1943 P-40 N-1 Kittyhawk and a Willys Jeep
I recently flew out to Eugene, Oregon, to light paint an amazing aircraft, the 1943 P-40 N-1 Kittyhawk, along with a Willys Jeep! This unique aircraft is one of three beautifully restored Warbirds at Soaring By The Sea Foundation in Eugene, Oregon.
P-40 N-1 Kittyhawk resting in the hangar at Soaring By The Sea Foundation. We would light-paint her that evening.
This unique project came about courtesy of our friends Ray and Melisa Fowler, whom I met at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh last summer. Ray and Melisa have been kind enough to connect us with several fantastic light painting projects, both at and since AirVenture.
On this project, Ray contacted me just a few days before to see if I could make the trip out to Oregon that week. It was a bit tricky, timing-wise (I got the last seat on the outbound flight). Unfortunately, Joannie couldn’t clear her schedule to go along, but I’m so glad I could make it work on mine! Coy Pfaff, the Executive Director at Soaring By The Sea Foundation, filled in admirably for Joannie. Thank you, Coy!
Here I am with Ray Fowler and Coy Pfaff. Ray pretty much knows everyone in aviation, and Coy is the Executive Director at Soaring By The Sea Foundation. The P-40 is our cool backdrop!
The growing list of light painting projects that Ray and Melisa have connected us with includes (please click on the links to check out these amazing projects and their fun stories):
- P-51D Mustang “Old Crow”
- CubCrafters XCub N920RS
- Douglas DC-3 N728G
- Piper L-4 N33579 and a Willys “MB” Jeep
- AirCam N74TV
- UH-1H “Huey” N426HF
- AH-1F “Cobra” N826HF
And, now the P-40 N-1 Kittyhawk! Thank you, Ray and Melisa!
The P-40 N-1 in World War II
Built by Curtiss-Wright in Buffalo, New York, P-40 N-1 was assigned to the Royal Australian Air Force’s 75 Squadron in New Guinea. Kittyhawk A29-448 entered combat against Japanese forces in August 1943. Operating from forward airstrips like Turnbull, Nadzab, and Tadji, it flew low-altitude ground attack and air defense missions in the Pacific Theater.
Here’s the light painting of the P-40 N-1 Kittyhawk with Willys Jeep cropped out.
Some of the P-40’s combat highlights include support of Allied land forces in Papua New Guinea as well as sorties from Turnbull, Nadzab, and Tadji airfields. It had multiple pilots, including Frank Coker, Geo Williams, John Bailey, and Dick Sasse.
The Modern Mission of the P-40 N-1
The P-40 N-1 Kittyhawk now returns to the sky as a flying tribute to ANZAC valor and the Pacific Theater airmen who flew and served with her. Now fully restored in authentic 75 Squadron camouflage, this amazing aircraft helps honor Allied cooperation while thrilling new audiences with its agile presence at airshows and events.
Soaring By The Sea Foundation
The Soaring by the Sea Foundation has three amazing Warbirds in its hangar. In addition to the P-40 N-1, they’ve got a wonderful 1943 PBY-5A Catalina, as well as a really cool 1952 AD-4N Skyraider! I would love to light paint both of these aircraft someday (the Catalina, in particular, would be quite the challenge, because it’s VERY large)!
As a side note, I actually did light-paint the Skyraider right there in the hangar. I did so, in the daytime, of all things, using strobe lights! I didn’t have anything going on for a couple of hours before my flight back home to Minnesota the following morning, so why not give it a try?! We’ll see soon if that even worked! Stay tuned.
The 1943 PBY-5A Catalina. This is a very large aircraft! They actually were running training flights on it while I was there. Very cool!
Soaring by the Sea Foundation keeps these three legendary Warbirds flying, not only to respect and preserve the past, but also to ignite the dreams of tomorrow for future generations. They do this through hands-on experiences and public programs so that both young and old can learn about and enjoy these historic aircraft and their amazing histories.
A 1952 AD-4N Skyraider is getting routine maintenance. This is another really cool aircraft! I actually light-painted it “because it was there”, using strobes, the morning that I flew back home. Not my usual light painting method, but we’ll see soon if it worked out. Please stay tuned!
Their hangar also has a lot of great memorabilia and displays with all sorts of historic aviation items. One of the larger items, which is not an aircraft, is a fully restored WWII Willys Jeep! We included the Willys Jeep in the light painting along with ammo boxes and real ammo, as well as a 50 caliber M2 Browning machine gun! So cool!
Here’s a close-up of the Willys Jeep. The .50 caliber Browning machine gun and ammo look pretty cool, too!
Light Painting the P-40 N-1 Kittyhawk
A couple of hours before we started to set up for the light painting of the Kittyhawk, Coy and I talked about what angle of the aircraft he envisioned. It didn’t take long for the two of us to decide that one angle of view would not be enough. Thankfully, I had two Canon R5 cameras with me. So two unique versions it would be!
As we set both cameras up, Coy just wasn’t thrilled with the initial setup for this light painting. While he did like the direction that the camera was at, he wanted it higher – much higher.
Here’s the initial setup to light paint the P-40 N-1 Kittyhawk. Coy liked the angle, but wanted something different, so we employed a scissors lift to get a higher vantage point. That was a good call!
Well, tripods only go so high. So, time to improvise with the help of a scissors lift! I’d estimate that using the lift got the camera about 18 feet, or so, off the ground. I thought the test shot looked pretty darn cool, and so did Coy! “Version One” was all set. Once it got dark enough, Coy and I went at it!
The scissors lift came in pretty handy that night!
The two of us took 162 images with that camera, and, in post-production, I used 53 of those, in 93 unique layers, to create the one-of-a-kind Master File of P-40 N-1 Kittyhawk and the Willys Jeep.
Here’s the final artwork! Everything really came together on this one!
Below is the link to the Kittyhawk’s short “Build Video” on our YouTube channel. Please take a moment to check it out:
Coming Soon – “Version Two” of the P-40 N-1 Kittyhawk!
“Version Two” will be coming in the days ahead. The story that I’ll write about that version will go into the restoration of the P-40 N-1. You won’t believe what this aircraft looked like when it was recovered in 1973 from a remote airfield in Tadji, New Guinea!
By the way, if you love what you’re seeing here, we have a dedicated Light Painting Website at www.MichaelAndersonLightPainting.com. Please check it out as it’s filled with other amazing aircraft, construction equipment, motorcycles, amazing cars and trucks, an entire gallery of Corvette light paintings, and a whole lot more!
In the meantime, thank you for taking the time out of your day to read our story about the light painting of the P-40 N-1 Kittyhawk! – M&J
Are You Headed To EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh?
If you love this aviation light painting project, wait until you see these amazing projects printed on metal! Printing our light paintings on aluminum brings out the very best in our one-of-a-kind artworks. Come see for yourself at EAA Adventure in Oshkosh. We’re located in Hangar C, Row F, Booth 3064. We look forward to seeing you there! Thank you!