AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2011 - 80

the airline does not want its applicants to have visible tattoos. That said, I ran across a former PSA pilot in Florida who said the airline was unhappy when pilots began sporting tattoos several years back, and even less happy when their flight attendants followed suit. Here are a few pilots with visible signs of pride in their aviation achievements. Tats above Afghanistan U.S. Air Force Maj. Ben Cook sports an F–15 fighter on his back, just below the neck, where his flight suit neatly covers it. This is an email he sent from Afghanistan, where he is currently serving. “I never thought I’d be a tattoo person,” he wrote. “There was nothing I could think of that was permanent enough in my life to display on my body forever. After working 4.5 hard years to get a pilot slot, then graduating high enough to get an F–15, making it through all my training, and finally becoming an Eagle driver, it was an easy decision. This is something that is part of who I am. Long after I’ve had my last sortie in the Eagle I will be flying GA, enjoying my family, and hopefully retired in the mountains somewhere— but I will always be an Eagle driver.” Lindbergh has his back Scott Lowe is an instrument-rated private pilot. He wanted to fly when he lived in New York, but didn’t act on the desire until he moved to New Jersey, where he had to drive past Lincoln Park Airport every day. That did it. He learned to fly 13 years ago. His Charles Lindbergh tattoo was inspired by a PBS show on Anne Morrow Lindbergh. He also has a 1920s Amelia tattoo for his daughter, and a Rose of the Air tattoo for his wife. He likes to fly to Allentown, Pennsylvania; Block Island State Airport, Rhode Island; Butter Valley Golf Port in Bally, Pennsylvania; and Cherry Ridge Airport in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, for breakfast and pie. He likes to remind people that flying came from more of a cowboy tradition in the 1920s, than the corporate approach of today. Rolls-Royce engine Phil Clark, 34, of San Diego got the idea to become a pilot while floating weightless one day. He was working in customer relations for Zero G in Las Vegas, the company that provides weightless rides in a

Zach Horchar celebrated his checkout with a tattoo on his shoulder of the Piper Arrow he trained in.

Only three responders said they had tattoos, so inventive research was necessary. That led to the discovery of an entire website for aviation tattoos called “Tattoos in Flight,” which is edited by Ryan Keough, the marketing manager for Cutter Aviation in Phoenix, Arizona. Keough was able to direct me to additional sources for the article. He never talks about his tattoos or shows them unless asked, knowing there is negative bias lurking about. Keough is an avid pilot. “To me, they are very personal expressions of my innermost passion for that which drives my eyes skyward—the passion for flight,” he said. This article comes with a warning from the Tattoo General of the United States: “Caution, pilots. Tattoos can adversely affect airline job interviews.” I called PSA Airlines just to be sure, and was told

AOPA PILOT •

80 • OCTOBER

2011

AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2011