Coming to us today from Canada is this colorful backpiece featuring the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter from World War II.  This tattoo was submitted to us by Kevin Slemko who got the tattoo in honor of his grandfather commemorating the days they spent flying radio control planes together during the summer months.  Thankfully Kevin’s grandfather is still with us, so he’s able to see the colorful tribute as well.

The P-40 was used by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) a bit during WWII, though their use was limited.  In 1942 during the Battle of Midway, the Imperial Japanese Navy sent a diversionary force to attack the Aleutian Islands. The RCAF sent No. 111 Squadron, flying the Kittyhawk I, to a forward base on Adak Island, Alaska. During the drawn-out campaign, 12 Canadian Kittyhawks operated on a rotational basis from a new, more advanced base on Amchitka, 75 miles (121 km) southeast of Kiska. Two RCAF fighter squadrons, No. 111 and No. 14, took “turn-about” at the base.

This tattoo was created by Chris Iwaniuk of Showdown Tattoos & Skateboards in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  Unfortunately Chris and the studio lack a website… but if anyone comes across one, please let us know so we can post it here!

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Protecting the noggin of fighter pilots since the late 1940′s, the modern day hard pilot helmet is certainly a symbol in military aviation these days.  The combination helmet, sun visor, and attached oxygen mask is a lot like the armor of a knight — fearsome looking, but serving much more of a purpose than the visual impact.  Much like football, the evolution of the fighter pilot helmet went from soft leather helmets used during and before World War II to the hard, protective helmets used today as aircraft speed increased.  With the jet age came the even more cranium-perilous need for ejection seats to exit high speed aircraft in emergencies.  With the rapid acceleration of the “rocket-powered car seat” and violent ejection sequence, the need for a solid “brain bucket” was needed more than ever.

Most helmets used in recent years by U.S. Military pilots are made by Gentex Corporation and illustrated here in tattoo form is a helmet styled after the HGU-55/P style of helmet.

The tattoo was created by artist Nathan Kostechko at Manifest Studio in Los Angeles, CA.  Nathan is featured this month in International Tattoo Art magazine (May 2009).

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Most of us in aviation have played, at one time or another, with a radio control or RC plane.  Some of us excel at it and become pros with the model… twisting and turning it around the sky with ease and generally looking good while doing it.

Then there are those of us, like me, who miserably fail — after spending hours building up a model, working with a pro as a trainer, and finally taking the step to “solo” only to sadly walk home with a pile of parts at the end of the day.  Yep, that was me.

In any case, RC pilots are passionate about their hobby and can sometimes spend thousands of dollars on aircraft, radios, engines and other equipment… kind of like the money some of us spend on tattoos… but without the equipment!

This tattoo was created by artist Jay Ski of 603 Tattoo Company in Salem, NH.  Based on the notes on his site, this tattoo was done on his fiancee — most likely in honor of her father based on the “dad” on the nose.

Please click on the image above or the link below for two larger images.

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