The World of Miniature Warbirds

War has never been very much use to the world.Association. Members of the association gather in a
The only benefit arising this century has been thespirit of camaraderie rather than competition. This
massive advances in aerospace technology that haveniche of the model airplane hobby really does enjoy
been driven by military needs. If it had not been forthe process of construction, often replicating the
the demands of the 1939-45 war, we would still beoriginals in painstaking detail, then taking pleasure in
flying around in airships which were streets ahead ofwatching those lovingly constructed model airplanes
fixed wing aircraft for load capacity, range andtake to the air.
safety in the 1930s before the outbreak of war. ButThe main miniature warbird event is the fly-in.
if there's a full size airplane out there then you canSpectacular model aircraft make their mark in the sky
be sure a modeller will want to reproduce it in smalland on the ground as fellow RC aviators and
scale - and so were born the model airplane miniaturespectators look on. Fly-in events also include things
Warbirds.like intro pilot training programs, guest speakers, and
In the modelling community Warbirds are lookedlow-key contests. It is quite astonishing to witness
after by the World Miniature Warbird Associationtens of museum-quality aircraft, with wingspans from
(WMWA) , a Special Interest Group of the Academytwo to more than thirty feet, decorated to the hilt,
of Model Aeronautices (AMA). The WMWA definesen masse.
warbirds, has created a community of warbirdOne of the characteristics of the WMWA for model
enthusiasts, a group directory covering participants allairplane enthusiast is the world-wide network of
over the world and organises a number of special'Wings' which specialize in particular types. This can be
events.of great benefit to individual members as the Wing
Anyone with a love of building or flying warbirds iscan put them in touch with other members with their
welcome in the WMWA. To maintain this friendlyspecific interest. They can then pool their research
environment the rules for warbird status are prettyefforts, exchange information and generally
relaxed with no specifics about size, or engines orcollaborate to produce the most accurate
even scale provided only that the model looks like arepresentation in their model airplane of the full size
warbird. It's the definition of the original warbirdairplane on which it is based - wherever in the world
aircraft that defines a warbird model. The definitionit may have originated from.
runs like this:So if you are interested in building or flying a warbird
The WMWA defines a 'Warbird Aircraft' as a modelthen the World Miniature Warbird Association is the
of any aircraft used for military purposes by anybest place to start. You need to base your model on
Country at any time. It must be a scale or semi-scalethe definition published by the WMWA to ensure that
rendering, recognizable as such, and markedyour model airplane qualifies. You can select from any
accordingly. Any prototype offered to the militarytype; bombers, fighters, transport airplanes or
but not accepted would also fall into the category ofhelicopters and you can start from scratch or base it
a 'Warbird Aircraft.' It cannot be a model of anyon an existing kit or plan. Any type, any method as
aircraft made to look like a 'Warbird Aircraft' bylong as the finished model airplane gives a good
applying military markings to it. (WMWA Constitution)representation of the original as defined by the
Contrary to the original military purpose of the fullAssociation. It's a great project for the winter
size airplanes on which it is based, friendship is themonths - so maybe do some planning this summer
name of the game in the World Miniature Warbirdsand then get to it as next winter approaches.