When you are training to be a pilot in the Air Force your first official flight in the airplane is called a "dollar ride." At the completion of your flight it is customary to hand the instructor pilot who chauffeured you around the air space a dollar for his time and service. Student pilots will hand over anything from a simple dollar with their name written across it, to any form of a dollar taped to anything alcoholic, to an elaborately framed piece of artwork. So when my husband, the student pilot, asked me for help.... I was all over it!
While he studied his instruments, limits, and flight pattern in preparation for his flight, I googled "dollar ride gift ideas." Soon, a plethora of quirky gift ideas were before me and I found one in particular that I found intriguing and decided to elaborate on.
Here is what I came up with...
That is 100 pennies in the shape of a T6 Texan (which is the type of plane they initially train in).
To begin, I took a standard 8x10 canvas and painted it a pretty sky blue color. I allowed it to dry with a little help from my hair dryer (learned that trick in a painting class I took recently). Then I took a fan shaped paint brush and added the wispy white clouds in various areas around the airspace. I found a picture of the T6 Texan online, counted out 100 pennies and made the shape of the airplane on the canvas. Then I painted different portions of the pennies to depict the various colors and pattern on the T6 and left the canopy and tip of the airplane the original shiny copper penny color. When that dried (no hair dryer this time... for obvious reasons) I glued the pennies onto the canvas in the shape of the plane.
We then added a little note thanking the Major for his services, packed it up, and will present it to the guy tomorrow! He will either think it is really awesome and hang it on his wall or chuckle at its craftiness, knowing it could only have come from an Air Force wife.
[I'll keep you posted]
*a great encouragement to anyone facing difficulty or discontented with current circumstance
Very cute Jess and a great way to document your time in Texas....YEEE HAAAAW! (loved that he only gave 99 cents!)
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