Before there were airplanes, there were gliders, and before there were gliders, there were balloons.  In fact, balloons and dirigibles were the only way a human could take flight for 120 years — the time between the first flight of the Montgolfier brothers’ first human-carrying balloon in 1783 and the Wright Brothers’ flight in a heavier-than-air vehicle in 1903.

This tattoo shows an early gas-filled balloon common throughout the 19th century.  It was done by Annie Lloyd at Three Kings Tattoo in Brooklyn, NY.

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Starting off the week is one of the rare commercial airliner tattoos we find every so often as we scour the web for new material.  This particular tattoo of a Boeing 747 airliner caught our eye and it’s owner Denise was more than happy to explain the story behind the tattoo for us.

As for the story behind it – I’ve always been obsessed with planes. My Grandfather worked at SeaTac airport and my Grandmother for Boeing. I lived in the Seattle area as a child so I think perhaps I was predisposed to thinking that Boeing makes the best planes. However, I started having a recurring nightmare of seeing a passenger jet crash. It didn’t deter my love of planes or prevent me from flying but I found the nightmare very troubling. I thought that maybe getting the 747 tattoo (my favorite plane) would serve as a talisman of sorts. I live under a flight path so I see A LOT of planes taking off and it caused some anxiety. However, since I got the tattoo my anxiety about witnessing a crash has completely vanished.

The tattoo was created by Alex McWatt of True Blue Tattoo in Queens, NY.  Make sure to check Denise’s blog out as well at: http://logicallogic.blogspot.com.

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The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, affectionately known as the “Jug” by pilots and crews for its portly shape and as an abbreviation for “juggernaut” speaking to its ruggedness in battle, was the largest single engine fighter of WWII.  The P-47 was one of the first high-altitude escort fighters that could accompany bomber formations into enemy territory in the European theater from bases in England to help protect the bombers from enemy fighters.  The P-47 had a reputation as a powerful fighter, though it’s maneuverability wasn’t as great as later fighters such as the P-51 — but it excelled as a ground attack fighter and helped support allied troops in the invasions of France in 1944.

Ian Mckown of Bound by Design in Denver, CO tattooed the powerful P-47 as a memorial of a loved one on the wearer and colorfully illustrated it’s reputation as a tough fighter in the scene depicted.

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Switching it up a little today — enough with the propeller and piston planes — time for some kerosene!  And to honor that fuel we call Jet-A, here we feature one of the most efficient machines to turn kerosene into noise, the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.  Used extensively in the Vietnam War and through the 1980′s, the F-4 Phantom remains one of the icons of air power bridging the gap between the first generation jets and the modern jets of today.

This tattoo was done by Jason at Aloha Tattoo Studio in West Chester, OH.

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Over the past few weeks, we have seen an upswing in the number of tattoos featuring the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk.  It’s obvious that the plane made famous by the Flying Tigers is a popular tattoo subject.

This tattoo is certainly no exception!  One of the first things we noticed as how well proportioned the tattoo is, especially considering the aggressive angle of the image.  Additionally, we also noticed how straight the wings were — not easy since the surface of the calf is so curved.

This tattoo was created by Sean Beck, an artist at Mom’s Tattoos in Wilmington, NC.

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