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The one significant fact in understanding what the Voyager did for aviation really has to do with the human spirit. Man has again conquered the elements of nature, and in doing so, re-established himself as the pre-eminent being here on earth. Two people, a man and a woman, face the challenge of nature's world head-on and defy all obstacles in their path.
This painting depicts day three of ten. Typhoon Marge is squarely, and ominously, blocking the route Voyager along the Far Eastern rim of the Pacific. The decision to continue is made by the Voyager team based upon weather information supplied by the weather service and Rutan/Yeager. But the storm avoidance is risky, skirting the edge of the typhoon menace and adding distance to the original route, boosting fuel consumption and increasing flying time. The number two engine cannot be shut down as originally planned, allowing Voyager to "coast" on just one of its engines, because the airplane is still too heavy to cut back. This adds to concerns over fuel consumption and adding a question mark to the very completion of the flight. Through careful use of the onboard radar and input from the flight team back at Mojave, the Voyager succeeds in beating the storm by turning south and breaking-out into clear weather. The worst of the moments is over for Voyager and her crew. This sense of relief and exhilaration at beating nature is evident in this image. This is the legacy of Voyage and of her gallant crew, Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager.
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Aviation is this artist’s living. Painting is a joy and a choice; not his
career. Craig Kodera career is as an airline pilot, so each of his paintings
reflect an intimate knowledge of how it feels to fly and what it looks like out
the cockpit. "I paint what I see," he says,"and my office window is at 35,000
feet."
An appreciation of aviation came easy, since Kodera was raised in what he terms
an "aviation family," which included an uncle who flew with the famous
Doolittle Raiders during World War II. At an age when most teens were trying to
ace the driver’s test, Kodera had earned his private pilot’s license. A love of
painting also came early. Kodera started seriously studying it at fourteen.
He graduated from UCLA with a degree in mass communications and spent a year as
a commercial artist before joining the Air Force Reserve, where he was assigned
to the Air Rescue Service and then the Strategic Air Command. There his
knowledge of air war history grew while he logged literally thousands of hours
flying.
Eventually Kodera left the service and joined American Airlines. When he isn’t
flying, he’s usually painting. His artwork is part of the Smithsonian
Institution’s National Air and Space Museum permanent collection and hangs in
many museums. He is also the charter vice president of the American Society of
Aviation Artists, a member of the Air Force Art Program and serves with the Los
Angeles Society of Illustrators.
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