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Engine Enthusiasm: Pratt & Whitney Logo Tattoo

Posted on September 13, 2009

Tattoos have been used to show intense loyalty to certain passionate brands and manufacturers for years. Companies like Harley-Davidson, Cadillac and Playboy have reaped the benefits of enthusiastic fans who forever pay homage on their skin. Today we’d like to feature a tattoo paying tribute to the logo of aircraft engine manufacturer, Pratt & Whitney.

What we in aviation know as Pratt & Whitney (click here for corporate site) was founded in 1925 by Frederick B. Rentschler in Hartford, CT. Few people realize that the name Pratt & Whitney actually comes from Pratt & Whitney Machine Tool Company, the company that Rentschler was loaned $250,000, manufacturing space in their building, and the ability to carry their established name on his aircraft engine product… what would become the R-1340 Wasp radial engine. Pratt & Whitney Machine Tool Co. was already well known at the time for sewing machine and gun-making machinery that spanned back to it’s own founding in 1860.

Rentschler ended the official tie-in with the machine company in 1929 and formed United Aircraft and Transport Corporation (UATC). As part of the agreement, he was able to keep the product brand of Pratt & Whitney for the engines his company would produce. This resulted in the Pratt & Whitney name evolving into a brand that would become more famous than its namesake in modern times. Today, Pratt & Whitney is a brand that is joined by sister aviation companies Hamilton Sundstrand and Sikorsky Aircraft under the conglomerate United Technologies (corporate site) – the name that UATC evolved into.

Pratt & Whitney went on to manufacture some of the most famous radial piston engines such as R-985 Wasp Junior, R-1830 Twin Wasp, R-2800 Double Wasp, and R-4360 Wasp Major. With the coming jet age, Pratt & Whitney met the challenge by creating turbine engines like the JT8D turbojet found on Boeing 727s and DC-9s, the JT9D – the first high bypass turbofan engine and used on Boeing 747 and C-5 Galaxy aircraft. Today, Pratt & Whitney remains one of the three largest powerplant manufacturers producing the civil engines PW2000, PW4000, and PW6000. On the military engine side, Pratt & Whitney manufactures the F100 (used on the F-15 and F-16), the F119 (used on the F-22 Raptor), and the F135 (used on the F-35 Lightning II).

This tattoo on the inner bicep of the arm was created by artist Lelo at Gatto Matto Tattoo Studio in Campinas - Sao Paulo, Brazil. The wearer had been waiting to get the tattoo for 15 years, and finally made his dream come true at the age of 30.

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Join the Tattoos In Flight Army! - If you have or find any aviation-themed tattoos on the web, send the photo to us along with the name of the artist, studio, location, and a website! Send them along to tattoosinflight@gmail.com, or use the “submit” tool at the right.