historians felt could have been the pride of the Canadian aerospace industry.

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The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is one of our most featured aircraft on Tattoos In Flight and it’s no mystery why aviation enthusiasts choose the P-40 as the subject of their tattoo. Because of this popularity, it takes a really outstanding tattooed version of the P-40 to catch our attention… and this upper back tattoo is indeed one of the most outstanding examples we have seen!  Created by tattoo artist Phil Garcia at Ink Philler Studios in Port Hueneme, CA, just North of Los Angeles in Ventura County, this P-40 Warhawk tattoo is a clear example of how far tattooing as an artform has come in modern days.  The vibrancy of the piece, the level of detail, and the amazing use of layered and blended colors and negative space to define the tattoo makes this piece stand out for sure.

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It’s no secret that the North American P-51 Mustang is one of the most popular aircraft found in aviation-related tattoos today.  We have featured more than a fair share of the famous fighter here at Tattoos In Flight and have actually created a sub-category just for the P-51 Mustang.  Despite the fact that P-51 tattoos seem to be as “common as chips”, we are still proud to feature spectacular tattoos that take the P-51 “above and beyond” the norm.  Such is the case of our feature today: a fantastic montage of P-51 Mustangs in a colorful leg sleeve (or sock?) created by British tattoo artist Oliver Jerrold of Hope and Glory Tattoo.

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Tattoos In Flight features a unique black and grey rib tattoo of the well-known Boeing 757 airliner with contrails artistically transforming into feathers.  It is a tribute to the freedom afforded by modern commercial aviation, allowing humankind to fly upon feathered wings of our own design.

Looking back to only a century ago, those who had the need and ability to travel long distances over oceans or vast expanses of land knew that their journeys could take weeks, if not months, to complete.  Though powered flight had advanced greatly in the eight years since Orville & Wilbur Wright first flew in 1903, the concept of reliable and safe passenger travel by air was still a dream and aspiration that would take several more decades to realize in the form we are familiar with today.  It wasn’t until the birth of the jet age in the late 1950′s that fast, reliable, safe and affordable airline travel became possible — thus making destinations on the other side of the world accessible within the span of a day.

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When I got the call a few months back from Alton K. Marsh, a Senior Editor for AOPA Pilot Magazine (the official publication for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association), I was surprised to say the least!  Mr. Marsh has been a favorite writer of mine at AOPA for years and to get a call from him was a thrill to say the least.  When I learned what the call was about, I was even more thrilled… he was researching an upcoming article for AOPA Pilot on Aviation Tattoos!  He had been doing a little bit of research and inquiry on the AOPA Member Forums when he learned of my little website here, Tattoos In Flight, so he gave me a call to see if we could lend him a hand in finding the aviators around the U.S. who were passionate enough about aviation and flying to get a permanent tribute in the form of a tattoo.  Needless to say, I was glad to help!

Well, I am proud to say that the finished article has been published in the October 2011 issue of AOPA Pilot Magazine under the title “Tattoos in the Air: Visual Evidence of a Passion for Flight” by Alton Marsh.  The article is complete with some amazing photography of some of our featured subjects on Tattoos In Flight including the famous portrait tattoo by Shotsie Gorman of Charles Lindbergh, the amazingly detailed cutaway tattoo of the General Electric turbine engine by Brett J. Barr, and the Piper PA-28R Arrow tattoo by Jim Judeikis.  As for the identity of the proud wearers, well, you’ll just have to read the article!

So, if you’re a member of AOPA, make sure to keep an eye out for it in your mailbox.  If you aren’t a member of AOPA yet, why not become a member and support the future of General Aviation… it’s well worth the $39.00 per year!  And if you just can’t wait, you can always read the article online at this link to “Tattoos in the Air” at AOPA Online and see some of the photos as well.

Once you’ve read it, come back here and let us know what you think!  Post a comment!

For many aviation and aerospace enthusiasts, July 2011 will always be remembered as a bittersweet month in the history of Space Exploration.  After a thirty year operational life, the iconic Space Shuttle program ended on July 21, 2011 as mission STS-135 concluded and the Space Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis successfully landed at Kennedy Space Center and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) officially retired the program.  Our featured tattoo on Tattoos In Flight today of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Discovery at launch with its two powerful Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) and External Tank attached, is posted in honor of the men and women who built, maintained, crewed and even gave their life for America’s Shuttle program.

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Our aviation tattoo for today on Tattoos In Flight features two of the most famous foes of the air war over Europe in World War II — the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber that was made famous for its use in the daylight strategic bombing campaigns and its aggressor the famous fighter of the German Luftwaffe, the Messerschmitt Bf-109.  Brazilian tattoo artist Marcelo Marzari created the colorful upper arm half sleeve tattoo.

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Hello Tattoos In Flight fans!  I know we haven’t updated to the new site look yet – unfortunately the new design was presenting some problems and we are still trying to resolve those issues.  In the meanwhile, we’d like to post this fantastic full sleeve tattoo of World War II vintage U.S. Naval Aviation aircraft by the ultra-talented tattoo artist Matt Geiogamah from Mesa, AZ in commemoration of the Centennial of Naval Aviation… a year-long celebration being seen at airshows across America!  Click on the image or this link to read the rest and to see a larger image.

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