In the early days of the 20th Century — in the years right after World War I, the airplane went through a time of “teenage rebellion” when barnstorming and flying circuses swept over the United States.  Barely two decades old, the airplane was still something of a rarity to see in the air.  For people in rural communities, the appearance of an airplane could be the biggest occurrence for months.  Because of this, pilots from WWI with an entrepreneurial spirit set out in surplus military aircraft and toured the country — selling airplane rides and operating from impromptu airfields mowed from farm pastures.

The most common aircraft used by barnstormers was the Curtiss JN-4 Jenny – a common biplane trainer used during the war and sold for as little as $200 (the aircraft was purchased $5000 new) after the end of the war. The Jenny was a sturdy and relatively simple aircraft and was well suited for the abuse it could suffer “on the road”.

When barnstormers started partnering up to create larger shows or “flying circuses”, the aerial antics became more and more daring.  Aerobatics, wing walking, performers jumping from a moving car into an airplane in flight, and even, as illustrated by this tattoo, performers moving from one aircraft to another in flight.  Because pilots and touring groups were always trying to out-shine and outperform each other, the stunts became more and more daring and risky.  Many pilots lost their lives in these unregulated, free-for-all days of flying because of this.

With the passage of the Air Commerce Act on May 20, 1926, the basis of federal regulation of aviation was established under the newly formed Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce.  Over the next several decades and name changes, federal regulation became the responsibility of the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) and Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).  That organization gave birth to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1958 that placed all elements of aviation and airspace regulation and safety under the one agency.

This black and gray tattoo on the back of a calf commemorating the early days of flight was created by tattoo artist apprentice Christel Perkins currently apprenticing at Mile High Tattoo in Denver, CO.

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It’s been a while since we’ve run the Winged Wednesday feature… and since the most elemental image of flight involves the feathered wings seen on birds, it is truly the starting point for all flight related tattoos.

When it comes to tattooed wings, it only makes sense to restart the feature with the most famous tattooed wings ever, the wings worn by famous piercer Elayne Angel. 

She is, perhaps, one of the first people in the modern history of tattooing to have wings tattooed on such a scale and with such realism on their back — and believed it unique enough to apply and attain a registration by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  It was the first and to date is the only tattoo to be trademarked in such a form.  On November 5, 2002 Elayne Angel’s wings were issued Registration No. 2,645,270.  On the advice of her attorney, she had the encircled “R” symbol tattooed at the bottom of the wings to afford her greater legal protection in the case of action brought about from infringement of her mark.

The tattoo was created in 1986 by veteran tattoo artist Bob Roberts, owner of Spotlight Tattoo in Hollywood, CA. The tattoo was completed by Roberts in 18 hours, done over four sessions within a month.  Her black and gray wings remain one of the most well-known tattoos in the past several decades.

Elayne Angel owned and operated Rings of Desire, her own studio in the French Quarter in New Orleans, LA.  Unfortunately, the studio (and business) was badly impacted by Hurricane Katrina and as a result Elayne Angel closed the studio and relocated to Mexico.  She remains one of the pioneers of modern, safe, and sterile piercing practices in the U.S.

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I thought it was a good time to change things up a bit after a string of military aircraft. Therefore, I’d like to present a tattoo of one of my favorite heavy airliners, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10.

First flown in August of 1970, the DC-10 met a specification for a long-haul airliner similar in capacity to the Boeing 747, but capable of operating from shorter runways.  In direct competition with the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar which arrived in the market a year later, the DC-10 eventually was able to distinguish itself by finding a second engine supplier (which helped cut costs) and creating a longer range aircraft earlier than the L-1011 series did.

Northwest Airlines was the final operator of the DC-10 in passenger service – with the last DC-10 being retired from service on January 8, 2007.  The remaining flyable DC-10 aircraft now fly on as modified cargo aircraft, many with FedEx alongside the MD-11 — the replacement for the DC-10.  In fact, most FedEx DC-10′s have been modified to carry the designation MD-10 which allows pilots with MD-11 type ratings to also fly the -10.  The upgrade included the upgrade of the cockpit to Advanced Common Flightdeck (ACF) standards which eliminated the flight engineer position as required on most DC-10′s.

This tattoo was passed on to us by the wearer who had a special attachment to the DC-10, Northwest Airlines, and a Captain for the airline:

My Father, a 39-year Northwest Airlines Captain passed away after a four and half year battle with cancer. He has been my greatest inspiration to follow my dreams and take to the sky to leave my own contrails. The DC-10 was his favorite aircraft and I could think of no better way to represent that than on my chest!

With Northwest Airlines being merged with Delta Air Lines in April 2008 and the retirement of the Northwest Airlines brand, it seems this tattoo will also live on as a tribute to the airline his father committed his flying talents to over nearly four decades.

The tattoo was created by artist Eddie at Skin Factory Tattoo in Las Vegas, NV.

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In memory and honor of the men and women who have served and paid the ultimate sacrifice while in the service of the armed forces in defense of our nation, we take this day — Memorial Day — to pause and remember their efforts and pay tribute to their unselfish devotion to protecting our way of life.

Formerly known as Decoration Day and originally created to honor the soldiers lost during the Civil War, Memorial Day was expanded after World War I to include honoring all American casualties of any war or military action.  Memorial Day is held on the last Monday of May each year… and though it signifies a day away from work for many, it truly is much more than that… it’s a time to pause and reflect on the service of our veterans, living and deceased, and honor their commitment, great and small.

Tattoos have been used for many years as a way for fellow veterans and family members to honor their fallen comrades and soldiers, sailors and airmen.  To many, it’s a way to carry on the memory of the fallen in line with that of the wearer… for as long as the wearer keeps their name and image on their body, they will live through them during the term of their own life.

This moving tattoo, honoring the service of a fallen veteran with the images of a 21 gun salute and a formation of Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopters was created by tattoo artist Dave Tedder of All or Nothing Tattoo in Smyrna, GA. 

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The Ilyushin-II “Sturmovik” is something of a legend in World War II aviation history.  Created in the Soviet Union as a ground attack aircraft by Sergey Ilyushin and his team at the Central Design Bureau, the “Flying Tank” as it was called, first flew in December of 1939, though wasn’t fully brought online until 1941.

The Il-2 eventually became the most produced military aircraft of all time with 36,183 aircraft built.  Part of the reason why the aircraft was built in such great numbers was because of the insistence by Josef Stalin to significantly increase production after the beginning of the Great Patriotic War when production came to a near stand still.  His strongly worded message certainly leaves little to the imagination:

“You have let down our country and our Red Army. You have the nerve not to manufacture IL-2s until now. Our Red Army now needs IL-2 aircraft like the air it breathes, like the bread it eats. Shenkman produces one IL-2 a day and Tretyakov builds one or two MiG-3s daily. It is a mockery of our country and the Red Army. I ask you not to try the government’s patience, and demand that you manufacture more ILs. This is my final warning.”

The Il-2 was an extremely formidable weapon in air-to-ground attack and it’s heavy armor (it’s weight comprised 15% of the total weight of the plane) made the aircraft hard to bring down. A famous story of the tenacity of the Sturmovik came to be during the Battle of Kursk on July 7th 1943, where 70 tanks from the German 9th Panzer Division were destroyed by Il-2s in just 20 minutes. As a result, the German army feared the Il-2 in its deployment on the Eastern Front.

Despite the fact it was built in such great numbers, most were scrapped after the war to make way (and materials) for the age of the jet fighters within the Iron Curtain. Only a handful remain, none in flying condition.

This tattoo was created by artist Kris Witakaye of The Inkwell in Southhampton, PA.  Its wearer, an an Airman First Class with the USAF working as an Air Traffic Control specialist chose the tattoo after finding the story behind the Il-2 fascinating – an aircraft feared by the most feared army was “too much to pass up” according to him!

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First emerging during the early days of aerial warfare in World War I, the term “dogfight” has been a part of fighter pilot vernacular since the advent of the aircraft as a weapon of war.  In aerial warfare, the battleground is three-dimensional and the complex maneuvering leads to a fierce fight involving incredible skill and tactics.

As military aircraft increased in speed and their weapons systems became more sophisticated, the role of the “dogfight” in actual wartime conditions lessened.  That said, the skills involved in air-to-air combat or air combat maneuvering, as it is now known, are still a core part of combat pilot training as the need to act in an offensive or defensive manner over an aerial opponent will never truly go away.

The dogfight illustrated in the tattoo featured here involves the key fighter aircraft used during World War II by the U.S. Army Air Force and the Imperial Japanese — the North American P-51 Mustang and the Mitsubishi A6M2 “Zero” respectively.  Both aircraft were highly competent in combat, but both had their drawbacks at the same time.  The P-51 was heavy and had a high-speed wing, thereby reducing it’s maneuverability.  The Zero was extremely maneuverable, but was lightly armed and armored and was vulnerable to enemy fire.

This tattoo, part of an arm sleeve comprised of American military imagery, was created by artist Damien Friesz of Onenine Fineart Studio in Savannah, GA.

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For many aviation enthusiasts, it’s one of the most iconic aircraft ever built.  With its short wings, tiny cockpit at the tail, and massive engine compartment, the Gee Bee Model R Super Sportster built by the Granville Brothers of Springfield, MA is, perhaps, the most famous air racer of all time.  Built in 1932, the Gee Bee Model R-1 and R-2 were the fastest aircraft of the time.

The R-1, piloted by Jimmy Doolittle, won the 1932 Thompson Trophy race – a 10 mile closed circuit race emphasizing low altitude, high speed flying – in Cleveland, OH with an average speed of 253 mph.  Doolittle also set the world landplane speed record of 296 mph in the Shell Speed Dash. 

Even with the success, the Gee Bee Model R’s had a reputation of being dangerous aircraft in the wrong hands.  During the 1933 Thompson Trophy race, pilot Russell Boardman perished when the R-1 crashed on takeoff in Indiana.  It was rebuilt with parts from the R-2 which previously crashed and flew again, only to crash again with pilot Roy Minor at the controls.  Minor was not seriously injured, and the aircraft was yet again rebuilt and sold to Cecil Allen. Allen, against the recommendation of the Granvilles, installed fuel tanks aft of the center of gravity and upon takeoff with full fuel, the aircraft crashed fatally for the last time and was not rebuilt.

This tattoo was submitted to us by a gentleman who has had a love for the R-1 and R-2 for many years.  In the 1990′s when a full-scale replica of the R-2 flew the airshow circuit piloted by builder Delmar Benjamin, our wearer helped support the crew at local shows.  He was even able to get a ride in the “belly of the beast” while the plane taxied on the ground as there wasn’t a second seat.  With such a history with the Gee Bee, it’s easy to see why he’d choose to have it added to his permanent art collection.

The tattoo was created by artist Ryan Groebler of Stay True Tattoo in Dublin, CA. 

Our editor here at TattoosInFlight.com has the R-1 as part of his air racing thigh tattoo… you can see that by clicking this link.

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This weekend I was supposed to be in Chino, CA for the annual Planes of Fame Air Museum Airshow – one of the most well-known warbird airshows in the world. One of the highlights of the airshow this year is the assembly of no less than five Grumman F8F Bearcats in one place… and three would fly in an aerobatic formation act… perhaps the first time since the U.S. Navy Blue Angels stopped using the type in 1949. Alas, I wasn’t able to go because of a tight budget, but instead I’d like to present this tattoo of a Bearcat just to mark the event.

The Grumman F8F Bearcat was to be the last piston-engine fighter built by the Grumman Aircraft Company of Bethpage, NY.  The aircraft was conceived as an interceptor — a light, small, and maneuverable aircraft built behind the powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine, producing over 2,000 hp. Though designed and flown late in World War II, the Bearcat only reached operational status after WWII ended.  It saw service alongside early fighters and the final variant of the Vought F4U-5NL Corsair, another piston fighter. 

After U.S. service, the Bearcat was used by the French Air Force in the First Indochina War and was also used by the Royal Thai Air Force.  This weekend at the airshow in Chino, a Bearcat painted in Royal Thai Air Force colors will make it’s first public appearance. 

The since being disposed from armed forces inventories, the Bearcat has been known in civil use as a formidable competitor in the sport of Unlimited Air Racing.  A stock F8F flown by Mira Slovak won the first Reno Air Races in 1964.  For several decades, the highly modified “Rare Bear” F8F owned by Lyle Shelton (now owned by Rod Lewis) has dominated the Reno Air Races on-and-off again.

This colorful tattoo featuring the Bearcat was created by artist Mo Malone tattooing at Iron Age Studio in St. Louis, MO.

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