The mighty Lockheed C-130 Hercules is one of the most recognizable transport aircraft in the world today.  First flown on August 23, 1954, the “Herky Bird” is one of only five aircraft types that have met and surpassed the 50-year mark of continuous service in current inventory.  The C-130 is still being produced in fact, as the C-130J.  The C-130 was originally designed as a troop transport, but it’s scope has broadened over the years to include service as an inflight refueler (KC-130), gunship (AC-130), and even use by the US Navy and Air National Guard to support operations in Antarctica on skis!

For many who crewed on or currently fly aboard the C-130, the airplane holds a special place in their heart. For the subject of this entry, his passion for the C-130 Hercules extended to the point where he had one permanently placed on his forearm as a tattoo tribute to the timeless transport.

Artist Matt Bremer of Sinnin Skinn Inkworks in Orfordville, WI did the great piece in black and gray for the client with great results!

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 A colorful taste of a Pacific Theater dogfight from World War Two today.  Early in the war, the Grumman F4F Wildcat was the frontline Naval fighter despite the fact it was somewhat obsolete by the start of the war.  Replaced later by the Grumman F6F Hellcat, the Wildcat still held it’s own during the early days of the war and still fought valiantly during the Battle of Midway. Though the Wildcat was outperformed by the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero, the F4F had the ability to absorb a tremendous amount of damage and yet keep fighting.  As a result, seven Wildcat pilots were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor during the war.

This beautiful tribute to the Wildcat was created by Marco Hyder of MarcoHyder.com working in Virginia Beach, VA

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The commitment required for large scale tattoo work is certainly commendable — the amount of time it takes along with the pain and cost over multiple sessions makes the completed piece not only a triumph of art, but also a triumph over various hurdles along the way.  A full sleeve project is one of these large scale projects and is one of the most visible you can get — making it important to get the right artwork from the right artist!

That’s the case in this fantastic sleeve featuring all different sorts of World War II fighter and bomber aircraft.  You can see famous planes like the P-51 Mustang, B-17 Flying Fortress, P-47 Thunderbolt, and SBD Dauntless here.

The awesome sleeve was created by artist Jason Leisge of Oddball Studios in Portland, OR.

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While I was channel surfing a few weeks ago, I came across a documentary on tattooing airing on MSNBC.  I won’t mention the show here because I thought it was rather silly — with a quack on there trying to “explain” the psychological reasoning behind those who are tattooed… complete hooey.

What DID catch my eye though, was a colorful chestpiece tattoo featuring an F4U Corsair when the camera panned through a tattoo convention.  After a bit of searching, I found an image of the piece on the site of artist Megan Hoogland of Cactus Tattoo in Mankato, MN — I subsequently fell in love with her work!

So here is the star tattoo of the television show… make sure to click on the link below to see a larger version!

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Some WWII navy action going on here!  This tattoo of early “bird cage” Vought F4U Corsairs was done by artist Jon Reiter from Solid State Tattoo in Milwaukee, WI. Part of a whole WWII sleeve, we’ll show the other side of the arm a bit later in the week.

If you have a tattoo with an aviation theme you’d like to share, email it to us at tattoosinflight@gmail.com.