FSX-SE Evolution of the American Airlines "Eagle" in 20 Pics...

[P_7878 6,603]

[Recently, while flying the (AOA/American Overseas Airlines) Lockheed Constellation (L049) and the (AOA) Boeing Stratocruiser (B377), see one picture of each below, I thought of exploring the (iconic) American Airlines "Eagle" logo a bit...]

First of all, it is sometimes said that, in the modern era of aviation, the airline bird logos have been already clichéd...though it's also true that almost all airlines began with a birdlike mark, for good reasons. Early this morning, as I was taking a walk past a lake in the Park, I caught sight of two white Crane (birds) flying low over the lake...and making several takeoffs and touchdowns...🙂...on the lake...especially their landings, with wings outstretched and legs dangling, were so exquisite and spectacular that I'd to stop and watch.... The Cranes, it appears, seldom move their wings during the descent, but just near the water, a flurry of activity in the wings, permits them to touch down ever so slowly...their landing being a masterful showmanship of, so to speak, what we would call, here, a controlled stall...

I was reading further a bit today:
"Without control towers and runway lights, you'd think e.g., flocks of waterfowl would risk collisions when they make water landings. Yet such accidents are extremely rare. Czech and German researchers suspected the birds might be helped by their ability to sense magnetic fields. Using binoculars and compasses to observe more than 3,000 flocks in eight countries, they found that the birds typically hit the water along a north-south axis, particularly when it's cloudy—suggesting they use magnetic cues to coordinate their descent paths..."...seems like their (innate) version of ILS approach and landing...🙂...

Anyway, if one types/searches on-line for "bird like airline logo images", one will be astounded by the result...here, below, are a few classic (and well-known) airlines that are readily noticed from the on-line search:

1. Lufthansa (btw, the bird there is a "Crane")
2. Singapore Airlines (a stylized bird)
3. Gulf Air (a golden falcon on the tail, quite impressive)
4. JAL (also a Crane known as the Tsurumaru)
5. Iran Air (the mythical and ancient Persian Bird, called Homa, and per legend, "always in flight")
6. SriLankan Airlines (a Peacock on a beautiful logo)
7. Turkish Airlines ("Our logo depicts the world's highest-flying bird, wild goose, that can rise up to 29,035 ft".... BTW, we note that the world's highest summit, Mount Everest, stands at "29,032 ft"...just 3 ft lower...a curious coincidence...?)
8. ... (So, the list goes on) ...

In the same spirit, the AA (American Airlines) logo has always comprised the picture of a majestic and powerful bird, the "Eagle", with its "wings spread upwards"...the logo well-recognized as an iconic and classic symbol of one of the most influential and oldest surviving airlines in the U.S. The very first (AA) logo (and the eagle) was originally designed in 1931 and introduced in early 1930s. This logo was the hardest one to find here...but Manfred Jahn's DC-3/C-47 came to my aid... (see Shot #1, below). The eagle, please note, of "white" color, was placed inside the solid blue circle and had two bold red letters “A” on both sides. The bird was standing on the globe. There was also a wide diagonal line in red, placed behind the eagle. The blue, white, and red color palette of the airline’s visual identity was a nod to the United States flag.

The first redesign of the logo occurred in 1945, retaining the eagle as the main symbol of the air carrier but the style and the color palette was changed. The eagle in blue, please note, supposedly changed side, now facing "right" (instead of left) between two blue letters “A” (see Shot #2). All elements except for the eagle and the letters were done away in this design (see also Shots #3/#4). Then, in 1962, till 1967, just for 5 years, the logo featured an interesting (and less-known) design.... restoring the classic color palette - a combination of blue, red, and white. The letters and the eagle were circled in a bright red ring like the original design. Another (significant) alteration was the wordmark “AMERICAN,” which appeared below the eagle as a verbal explanation for the abbreviation (AA) (see, below, shots #5/#6/#7/#8, of Boeing 707 and Convair 990A). In 1967, the logo was revised again, and it remained same, for over 45 years, till 2013. It is the livery most familiar to us. In this completely new style, the wordmark (two enlarged letters “A”) was executed in red and blue, written in a bold sans-serif without any space between. The eagle emblem was placed above (and between) the inscription. This logo came to be instantly recognizable across the globe as the symbol of one of the largest airlines in the world (see the shots, below, for DC-8 through L-1011).

Finally, since 2013, till today, we have the newest AA logo (see last 3 shots). For decades, American Airlines has flown unpainted, polished silver (beautiful looking) airplanes... (requiring mastery from our painters here...🙂...), but that had to change. Because modern planes use composite materials, not aluminum, American's polished metal look was no longer an option i.e., the new aircraft have to be now painted. However, to maintain its "silver bird" image, American has chosen the silver mica paint.  The company’s current logo is now composed of a delicate and elegant sans-serif wordmark, and an emblem, placed on its right. The emblem features an abstract tricolor image, depicting a stylized (and merely graphical) eagle’s head with one of its wings, red, and the other one, blue...far from the original white (hand drawn) full eagle emblem of 1934, that had started it all...! BTW, please notice one shot, below, of the B757, in the (fictional) new color of AA... (AA had 177 of those 757s) ... on which AA planes I've travelled many times...!

Hope you enjoy these pictures, below, of (various) American Airlines a/c, illustrating the progression of this iconic logo and the livery. 

Thanks for viewing...!!

Edited June 18, 2022 by P_7878

[fscabral 120]

Nice set! what i can say...being an south American....i still love this bare metal birds in red or 3 color stripes! ..and ok, i think i am getting used with the new colors 😇😂 ...but those old school bare metal birds. Beautiful!

 

[Alaska738 8,407]

Great set of shots mate! AAL with the old livery is my favorite!!! 😉 

[mwilk 1,106]

And with the last one the eagle turned into a seagull.

[pmplayer 9,459]

Wonderful shots, 👍  hope we can see some of them coming to MSFS at any day..

cheers 😉

Edited June 19, 2022 by pmplayer

[P_7878 6,603]

Alaska, pmplayer, Michael: Thanks for the comments...!!

 

14 hours ago, fscabral said:

Nice set! what i can say...being an south American....i still love this bare metal birds in red or 3 color stripes! ..and ok, i think i am getting used with the new colors 😇😂 ...but those old school bare metal birds. Beautiful!

 

Thank you for the kind words, fscabral... (now, where is my FS KBT Electra...🙂...)

Agree, the AA Metal was a trend-setter...and well-liked for sure...fans like us, included...Oh well...now we wait and look for a vintage/commemorative metal paint on an AA 787 someday...🙂...that too unlikely due to the composites...

Edited June 19, 2022 by P_7878

[fscabral 120]

15 minutes ago, P_7878 said:

Thank you for the kind words, fscabral... (now, where is my FS KBT Electra...🙂...)

Agree, the AA Metal was a trend-setter...and well-liked for sure...fans like us, included...Oh well...now we wait and look for a vintage/commemorative metal paint on an AA 787 someday...🙂...that too unlikely due to the composites...

ahhh...where is the Fs KBT Electra ? 😂  i wanna it tooo!!!  would be like a dream! ✈️✈️

...yes, i guess the red was a bit off 🤣

 

 

Yes, we live now in a composite world... time goes, an era goes too.  But who knows, maybe one day the 787 comes in a bare metal special paint jacket!  😂

Edited June 19, 2022 by fscabral

[P_7878 6,603]

Thanks... !!

I'll live this dream today...just by myself...🙂...because I like such old stuff that you cannot find anywhere else... (btw, excellent job on that classic AA eagle logo on the Electra...) ...

[Steve Dra 7,588]

15 hours ago, fscabral said:

but those old school bare metal birds. Beautiful!

I know right?   I can't get enough of bare metal! 🙂

@P_7878 Beautiful set!   I get to see AA every day fly past my house on the way to/from the Mother Ship (KDFW).  So sad to finally see bare metal go away with the Maddog.

 

[fscabral 120]

5 hours ago, P_7878 said:

Thanks... !!

I'll live this dream today...just by myself...🙂...because I like such old stuff that you cannot find anywhere else... (btw, excellent job on that classic AA eagle logo on the Electra...) ...

Dreamssssss....good dreams 😉🙂     

....all the time i see the KBT L-188 makes me think to install p3D or fsx again 😂

 

4 hours ago, Steve Dra said:

I know right?   I can't get enough of bare metal! 🙂

@P_7878 Beautiful set!   I get to see AA every day fly past my house on the way to/from the Mother Ship (KDFW).  So sad to finally see bare metal go away with the Maddog.

 

i never had the opportunity to meet the maddog ....but i can imagine those low wings rushing down the runway.

[admbar 351]

7 hours ago, fscabral said:

Dreamssssss....good dreams 😉🙂     

....all the time i see the KBT L-188 makes me think to install p3D or fsx again 😂

 

i never had the opportunity to meet the maddog ....but i can imagine those low wings rushing down the runway.

Come on Fabio, you met the Maddog over at Flightsim 😃 

Edited June 20, 2022 by admbar

[admbar 351]

Splendid set of AA captures !  I need the 707 in MSFS.

[fscabral 120]

3 hours ago, admbar said:

Come on Fabio, you met the Maddog over at Flightsim 😃 

😂😂 ...ok, you got me on this side now!  😃

[ryanbatc 12,853]

You're telling me that thing on the front of the fuselage is an eagle?  I've never noticed it before!

[P_7878 6,603]

On 6/19/2022 at 2:21 PM, fscabral said:

Dreamssssss....good dreams 😉🙂     

....all the time i see the KBT L-188 makes me think to install p3D or fsx again 😂

....🙂....

 

On 6/20/2022 at 9:19 PM, ryanbatc said:

You're telling me that thing on the front of the fuselage is an eagle?  I've never noticed it before!

Ryan, whether we (diehard) fans approve or not, of the newer livery and logo...🙂.... yes, indeed, the new emblem, known as the “Flight Symbol”, now features (or is supposed to feature) a stylized eagle’s head in white, placed on a blue and red background. It is meant to represent the same (iconic) eagle of the AA past...though, if it doesn't look like an eagle to you (or me), that's understood, too...🙂...

Anyway, as fscabral says above, we'll just have to get used to the newest livery.... until it changes again ...

Edited June 24, 2022 by P_7878