In 1942 my dad signed up for civilian pilot training. Tufts College provided room and board; trainees got hands-on flight time at the Norwood, MA airport. After completing pilot training Dad joined the army air corps. He learned more advanced flying and eventually served as a co-pilot on a B-17 bomber that flew out of Bury St. Edmunds in southeast England.

He said it was important to maintain a tight formation. Groups of four B17s would fly within a wingspan of each other for protection and to give the gunners clear access to enemy fighters.

As a tribute to him, ten years after his death, I decided to design a WWII themed T-shirt I know he would have appreciated.

Not many Boeing B17s left to study for the illustration. So, I bought a model of the plane at a local hobby store. Assembled the model and photographed it. Used Adobe Illustrator to create the artwork for a two color silkscreen. One layer was for the plane; the other layer for the “Tight Formation” text and the airplane outline

Once the T-shirts were made, I retained the vintage-airplane.com domain and designed an e-commerce website. I managed to sell a couple of T-shirts on line—both to relatives.

I closed the website after a year and then listed the T-shirts on E-bay. I ended up giving away most of the T-shirts.

Lessons learned:

• Market research on the potential demand for a product can’t hurt.
• Honoring Dad’s service was a worthwhile endeavor.