the plane with her crop-duster father when she was a young girl . “ Her reaction when she saw it was pretty powerful ,” he said . “ She was overwhelmed . You ’ d have thought I gave her a Rolls Royce !”
Yet another challenge came from the owner of TOCKR Watches , out of Austin , Texas , who requested a model of the radial engine in the Douglas DC-3 airplane that his grandfather had piloted during the WWII invasion of Normandy . Turner also has pieces on display at the Sundance Airport in Northwest Oklahoma City and in many private collections . Out of all the aircraft he ’ s created , Turner said his personal favorite is a red Fokker DR-1 – the same plane flown during World War I by the infamous German ace fighter pilot known as “ The Red Baron .”
Early on , in 1992 , Turner ’ s work was included in a special exhibition by the Oklahoma City Art Museum , where he was the only non-traditional medium artist included . “ As a brand-new artist that was huge ,” he said . “ It gave me confidence that this ( hobby ) has a future .” He ’ s also received several awards from OU during its annual Staff Week art shows , including People ’ s Choice .
“ I love that the planes mean something to everybody – everybody has a reason for wanting a particular model ,” he said . “ They ’ re not machines ; they ’ re mechanical beings , and what they invoke in people is feeling and emotion .”
Turner has been creative his entire life , doing everything from creating flint knapping tools and designing custom fishing rods to restoring fiberglass boats . For several years he was part of the collections management team at the University of Oklahoma ’ s Sam Noble Museum of Natural History , caring for incoming and outgoing artifacts .
He eventually earned a degree in education from OU and worked for the university for more than two decades , primarily as a career services counselor . Now retired from OU , Turner works for a private company , traveling around the state performing point-of-sale maintenance for several major fast-food chains . He also spends time with his family , which includes three children , four grandchildren and one great-grandchild .
His hobby , though , remains his passion , and he esti-
LEFT : A Grumman AG Cat recreated from old photos
TOP RIGHT : This E-3 AWACS , resides on the desk of the commander at Offut Air Force Base .
BOTTOM RIGHT : Turner ’ s personal favorite is a red Fokker DR-1 – the same plane flown during World War I by the infamous German ace fighter pilot known as “ The Red Baron .”
14 NormanMagazine . com | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022