Mar 22, 2022
by Dianna Lopez

Meet the PlaneTags Collector: Jim Emerson

Mar 22, 2022
by Dianna Lopez

At MotoArt we love the planes, the PlaneTags, and especially the PlaneTags collectors. There’s something special about meeting a fellow collector and learning more about them and their collection. Meet Jim Emerson, a long time collector, customer, and friend of MotoArt PlaneTags.

MotoArt owner Dave Hall

Who is Jim Emerson?

Fast facts about Jim:

He studied to be an Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic.
He attended the first free flight of the Space Shuttle Enterprise (off of the 747) and the last scheduled public-viewed landing of the Shuttle at Edwards AFB.
He attended the 1970 California 1000 At Races at Mojave and the 1977, 1978 & 1979 Mojave Air Races.
He saw the Speed Record attempt by Darryl Greenamyer in his rebuilt by hand F-104 Starfighter at Tonopah Lake, flying 1100 mph at roughly 50 feet off the ground.

Meet the PlaneTags Collector

Name: Jim Emerson

Location: Torrance, California (originally from Van Nuys , California)

Why do you love aviation? My parents always went to airshows and I grew up around airplanes, built model kits, watched movies involving aviation, and made friends with the same interest. My dad was a freelance photographer for the Daily News Greensheet Newspaper in the San Fernando Valley, and for Popular Mechanics Magazine. I became and still am an Airport bum.

First PlaneTag(s): April 17 2019 - an SR-71 and 2 DC-3 Tags. Hooked ever since!

Favorite PlaneTag and why: My favorite tag is the A-20 Havoc due to every time I would see it out at Fox Field I’d dream of rescuing it or knowing that it would be rescued and it had. My personal attached history with it makes it my favorite.

Dream PlaneTag: A very tough question. My dream PlaneTag would be the P-61 Black Widow. Being so late in the war and such a specialized aircraft.

How many PlaneTags: I don’t even know how many tags I have, I am embarrassed to say. I’m sure I have at least a couple hundred tags. And I’ve given almost 50 away as gifts.

Jim's PlaneTags Collection

Jim shared some photos and videos with us, showing his large collection of PlaneTags, MotoArt memorabilia, and lots of aviation history. As you can see, Jim sometimes pairs his PlaneTags with other aircraft memorabilia to create a one of a kind display.

airplane skin luggage tag

aviation skin tags

keychain airplane skin

PlaneTags Keychain

tags made of planes

The PlaneTags Collectors Community

Jim belongs to the MotoArt Planetags Collections Facebook group. It is run by a dedicated band of moderators and supported by a fantastic group of collectors. They share photos, news, rumors, have auctions, sales and trades and compare their collections. Although it isn't run by MotoArt PlaneTags, the group does get access to perks not found elsewhere. Join today!

Show Us Your PlaneTags

We love seeing your PlaneTags collection. Tag us on social media with #planetags or #showusyourplanetags.

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