"Ruff Stuff" Will Have Nose Art Applied On Opening Day
It is
a practice dating back to the earliest days of World War II... when
fighter pilots and bomber crews would emblazen their aircraft with
personalized nose art, to identify their faithful steeds and
provide a small touch of home in a hostile foreign
land.
That tradtion will be carried forth on Monday, opening day at
AirVenture 2007, as Warhawks, Inc.'s latest project, the P-38L
"Ruff Stuff," will have its namesake nose art applied.
On the first day of the Air Show in Oshkosh, the P-38 fighter
will receive its final step of the restoration process when it will
have its nose art applied by an expert painter. The nose art will
depict the aircraft "Ruff Stuff," the mount of Wisconsin resident,
Norbert Ruff, a P-38 lightning pilot in World War II with the 80th
Fighter Squadron, based in Australia and New Guinea. This unique
Oshkosh event was spearheaded by Erik Hokuf, lead restorer at
Warhawks, Inc.
The idea for this event was born a few months ago when Hokuf and
his fellow restoration shop workers were discussing the game plan
for applying the unique nose art. In addition to displaying the
shop's latest restoration at Oshkosh, Hokuf wanted to come up with
a unique way in which Warbird air show enthusiasts could get
involved in the restoration and experience something out of the
ordinary.
"I wanted to give the crowd something new and unique to take
home from the air show, something memorable to talk about when
recounting Airventure 2007," Hokuf said.
The artist who will be painting the P-38's nose art is Stefan
Hokuf, one of Erik Hokuf's older brothers. Hokuf has completed
numerous antique car painting projects, but this will be his first
foray into painting nose art on vintage fighters. One can rest
assured, however, that given the quality of work that has come out
of Warhawks, Inc. in recent years, the artist was chosen with
care.
"I feel privileged to have been asked to put the final touch on
this project, both to put my skills to use, and to honor all the
men and women who served, specifically, the pilot of this
aircraft," Stefan Hokuf said.
"Ruff Stuff" will be parked in the Warbirds area of Oskosh, for
those interested in observing the nose art application. The event
will kick off on Monday, July 23, at approximately 10:00 am in the
Warbird Parking Area.