Besides the fact that this tattoo includes the famous Curtiss JN-4 Jenny — one of the first practical training aircraft built for U.S. Army service, this tattoo also depicts one of the most famous stamps in the world, The Inverted Jenny.

First let’s talk about the aircraft. The Curtiss JN line of biplane trainer aircraft started production in 1915, but the early models were plagued with shoddy construction and inadequate power for flight.  The JN-4, improved with the Curtiss OX-5 V8 engine, was an improvement and found itself ideal for training pilots.  The 90hp engine gave the JN-4 a top speed of 75 mph and a ceiling of 6,500 feet. About 6,813 JNs were built and hundreds were sold off after military service and became the early backbone of aviation in the 20′s.  Many of the planes could be seen in the hands of barnstormers, stunt pilots, and sport pilots in traveling flying circuses.

The stamp, known as the Inverted Jenny or Jenny Invert to those familiar with American philately, is one of the rarest known to exist.  Issued on 10 May 1918, the stamp was an error due to a rush to get stamps made for the inauguration of Airmail service between New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. Since the stamp was two colors, the sheets of stamps needed to be printed on twice… an error prone process.  It is believed that three sheets with the inversion error were caught during printing and destroyed, but one sheet of 100 somehow slipped through and in the ensuing decades, have become something of a “White Stag” to stamp collectors.  A single stamp sold at auction in November 2007 fetched $977,500 and a block of four sold at auction in 2005 for $2.7 Million.

This unique tattoo of the rare stamp was created by artist Margaret Bushell of The Painted Lady tattoo studio in Harrisonburg, VA and was done on her husband.

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The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, better known as the Stealth Fighter, was one of the more recent designs to emerge from the famed Lockheed “Skunk Works” or Advanced Development Programs division.  Though the F-117 took flight for the first time in 1981, the aircraft itself was not revealed to the world until 1988 — its existence itself was truly stealth as well!

The aircraft was one of the first operational designs with the aim of near invisibility to radar due to its radical angular construction, known as “facets” that were meant to scatter 99% of the radars signal energy.  Of course the resulting aerodynamic challenge was that this construction made the aircraft inherently unstable and it was only made able to fly by the advanced computer technology employed to control its flight — correcting control inputs thousands of times per second.

The F-117 enjoyed a fairly substantial operational career — being used in the invasion of Panama, the first Gulf War, Kosovo, and the War on Iraq. Despite its success in combat, the F-117 was eclipsed by the B-2 Spirit and F-22 Raptor, both using stealth technology, and was retired in 2008.  The last operational F-117 flew to storage in Tonopah, NV on August 11, 2008.

Despite its characteristic black paint, this colorful tattoo depicting the F-117 was created by artist Smallz at E.C. Tattoo #2 located in San Diego, CA.

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It was a nice surprise to see this tattoo submission in our mailbox last night… I wanted to post a colorful, traditional piece today and this fit the bill nicely!  The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is one of the most popular aircraft featured in tattoos today, mostly because of the characteristic “sharks teeth” that were made famous by the American Volunteer Group or “Flying Tigers” of early World War II. In this tattoo, featuring one of the P-40B aircraft they used, the reputation they were known for is clear — they were fantastic ace pilots that helped to hold their ground and protect China from the Imperial Japanese.

This tattoo, sent to us by artist Chris Stans of Kapala Tattoo in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada was created for a client in mid 2008. She wanted the classic P-40 and the quote “Hold Your Ground” was important to her.

We’re looking for more from Chris in the coming year.  In a quote from him that was passed along with the tattoo: “I am a total nut for World War II aircraft.”  Chris is planning a series of traditional flash in the coming year featuring WWII aircraft… as he says: “I’m kind of tired of all the sailing ships and anchors that everyone wants… why can’t WWII aircraft get the same treatment?”

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It’s only logical that the most produced bomber aircraft of World War II — the Consolidated B-24 Liberator — would have a prominent place in tattoo imagery for many years.  If you do a quick search here, you’ll certainly find that the B-24 is a popular subject and we’ve said a lot over the past year on the Liberator.

But in this case, let’s talk about the style of the tattoo we find here – new school.  Unlike old school tattoos which use very simple outline and color structure, the new school style broadens the color palette and takes the themes commonly used in old school and applies a certain three dimensional quality to them.  What doesn’t change between new and old is the bold nature of the tattoos — thick lines, dark shading and exaggerated poses.

This new school-style B-24 Liberator, boldly flying through a thunderstorm, was created by artist Brian Donovan of Mercury Tattoo in Glenside, PA.

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The Junkers Ju-87 Stuka was one of the most feared aircraft early in World War II.  A critical staple of the German “Blitzkrieg” campaigns from 1939 to 1942, the Stuka was a sturdy, dependable, and accurate dive bomber and was most effective as a ground attack weapon.  It was used by the German Luftwaffe early in the famous Battle of Britain in the Summer of 1940.  Though it enjoyed success early on, it’s weaknesses were exploited by the Royal Air Force as they found the dive bomber to be slow and lacking adequate defenses.  As a result of the superior air power of the RAF over England with faster fighter aircraft like the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane, the Luftwaffe pulled the aircraft out of usage and the Germans lacked an appropriate precision ground attack aircraft.

The Ju-87 remained in service with the Luftwaffe for quite some time after the entry of the United States in WWII and could be found in the North African, Mediterranean, and the Eastern front in battle with the allied Russian forces.  By the early Summer of 1945, Stukas could rarely be found in the air due to critical fuel shortages – and they remained on the ground until the end of the war in Europe.

This fantastic tattoo rendition of the Ju-87 Stuka in black and gray was created by artist Jason Jones of Kaleidoscope Ink in Springfield, MO.  Jason is quickly becoming a resident expert in tattooing aircraft of all types as this is his third featured tattoo here on Tattoos In Flight and there are more in queue… so if you’re flying through Missouri and are ready to collect a permanent plane portrait on yourself, make sure to see him!

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The Vought F4U Corsair remains one of the most unique and memorable fighter designs ever built.  With the characteristic inverted gull wing to accommodate the massive 13 ft Hamilton Standard hydromatic three-blade propeller swung by the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine, the Corsair became an icon of mid-to-late WWII Marine and Naval Airpower.  It’s status remained long after World War II as the Corsair was used during the Korean War and even lasted longer through use by foreign air forces and navies such as those in Honduras, France, and Argentina.

To sustain the image even more, the Corsair became a star of American movie and television with John Wayne’s Flying Leathernecks of 1951 and the television movie and series Baa Baa Black Sheep from 1976 to 1978.

Because of its iconic status, the Corsair remains a common theme in aviation tattoos and the memorial tattoo pictured here is no exception.  This fantastic black and gray version tattooed by Phil Young of Hope Gallery Tattoo in New Haven, CT perfectly depicts the bent-wing bird.  Ironically the Corsair is the “official state aircraft” of Connecticut due to it’s connection with Sikorsky Aircraft of Stratford, CT.

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Sure, the Wright Brothers get the fame and glory for being the first to create and pilot a powered, heavier-than-air flying machine, but it was a pair of brothers 120 years earlier who found a way to allow a human to see the world from the air.

Joseph-Michel Montgolfier and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier were born into a French family known as paper manufacturers in the 1740′s.  Joseph with an inventors heart and Jacques with a business brain, the two started experimenting with hot-air lift after Joseph witnessed clothes billowing under a fire that was being used to dry them.  On June 4th 1783, they performed their first public experiment with a balloon reaching around 6000 feet over 2 km.  Their first “manned” balloon carrying a sheep, duck, and rooster took flight on September 19, 1783. 

Finally on November 21, 1783 the brothers succeeded in launching the first manned ascent using a balloon they designed — carrying a young physician, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, and a ZFrench army officer, François Laurent d’Arlandes. The flight flew over nine miles and reached an altitude of 3000 feet before landing.

The early flights of the Montgolfier balloons created a sensation in France — engravings, paintings, furniture, and dishes carried the image of the famous (and decorative) balloon.  Certainly if tattoos were more in the public vogue of the time, people would have been walking around with permanent tributes of the balloon on their skin.

This particular tribute – coming 226 years later, was created by tattoo artist Katie Davis of Salvation Tattoo Gallery in Richmond, VA.

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Being a long-time tattoo enthusiast who has probably seen millions of different tattoos, it takes quite a tattoo to draw my attention and get a verbal “whoa!” when I uncover it.  When I found this tattoo last night in the portfolio of Hayley Lakeman from Charlotte, NC , I did just that… I was amazed.

One of the things that immediately drew me to this tattoo was the lack of other tattoos evident on the wearer — the contrast of the black and gray masterpiece on an empty canvas was incredible.

I know tattoo artists are frequently frustrated by clients who want highly detailed images tattooed in a small space… the result is usually not nearly as clear and detailed as they’d like.  Such is not the case here… the detailed image of one of the most recognizable bomber aircraft from World War II — The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress — is as detailed as an illustration on paper thanks to the enormous size!

It must have been such a challenge to tattoo with all the straight lines and compound curves found in the B-17; and needing to create it on a canvas with curves of it’s own!  Despite these challenges, this tattoo turned out amazing and the placement is both interesting and perfect for the image.

Bravo Hayley, you have truly made an amazing tribute to the B-17 here with this outstanding tattoo!

If you like what you see and want a tribute of your own… see Hayley Lakeman currently at Fu’s Custom Tattoos in Charlotte, NC.  Her website notes that she’s in a state of transition and may be opening a studio of her own, so stay tuned!  Just make sure to come up with your own idea, as I am sure the wearer would appreciate being the only person with this design!

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