By Holly Silvers, Associate Editor | hollys@modelaircraft.org
A little over an hour and a half and approximately 80 miles east of the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana, sits Dayton, Ohio—home to the National Museum of the United States Air Force on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. As the oldest and largest military aviation museum in the world, it displays more than 360 aircraft and missiles for visitors from across the globe to see, all for the low, low cost of free.
Recently, I visited the museum with my partner, an avid Star Wars fan. We’ve visited the museum before, but this time we were there for the new, temporary exhibit, “Iconic Starfighters: Rivals of the Silver Screen.” The display features two full-scale, fan-created spacecrafts inspired by the Star Wars franchise: Darth Vader’s TIE fighter and Luke Skywalker’s X-wing starfighter.
The full-scale spacecrafts are genuinely impressive; they’re much larger and more detailed than any LEGO versions you could build. The X-wing has been painted with a weathered, movie-accurate finish, while the TIE fighter had two Imperial fighter pilots standing guard in full costume to immerse visitors further into the Star Wars universe.
Whether you’re a Star Wars fan or not, I recommend taking a trip to Dayton to check out the museum. While the “Iconic Starfighters: Rivals of the Silver Screen” exhibit is only on display until December 31, the museum always offers an incredible amount of history and insight on aviation that is sure to excite aeromodelers.
AMA and Star Wars
Did you know that AMA has ties to the iconic space franchise? At AMA’s own National Model Aviation Museum, which features the world’s largest collection of model aviation history, a bit of Star Wars lore can be uncovered with just a little bit of digging.
Mike Fulmer (1944-2016) was an avid builder and modeler, as well as the National Model Aviation Museum’s first curator when the museum opened back in 1992. But before Mike came to Muncie, he was out in California working for Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), George Lucas’ special effects company that worked on films such as The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, E.T., Back to the Future, Indiana Jones, and many others. Mike even got to be the stunt double for Harrison Ford on the set of Indiana Jones (check out Mike’s memorial website, listed in “Sources,” for photos documenting his time with ILM and more).
This connection highlights a fundamental truth that every aeromodeler understands: the magic that we see on the silver screen often begins on a drafting table with a scaled-down model. Long before computer-generated imagery took over Hollywood, it was model builders like Mike who painstakingly crafted the galaxy far, far away, utilizing the exact same principles of design, scale, and craftsmanship that are celebrated here at AMA.
Whether you’re marveling at full-scale aircraft in Dayton or exploring the rich history housed right here in Muncie, the bond between modeling and imagination is undeniable. Scale modeling doesn’t just replicate history; it inspires the stories that define generations of culture.
SOURCES:
AMA History Project Presents:
Biography of Michael (Mike) Glenn Fulmer
modelaircraft.org/sites/default/files/FulmerMichaelMikeGlenn.pdf
Michael Fulmer
National Museum of the United States Airforce