Ernie Lietzan of Appleton, Wisconsin, has lived and breathed the United States Navy. He grew up as Navy brat, served in the Navy, and has three sons and a son-in-law who fly or flew for the Navy. When the family gathers, talk quickly evolves into good-natured, verbal competition about who flies the coolest, best airplane. You see, each son flew a different aircraft in the Navy. The oldest son piloted an E-2 Hawkeye but now works for an airline. His second son was a GIB in a P-3 Orion. The third son was also a back-seater but in an EA-18G Growler. His son-in-law flies a P-8 Poseidon. So, when Lietzan finished his beautiful RV-10 last December, he decided to use a paint scheme that honored Navy aviators with a playful tribute to the competition between brothers.
The top of the plane shows all four aircraft flying in a delta formation through clouds over an aircraft carrier below. The port side of the RV shows the Growler flying over the Poseidon on both the nose and the tail. The starboard side has the Hawkeye flying over the Orion. In between the tail and nose on both sides are ribbons showing the two respective aircraft dogfighting along the fuselage.
Other tributes to Navy aviation on the plane include the Navy aviator and flight officer wings, but my favorite feature is the “Don’t Tread on Me” coiled rattlesnake protecting the flaps in place of the typical “No Step” sign. All of this beautiful airbrushing work was done by John Stahr, now of Florida. This plane and others displaying his beautiful work can be seen on the east side of Knapp Street, just north of the Forums.
