Greetings Tattoos In Flight fans!  We know it has been a long time since we last posted and we thank you for the patience… we had some technical difficulty with our server and finally got all resolved this past week… so we are ready to fly in some new ink for the new year!

And we decided to start back up with something amazing… a fantastic full-torso tattoo tribute to helicopter heritage that arrived a while back in our inbox.  The tattoo, comprised of some stunning old school color work at the top of the chest and continuing down into a perfect illustration of the realism that high-quality black and grey tattooing can lend itself to. And cap it all off with some great lettering including a phrase from the quote “Once having tasted flight, you will walk this earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return” by Leonardo da Vinci – the ultimate quote expressing the passion for flight that aviators feel.

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Our subject today is a Commercial Helicopter Pilot, Certified Flight Instructor in Rotorcraft as well as a successful business owner and brought his passion and family history in helicopters to life in this substantial tattoo.  The tattoo as well as his career in aviation was inspired by his grandfather who flew numerous missions in the Bell UH-1 Huey during the Vietnam War.  The formation of Hueys pictured became a symbol of the Vietnam War where the concept of the Aerial Calvary to transport troops in and out of the dense jungle really illustrated the tactical benefits of vertical flight to the world.  For many, the UH-1 was the first thing people think of when Vietnam comes to mind.

This amazing tattoo is the work of tattoo artist Chris Walkin who tattoos from Avalon Tattoo II in San Diego, CA.  Avalon is one of the most respected studios in San Diego and has been host to many of the new masters of the tattoo world through it’s history and Chris is no exception to that standard!

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It’s a common practice for those in the Armed Forces to permanently commemorate their service in the form of a tattoo.  Just as sailors collected tattoos ages ago on their visits to exotic ports of call to remember their travels, today’s soldiers, sailors, and airmen (and women) still do the same to remember a part of their life that helped shape their adulthood.

Such is the case in today’s post… a Lockheed C-130 Hercules tattoo decorating the shoulder of a wearer who holds the strength and power of one of the most heralded transport aircraft in history close to his heart.  He is not alone, at least two more people have done the same and certainly there are more who we just haven’t found yet!

The C-130 certainly deserves such recognition.  Aside from being one of the longest produced active military aircraft… still rolling off assembly lines after 55 years, the C-130 is also one of the most flexible transports ever.  It’s service has covered every continent in the world… even Antarctica!  Special LC-130H’s operated by the 109th Airlift Wing based at Stratton ANGB in Scotia, NY supported the National Science Foundation in Antarctica to supply the scientific bases there by landing on the ice with specially designed skis fitted to the landing gear.

This shoulder tattoo, created in black and gray shading, was created by artist Erik Payne of Inkvision Tattoo Studio in Boise, ID.

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Greetings everyone… we’re back from our little summertime hiatus here at Tattoos In Flight, ready for another great year of great aviation tattoos from around the world!  Drop us a line at tattoosinflight@gmail.com if you have any good stuff to share!

The Chance Vought F4U Corsair continues the trend of being one of the most popular tattooed airplanes in today’s post.  With it’s famous inverted gull wings to provide ground clearance for the massive Hamilton Standard propeller with a diameter of 13 feet, 4 inches attached to the powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine.

With the combination of advanced aerodynamics, one powerful engine and a large prop, the F4U Corsair became the first U.S. fighter aircraft to exceed 400 mph in flight, with the XF4U-1 reaching 405 mph on October 1st, 1940 on a flight from Stratford, CT to Hartford, CT.

The Corsair remained one of the fastest fighters used during WWII, though it’s full usefulness as a carrier-based fighter was never fully realized as the aircraft remained a tricky aircraft to operate on and off aircraft carriers. 

The Corsair was a long-serving design as well.  Along with use throughout World War II, the Corsair flew in the Korean War as a night fighter and even flew in the early days of the Vietnam War before U.S. entry during the First Indochina War in use by the French Navy’s Aéronavale.

This fantastic and colorful rib tattoo was created by artist Cecil Porter of Hollywood, CA.  Cecil works from a private studio at Under The Gun Tattoo on Melrose Ave. in Hollywood. This particular tattoo won Best Tattoo of the Day at the Body Art Expo in Pomona, CA in January 2009.

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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 Lockheed C-130 Hercules is the oldest serving transport aircraft design currently in Armed Forces inventory.  As a result, thousands of crew members have served aboard the “Herkey Bird” throughout its service history.  Many crew are intensely proud of the aircraft and as a result, the C-130 is, perhaps, the most tattooed transport aircraft out there… but that’s just a guess from our crack editorial staff!

Over 2300 C-130’s have been produced and they are still under production as the C-130J Super Hercules - nearly the same externally as the basic C-130 but with new engines, six-bladed propellers, digital avionics and other upgraded systems.  The fact that it’s still rolling off the assembly line after 55 years is an amazing testament to the durability of the design and usefulness of the aircraft in a changing military over more than five decades.

A little known fact about the C-130 is the fact that it currently holds the record for the largest and heaviest aircraft to land on an aircraft carrier - a record set through a series of trials in October and November 1963 with a USMC KC-130F aboard the USS Forrestal. 

This tribute tattoo of a C-130 as a paratrooper ship was created by artist Melissa Zimmer of Black Lantern Tattoo in Glendale, AZ.

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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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