Most airplane builders don't update their paint job every couple of years, if it all. Well, we are not most builders. Our homebuilt RV-10 represents to us a special symbol of hard work, perseverance, and pride. Because the build occupies such a substantial part of time, effort, and of course, budget, it because something of source of pride when complete down to the last wax and polish. In our family, additionally, the plane enjoys action in frequent adventures of long and short distances. It's safe to say that it really is a part of the family and likely will never get sold but instead passed on to the next generation of pilots in the family.
The Inspiration
For these reasons we take great pride to use the large surface area available to display some things of great personal and professional significance. After flying the plane time off for about a year unpainted we settled on well-know John Stahr to paint the plane it's initial paint scheme. 
The inspiration being at the time the Intellectual Property Law Firm, Ruttler Mills, PLLC that we started. The ripple design signifying the process of one idea leading to many other outcomes.
A few years later we started Aithre, Inc. The first product being the Aithre Shield Carbon Monoxide detector. Inspired by the Titan Goddess of clear blue air in Greek Mythology, also called Aithre, she is depicted on both sides of the nose cone with an invisible shield to protect us during flight.
Our recent addition to the paint scheme was inspired by our latest products at Aithre: the Altus and the Illyrian. Altus being the Greek/Roman root word for high, ie altimeter, was the inspiration for naming our wireless oxygen tank gauge. The Illyrian, an ancient Greek Warrior helmet used in battle is meant to figuratively illustrate the protection of the head when using our wearable headset oximeter during flight especially at high altitudes. These two products naturally go together and are so depicted by the warrior shown, wearing the Illyrian, high in the air, taking a breath in (on one side) and releasing the breath (on the other side).
The Artist
All this great inspiration and lofty symbolism might go above most people's heads and seem to be a bit precious. But to us there is great meaning and significance in creating products that are truly designed and inspired by flight and adventure at the limits of the flying machine's capabilities. There is great risk with flying above, say 8,000 ft, for extended amounts of time for the pilot and his/her passengers. Things can and often do go wrong, say running out of supplemental oxygen without knowing it! In our minds there is only one artist, with the creative vision to take our ideas and portray them with equal visual significance. If you have seen any of John's work with military heroes and landscapes you can see his ability to make a scene come to life with significance and emotion. His airbrush designs are very realistic and beautiful. For a bit more on John see his website: www.stahrdesign.com.
After 3 rounds of working with John on or paint job, it has been a real pleasure. Here are a few pictures of the process for you to enjoy!
