To celebrate the 50th anniversary of its Alumigrip brand of aircraft coatings, AkzoNobel has sponsored two of the aircraft appearing at this year’s EAA AirVenture. The B-25H Berlin Express flew during WWII and later appeared in the movie Catch-22. It has been fully restored, down to its original paint scheme, and to accomplish this, AkzoNobel donated the exterior coatings from its Alumigrip series. Included in the tally was Metalflex SP1050 pretreatment, 4 gallons of Aerodur 2111 CF (chrome-free) primer, 14 gallons of cloud grey, 6 gallons of olive green, 14 gallons of desert tan, 2 gallons of insignia white, 1 gallon of black, 1 gallon of insignia blue, and 1 gallon of yellow. The medium, twin-engine bomber can be seen in the static display, and its restoration organizers hope it will fly again in 2019.

In commemoration of the 25th anniversary of EAA’s Young Eagles program, which aims to inspire children between the ages of 8 and 17 by giving them their first ride in an airplane, AkzoNobel provided the paint for the Lockwood AirCam, an open-cockpit, tandem seater. The scratch-built yellow and blue airplane will fulfill the Young Eagles role during the show, operating out of Pioneer Airport, and will also support EAA’s photo missions.

“This year we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of our iconic Alumigrip brand, and what better way to mark this milestone than to support the projects for the Berlin Express and the AirCam, said John Griffin, segment director for aerospace coatings and film at the Dutch chemical manufacturer. “To see the historic Berlin Express restored to beauty is inspiring and the perfect way to show what we can accomplish with paint.” He noted that on the B-25, his company chose a traditional military topcoat, while the AirCam was finished in gloss. “The AirCam will ignite passion for flying among the Young Eagles, and what better way to do that than with a slick-looking plane?”