A GALLERY FOR FANS OF FLIGHT

Wearing a battered leather flight jacket festooned with aircraft insignia and pins, Ed Rathbun grinned as he stood outside the Aviation Arts Gallery in Laguna Beach and explained that he was looking for a painting of a special plane.

Rathbun, a Fountain Valley resident, was hoping to expand his art collection of World War II airplanes by adding his favorite, the P-51 Mustang. Now 68, the retired U.S. Air Force pilot said he flew the fighter plane against the Japanese.

“That was a tremendous combat machine; it had more speed than any of them,” he recalled, patting his unkempt silver hair. “I’ve probably got about five prints and drawings (of it), but no paintings. I think I may have found what I need right here.”

The gallery, which displays and sells aviation art and memorabilia, is one of a handful throughout the country, according to Steve Ornelas, who operates the gallery with Nancy Thiesen.

In three rooms are displayed about 150 paintings, lithographs, drawings, photos and historic objects aimed at satisfying a subculture that Ornelas insists “is completely hooked on flying and flying machines.”

Situated a short walk from Laguna Beach’s busy boardwalk, the gallery was opened a year ago to fill a gap Ornelas perceived in Orange County’s arts and crafts scene.

Ornelas, 39, a Westminster resident, had been employed by galleries dealing with more traditional art for a few years--”I’ve worked with the Salvador Dalis, LeRoy Neimans, Picassos and all those”--before realizing there was a steady audience for art with aviation themes. His clients kept asking for “planes, planes and more planes,” so Ornelas decided to open his own gallery.

He concedes that romanticized oil renderings of plummeting jets against a cottony sky or detailed drawings of an old-fashioned biplane on a runway are not for everyone.

But aviation art collectors are almost fanatical in their appreciation, he said.

“Sure, those that really care for this stuff are characters, but characters in a good sense, not in a wacky way,” Ornelas said. “They usually have a lot of the little boy in them. They are the ones who built model airplanes when they were kids and still love anything having to do with airplanes.”

Ornelas, who was an avid builder of model airplanes as a boy, said he is still fascinated by aviation. “I’m a lot like the people who come to the gallery, except I don’t fly,” he said.

Many of the gallery’s visitors are former military pilots who want to tap memories of their flying exploits. Others are in the Air Force or Navy and want reproductions of the aircraft they fly, Ornelas said.

“We even get test pilots coming in all the way from Edwards (Air Force Base near Lancaster),” Ornelas noted.

Weekend fliers, many with private planes at John Wayne Airport, also visit. Ornelas pointed out, however, that most of his clients are not pilots, but merely people who appreciate graceful aircraft.

Ornelas has learned to shrug at criticism that aviation art, like the ubiquitous seascapes hung over fireplaces, should not be taken seriously, despite its appeal. When challenged on the art’s sophistication or significance, Ornelas argues that the technical quality of the better artists makes the work distinctive.

“Some of the pieces are very well-executed, even though there is very little that can be done differently with a reproduction of a plane,” he said. “The better ones also feature themes and backgrounds that can be intriguing.”

Ornelas said the gallery features some of the nation’s more skilled aviation artists, including Dan Witkoff, Hal McCormick, Mike Machat, Barrie Clark and Denver Kissinger. Many of their subjects are craft that set speed or distance records. Some include the original pilot’s autograph along with the artist’s signature. For example, Chuck Yeager’s scrawl can be found on several pieces.

Ornelas has emphasized the gallery’s nostalgic undercurrent by gathering a collection of historic items. There is a canceled check from a Dayton, Ohio, bank signed by Orville Wright and dated April 16, 1932. There also are various pieces of mail that flew with legendary aviators during history-making flights. One of Ornelas’ favorites is a letter autographed and carried by Charles Lindbergh during the first postal run between New York and Buenos Aires, Argentina, on May 1, 1930.

Aviator Amelia Earhart, it turns out, was something of a writer, and Ornelas has several original copies of her magazine articles. One features a photo of a demure Amelia and purplish testimony to the thrills of being airborne. It was written in 1931 for a now- defunct Hearst magazine, International Cosmopolitan.

Also on display are a variety of other antiques, including photographs, pins, books and insignia. The gallery, at 242 N. Coast Highway, is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.