Micro-Flying
Mid-Atlantic Air Museum WWII Weekend
I HAVE NOT had much time for modeling because I was in the middle of my upgrade training as an airline captain and preparing to fly my Piper L-4 Cub airplane in the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum’s World War II Weekend in Reading, Pennsylvania. This was my third year flying in the event. It is a lot like preparing for a big modeling event.
I started early and changed the oil in my airplane, gave it a bath, and even made up a nice information display sign for the show. I packed my airplane up the night before so that I was ready for an early departure to the Reading Regional Airport. It was a beautiful, smooth flight there, with very little wind. After landing, I taxied to the Liaison aircraft parking area and installed my tiedowns in the grass. Soon after, a few more of the show’s “L-Bird” Liaison aircraft arrived and did the same.
32nd Annual Mid-Atlantic Air Museum WWII Weekend
The event took place on June 2-4, 2023. It is a true gathering of warbirds! There are not many air shows where you can watch a B-29, B-25S, an SBD Dauntless, a P-63, an F4U, P-51s, C-47s, SNJs, Stearmans, and, of course, L-Birds, fly.
The first day of the event was the arrival day, with many of the show’s participating aircraft flying in. On Saturday, we started out with the morning pilots’ briefing. You had to attend this briefing each day if you were to fly in the show. The air boss, Greg Witmer, covered everything in the briefing, from the weather and safety issues to the flight schedule. After the briefing, we broke into our flight groups to go over what we were going to do in the day’s flights.
The Liaison aircraft started out the show. We had five L-Birds flying this year: three Taylorcraft L-2Ms and two Piper L-4 Cubs. I was asked by the air museum’s president to do the photo flight of the event once again. I had the show’s photographer, Chad Smith, sit in my front seat and he took some great aerial photos. We finished just in time for the air boss to take over the field for the start of the day’s flying.
I dropped Chad off on the ramp and taxied back out to join the rest of my Liaison group. As soon as the national anthem was finished, we took off and flew
several circuits around the pattern for everyone to see our vintage aircraft.
This event is not just about aircraft. You can meet, speak with, and collect autographs from many WW II veterans who were special guests. You can hear the veterans’ first-person accounts of their WW II service on stage. More than 1,700 WW II
military and civilian reenactors were present. Tanks, Jeeps, and many other amazing, restored vehicles from WW II could be seen. There was also the music of the day, with several performances taking place throughout the weekend.
This air show is different from a normal one. I had a great time at the event and
enjoyed talking with everyone who stopped by to say hello!
Micro-Mark Portable Airbrush
I was looking for a portable airbrush to take on the road to modeling events or to use to paint in places where power might not be available. I wanted to touch up some paint in my aircraft’s cockpit. Because I do not have any power in my hangar, the Micro-Mark Self-Contained Portable Broad-Spray Airbrush was worth a try.
The set comes with everything needed to start painting: a nice dual-action airbrush, a black anodized compressor/tank with auto start/stop, a built-in Li-Ion battery, three top-mounted paint cups with lids, a pipette, a 3-foot USB charger cable, an air hose adapter, an inline moisture trap adapter, and a hardshell case. I charged the batteries and proceeded to test the airbrush.
The airbrush weighs 12 ounces, which, at first, seemed a little heavy, but after handling the unit, it is well balanced and comfortable to use. The airbrush puts out 25 psi at a 7 L/minute airflow and lasts 40 minutes on a full charge, which is plenty of time for most painting jobs.
I found that the airbrush performed well, and I plan to use it for many of my painting needs. See the Micro-Mark website, listed in “Sources,” for the current pricing and more information.
Indoor Night at NEAT
My wife and I will hold the Indoor Night event at the Northeast Electric Aircraft Technology (NEAT) event at the Downsville Central School in Downsville, New York, on September 15-16, 2023. Please see the NEAT Fair website or the “Scratchbuilt Indoor and Micro Models” section of RCGroups.com for the latest information.
The event will take place from 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday and 5 to 10 p.m. on Saturday. It is open to scratch-built models or models built from kits that weigh 2 ounces or less. Heavier models might be allowed if they can safely fly in the confines of the small gym. Micro RTF models that have been repainted or modified to show one’s creativity are also allowed to fly.
AMA insurance is required, and all proceeds from the event go to the school. The event is free for spectators. We look forward to seeing everyone at Indoor Night at NEAT!
SOURCES:
Mid-Atlantic Air Museum
(610) 372-7333
www.maam.org
Mid-Atlantic Air Museum WW II Weekend
www.maam.org/maamwwii.html
RCGroups.com
“Scratchbuilt Indoor and Micro Models” section
www.rcgroups.com/scratchbuilt-indoor-and-micro-models-85
Micro-Mark
(800) 225-1066
www.micromark.com
NEAT Fair
www.neatfair.org
