Art.....I too drew those very same pictures. I was facinated by military aircraft and War Birds. This is why I chose Aviation mechanics as my trade. I got my mechanics liscense in 1983 and did not get to use it until 1995. Where I worked at the Fayetteville airport, one day, guess what came in for a rough landing and damaged #1 engines prop and left wing leading edge??? The Memphis Belle!!! The one used in the movie. Not the real Belle but a B-17 G Flying Fortress nonetheless. I got to assist on the repairs and I even got to fly a couple times around the field on her after we made her airworthy again. I got my two oldest sons permission to come out on the ramp and tour her. We sighted down the 30 and 50 caliber machine guns and jumped down through the Bombay doors pretending we were bombs.

 

 If there were enough potential for income working on these old planes, I would do anything I could to make that my job. Glad to hear someone else in here had a similar facination. Do you ever go to airshows where they display these works of art????