I have finally completed my second profile of the KC-135T "City of Spokane" aircraft serial: 60-0337 as it looked back in 1998. This is the aircraft that I first painted nose art on (1 of 5 aircraft) at Fairchild Air Force base while I was serving as a crew chief on these jets there long ago.
This second edition shows the aircraft flying with gear up and the wing flexed upward and the boom lowered and extended for aerial refueling.
After a long time working on this, I've finally completed my first KC-135 Profile art. Specifically, this is a KC-135T Stratotanker that I hand-painted the nose art on back in 1998, "City of Spokane." Prints are available here: https://pixels.com/featured/kc-135t-60-0337-edition-1-dale-jackson.html
It is aircraft 60-0337 and in 1998 it belonged to the 92d Aerial Refueling Wing based at Fairchild Air Force Base. I actually painted art on five lead aircraft of each squadron based at FAFB back in 1998, and this one "City of Spokane" was perhaps my favorite and the art continued on after my service time. I learned years later that my art was faithfully recreated as a decal and put on aircraft 58-0092 and then on 58-0094, years later after I originally painted it on 60-0337.
I was a crew chief on the KC-135 aircraft back in the 1990s, based at Altus and then Fairchild. It was an honor and privilege to paint art on five jets there at Fairchild AFB, and it's been a labor of love to create this profile art.
After tedious studying and referencing, taking many walkaround photos of a nearby KC-135 now at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, I finally have completed my work on this first KC-135 profile "City of Spokane." I have plans to do other KC-135 profiles as well including A and E models as well as several more R models at different bases.
Here are a few views of the details of this very large 50" digital profile. Every area of the art was meticulously researched for the era. USAF aircraft, like it's personnel are constantly on the move, changing, and advancing. At this time in 1998, the KC-135 fleet was undergoing a large avionics upgrade. Twenty seven years later, today's Stratotankers may look the same externally, but internally they have undergone much advancement. Externally, much remains the same with exception of a few new antenna and other modifications that reflect the the modifications made internally.
The C-135 fleet of aircraft with all it's diverse mission variations remains one of the most venerable aircraft of the United States Air Force!
NKAWTG! Nobody!
Here's a newspaper clipping of me standing by my art and the jet I painted it on back in 1998.
