ANGLE OF ATTACK
An aviation collection by
digital artist and pilot
Brady Skye
We interrupt this program to bring you a message from the artist:
This collection is more than artwork. It is about celebrating the brave men and women who reached to the skies for victory during the Second World War, a period forever marked in history as one of the most innovative times in aviation. As technology continues to automate 21st century airplanes, few modern pilots still aim to achieve the knowledge and talent of their ancestors. May these images continue to honor and preserve some of the most influential flying machines of all time and the pilots who flew them. May their stories, talent, devotion, and legacies live on forever.
This is an ongoing collection and each piece has a limited number of signed prints available for purchase.
You can purchase them on Saatchi
or contact me directly to avoid dealer fees.
Inspired by real photographs from WWII, the work starts in a 3D software program like Blender and journeys through two to three other programs to achieve a final result. Often times I use a mix of Blender, Photoshop, Lightroom, and Topaz.
These images are personal to me because they are a combination of my life experiences. My passion for flying tailwheel airplanes, history, and teaching others about the art of flying follows the footsteps of my grandfather, a flight instructor during the war. My hope is that through these images people will feel like they can travel back in time and live vicariously in the heartfelt stories that took place.
More behind the scenes content coming soon.
All images are printed in a professional lab using the giclee printing process on Deep Matte paper.
They are then signed by the artist, Brady Skye, and shipped to you with a Certificate of Authenticity included.
For best viewing, use a desktop computer.
ACES ARE WILD
During the opening chapters of World War II in the Pacific Theater, Navy and Marine Corps aviators were thrust into some of the most perilous and challenging air actions in American history. Working as a team, American Wildcat pilots held the line against the Zeros in the early air battles over Guadalcanal and in the 1942 carrier battles of the Coral Sea, Midway, and the Eastern Solomons. In pure performance, the Japanese Zero outclassed the F4F. But with its tough construction and well-trained pilots using appropriate tactics, the Wildcat prevailed. Later in the war, the FM-2, an Eastern-produced version of the Wildcat, flew from escort carriers.
Flying the Grumman F4F Wildcat fighter, eight different American fighter aces would go on to earn the Medal of Honor - our nation's highest decoration for military combat. No other fixed-wing, single-engined aircraft has more Medal of Honor actions associated with it than the Wildcat.
This image has 10 Limited-Edition Prints Remaining
Price: $200 + shipping
Print Size: 24" x 18"
Current Edition for Sale: 1/10
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Whistling Death
F4U Corsairs piloted by American Naval Aviators shot down over 2100 Japanese aircraft in World War II. Powered by a Pratt and Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp 18-cylinder engine producing over 2000 horsepower, the Corsair could not only fly faster than 400 miles per hour, she was the first US single engine fighter to do so. But the gull winged design of the Corsair was not just fast. It was incredibly deadly, armed with six .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns. It has been said that the sound the aircraft made when flying close support missions in the Pacific Theater combined with its firepower and capabilities inspired the Japanese to nickname the plane “Whistling Death.” So here they are - a group of American Naval Aviators blazing across the ocean toward the "Land of the Rising Sun." It is what I would describe as a terrifyingly beautiful sight.
This image has 10 Limited-Edition Prints Remaining
Current Edition for Sale: 1/10
Print Size: 24" x 12"
Price: $200 + shipping
Navy Blue
One of the best all-around fighters of World War II, the F4U Corsair tormented the Japanese from Guadalcanal until the end of the war. It was designed as a carrier aircraft but prone to unrecoverable spins and landing stalls with a “hose nose” blocking the pilot’s vision on straight-in carrier approaches. Those problems with landings forced the Corsair to land-based duty with the US Marine Corps.
Land-based duty was a match made in heaven, with squadrons like "The Black Sheep" claiming victory over the Pacific. Dominating the skies over Guadalcanal and the Solomons, the Corsair was a deadly fighter not only in air to air combat but also ground, armed with 2000-pound bombs, rockets, and eventually napalm. As a tribute to this machine, this image features an F4U-1A in the foreground, and F4U-4 in formation behind it. They fly by the USS Enterprise, the most decorated U.S. carrier of World War II.
The closer plane is none other than the famous Gregory “Pappy” Boyington's, the leader of the “Black Sheep." Boyington states, “The Corsair was a sweet-flying baby if I ever flew one. No longer would we have to fight the Nips’ fight, for we could make our own rules.”
This image has 9 Limited-Edition Prints Remaining
Current Edition for Sale: 2/10
Print Size: 20" x 24"
Price: $225 + shipping
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Moonlight Cocktail
The Hawker Hurricane is a famous British aircraft. It was initially armed with 12 x 0.303 machine guns and later changed to four x 20 mm cannon. This Canadian-built single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber is powered by a 1,300 horsepower Rolls-Royce Merlin and came armed with eight x 0.303 in machine guns. Slower than the Spitfire, the Hurricane fought at a disadvantage to the German Bf 109 in a climb and dive but proved to be a potent bomber destroyer. The concentrated fire of its eight machine guns sawed many Luftwaffe bombers in half. Serving in almost every theatre of war the Hurricane served the great Allied powers in a number of conflicts such as the Phoney War, Battle of France, Operation Dynamo, and Defense of Malta. During the Battle of Britain the Hawker Hurricane flew around 35,000 operational sorties and shot down 55% of all German aircraft claimed. This is more than any other aircraft, including the Supermarine Spitfire, and ground defenses put together. Here a Hawker Hurricane MKII is prepped in Debden, England to go intercept some German night raiders (1941).
This image has 10 Limited-Edition Prints Remaining
Current Edition for Sale: 1/10
Print Size: 24" x 16"
Price: $200 + shipping
No Quarter
Compared to the Zero, the Corsair was a tank, with heavier armor, self-sealing fuel tanks and the more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engine with 2000 hp, compared to the Zero’s Nakajima Sakae 940 hp engine. These specs, as well as having American pilots trained to deal with the Zero made it a largely one-sided affair in favor of the Corsair. The Zero pilots quickly realized that they were not going to be able to stand their ground against these new American airplanes.
Pictured here is ace Corsair pilot Ira Cassius Kepford over the Solomon Islands. In 76 days of combat flying with the VF-17 "Jolly Rogers," he was credited with shooting down an impressive 16 enemy aircraft.
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This image has 10 Limited-Edition Prints Remaining
Print Size: 20" x 24"
Price: $200 + shipping
Current Edition for Sale: 1/10
Lieutenant Junior Grade Ira C. Kepford, March 1944
Before the Storm
VF-6 aboard CV-6 USS Enterprise had a tombstone painted on the vertical stabilizers of their F4F-3 Wildcats. The 41 'meatballs' on the tombstone represented Japanese aircraft downed by the Squadron. Machinist Mate Donald E. Runyon flew aircraft 13 (BuNo 5193) during the Guadalcanal campaign in August of 1942. He did two hitches in the Navy, the first as an enlisted Naval Aviation Pilot. He became the Navy's top Wildcat ace, scoring eight victories in three combats as a warrant officer with VF-6 during August 1942, including four kills during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons. Here's Donald coming in for landing on the famous "banana boat," showing off its beautiful wooden flight deck.
This image has 10 Limited-Edition Prints Remaining
Current Edition for Sale: 1/10
Print Size: 24" x 18"
Price: $200 + shipping
Runyon aboard USS Enterprise (CV-6), 10 September 1942
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Snow Angels
From early 1941 the Hawker Hurricane started operating as an "intruder" aircraft, patrolling German airfields in France at night to catch bombers taking off or landing. Making their way east from Britain, they offered support in many different territories such as the Soviet Union, Italy, Norway, South Africa, Belgium, Poland, Finland, Czechoslovakia, and Greece.
Germany invaded Russia in June 1941. Three months later, 24 Hurricanes of 81 and 134 Squadrons were flown off the aircraft carrier HMS Argus to land in the northern USSR to provide reinforcements for the Soviet fighter defenses. Another 15 Hurricanes in crates, along with 2,600 RAF personnel, were delivered by sea. These Hurricanes were assembled amongst primitive conditions in just nine days and flown to Vaenga on September 12th. The winter snows began in late September and temperatures plummeted to −23 to −26 degrees C, making a charming scene at times.
This image has 10 Limited-Edition Prints Remaining
Current Edition for Sale: 1/10
Print Size: 24" x 16"
Price: $200 + shipping
ORDERING
All of these images are LIMITED EDITIONS (10 total) and printed in a professional lab using the giclee printing process on Deep Matte paper. Sizes are listed below each image.
They are then signed by the artist, Brady Skye, and shipped to you with a Certificate of Authenticity included.
To save you dealer fees, I recommend purchasing directly from me, the artist. Fill out the form below and I will calculate the shipping costs and invoice you for the total amount right away. Invoices can be paid via CC with an additional 4% processing fee attached. If you want to make a purchase via Zelle or mail in a check instead of paying with a credit card, I can waive the 4% processing fee.
Instant online purchases can be made through Saatchi
