(Photo: Courtesy FighterSweep.com)
Air Force Times: Throughout the Air Force, painted planes make a quiet comeback
It took 31 days to transform this otherwise dull gray F-15 Eagle into a colorful abstract worthy of its noble avian namesake. The powerful warplane is adorned with wisp-like feathers that stretch across its 43-foot wingspan and onto its fuselage. Its nest, Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, Oregon, is home to the the 173rd Fighter Wing and the Air Force's only F-15C training schoolhouse. The ramp holds 32 Eagles in all.
But this bird — tail number AF79-041 — stands out among its siblings.
The colorful nose art — well, body art — is so loud that the airmen who created it required special permission. Painted to celebrate the Oregon Air National Guard's 75th anniversary, the plane is turning heads everywhere it flies. It's a throwback to a era when American combat aircraft weren't just deadly; they had swagger. Across the Air Force today, airmen are once again decorating all kinds of aircraft. Fighters and bombers, sure, but also refueling tankers, cargo transports and even a few drones. In the process, they're reviving a tradition that may not be as racy as it was during World War II but one that resonates just as strongly today.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: The U.S. Air Force is not the only Air Force painting their planes. For more photos of planes that have been painted, go to FlightSweep.com.
3 comments:
We are so screwed.
Tiger Meets restarted the one-off "special" paint tradition for fighter aircraft in 1978, when the Germans showed up for the exercise with a full Squadron of specially painted F-104 Starfighters.
Since then, the "commemorative" painting of aircraft for special occasions, has become pretty common.
Even the Russian's and Chinese do it.
Speaking of painted Russian fighter jets .... http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LKX74QxAPxo/TkwHlyc6UzI/AAAAAAAAAM4/lkqyw6qH_VA/s1600/Mig-35D_Fighter_Jet.jpg
Post a Comment