Air Show Draws Historical Planes to Moffett Field

By Joyce Worley

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's the West Coast Antique Fly-In and Air Show!

Planes will twist and turn, dive and climb at "Wings Over Moffett," June 19 to 20. The 35th annual Northern California event will be held at Moffett Federal Airfield in Mountain View, California.

Whether the plane is a historic bi- or tri-winged model from World War I, an airfreight from the 1920s and 1930s, or a just-created jet-powered state-of-the-art warbird, spectators will have the opportunity to view some of the finest aircraft ever built.

Among the displays will be flying contests, testing pilots at short field take-offs, flour bombing, and spot landing. Educational displays will include a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier open for tour and aviation forums sponsored by the Experimental Aircraft Association. An aviation trade show will be held in Hangar 1, sponsored by National Productions. There will also be aircraft restoration forums, troubleshooting clinics, and various guest speakers from trade and pilot organizations. The event is expected to attract thousands of spectators.

Since the first flight by the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk almost a hundred years ago, hundreds of models of aircraft have been launched. Collectors track these models, the date and years of their invention, and the limitations of each plane. Air shows are a great opportunity for pilots as well as non-pilots to get a good look at different types of aircraft, as well as to add to collections of aircraft memorabilia.

What do flight enthusiasts collect? Some people collect photographs, postcards, film clips, and programs from air shows. Other people prefer to buy and sell planes, both miniatures and models. Paintings and posters celebrating flight are also popular. Landing permits and other documents signed by great flying heroes like Lindbergh, Rickenbacker, Baron von Richthofen (also known as The Red Baron), Earhart, Billy Mitchell, and Chuck Yeager are also collectible.

Fans also build and collect models of the great aircraft, from Harrier to Halifax, and Messerschmitt to Boeing. Flight toys include reproductions of famous planes, like the Spirit of St. Louis, and gliders that sail by wind power. Collectible children's toys such as plane-shaped banks, pull-toys, and wind-ups are popular. Yet other collectors' diverse interests include flight manuals and training books, vintage pilot licenses, and even actual pieces of equipment taken from planes, ranging from chronometers to airline dinnerware.

The air show will soar with exciting demonstrations and activities for the whole family. Come on out to the air show and spend a fine summer day gazing into the wild blue yonder!

Joyce Worley is Editor of the Collecting Channel. These are the opinions of the author, not the opinions of eBay, and therefore eBay does not validate the accuracy of or endorse these opinions.

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The preceding material was written by Lee Bernstein. These are the opinions of the author, not the opinions of eBay, and therefore eBay does not validate the accuracy of or endorse these opinions.