USA 1776-1976  #2 N1976P DC-8-21 ONA Overseas National 1976-77* After the unveiling of a first special Bicentennial-themed DC-8 in 1975, US charter carrier ONA came up with a second scheme. The front section showed the same design while the back of the plane displayed a modern rendering of the Confederate flag, referring to the Southern states. Image  ©  Bob Garrard (ILN) Tags   Commemoration, Flag, Nationhood

USA 1776-1976  #1 Independence N1776R DC-8-32 ONA Overseas National 1975-76* In 1975 US charter carrier ONA decided to celebrate the nation's bicentennial with a striking standalone livery. The scheme was designed by one of the airline's stewardesses, Sharon Duker. Her signature could be seen aft of the wing. This livery featured 13 stars representing the 13 original colonies. The aircraft was unveiled at the airline's Wilmington base on May 16, 1975. Image  ©  Bob Garrard (DTW) Tags   Commemoration, Flag, Nationhood

Flying Colors of South America   ★ N1805 DC-8-62 Braniff International 1973-80 The very first "full" special livery ever was unveiled on October 29, 1973 at Braniff's Dallas Love Field base. On that day the aircraft made a fly-by at the newly opened Dallas-Ft Worth Regional airport and then landed there to meet additional airline staff. After having revolutionnized the airlines' liveries in the 1960s with "The End of the Plain Plane" campaign (and the so-called "Solid Colors"), Braniff went further in 1972 by contracting contemporary artist Alexander Calder to use an airplane as a flying artwork. The livery was designed and partly painted by Calder himself, depicting the bright colours of South America, which made up for an important part of the airline's international network. The special livery was announced as the airline was celebrating 25 years of service to South America, which had begun on June 4, 1948. It was what we can consider the first "full" special livery to fly in the World and proved to be an excellent asset to promote Braniff in the US and worldwide. The aircraft was flown to the 1975 Paris Air Show during which Calder painted additionnal artwork on each of the 4 engines. Note both the upper and lower sides of the wings and horizontal stabilizer also had special paint on them. Images  ©  Bruno Geiger & Jacques Guillem Collections (MIA) Tags   Original Artwork

Expo '70  Official Airline for Japan World Exposition   Events all DC-8 JAL  [+] 1967-70 all Convair 880 JAL  [+] 1967-70 JAL advertised the 1970 World's Fair which took place near Osaka. Image  ©  Tags   World's Fair