When I was 14, I used to spend most of Sunday afternoon waiting for an Aer Lingus Vickers Viscount to land at Elmdon, the city of Birmingham’s airport.Wheels down, dropping through grey clouds, it suddenly appeared. A puff of smoke, a squeak of tyres, the high pitch of the Dart engines suddenly dropping off, the plane running to the end of the runway, throwing off sprays of water - it would turn in a businesslike ‘time is money’ way and make its way to the disembarkation point on the other side of the airport and shut down its engines. Two hours of anticipation, four minutes of sheer joy.
I have always loved flying machines. I spent two years studying Graphic Design. Later four years studying Fine Art, graduating with a degree (Hons) in printmaking. Many years in between hanging around airfields, air shows, and aircraft museums. Drawing whatever was possible. I hope my drawings bring out something of the personality of these very individual flying machines. Paul Hanson was born in Birmingham, UK. He moved to Australia in 1980 and currently lives in Sydney.