Although it looks easy in science fiction, time travel, if possible at all, requires tremendous energy and involves incredibly complex calculations and planning. To transport tens of thousands of people nearly sixty years into the past is incalculably difficult, and yet the Mid Atlantic Air Museum does it every year at its World War II Weekend in Reading, Pennsylvania. Or maybe it is more accurate to say that the Museum and its associates and volunteers bring the past to the people. In either case, the tremendous energy and complexity components apply.

  That the people want to make the trip is another given. MAAM has had less than great luck with the weather, yet visitors trek from all over the U.S. and overseas to often endure rain and cold worthy of D-day, or, like this year, heat and humidity that made the Henderson Field re-creation seem all too real.

  The all-new layout of the encampments and other attractions, combined with realignment of the flight line and aerial demonstrations were a big hit. Besides much better lighting for photo buffs (nearly everybody, it seemed), the much longer crowd line provided everyone with a good view of the outstanding collection of warbirds in flight. The battle reenactments, being on the ground, are impossible for everyone to see, but opportunities are maximized.

  The dilemma of where one should place oneself at any given time at WWII Weekend is always present in such an attraction-rich environment. Which veterans presentation to attend? What is going on in the encampments? Is the President coming this way? Where’s the flamethrower demo? What are the Germans up to? Where’s the artillary exhibit? To the O’Club? To the hangar? Decisions, decisions. And so it goes, even if one is fortunate enough to arrive on Friday morning and depart on Sunday afternoon. Some plan their visit meticulously, others give up and use the “wandering around” technique. No one is dissapointed, and the show web site (URL below) provides a wealth of information on how to enjoy the show.

  On the ground and in the air, the Fighter Factory’s PBY Catalina was the largest of the many outstanding warbirds this year. Two P-40 Warhawks (Warbirds Over Long Island and American Airpower Museum) put on a show driving off an attacking Kate and Val (Skip Rawson, Ken Laird). Other fighters were represented by a P-47 (Tom Duffy – Clair Aviation), P-51 (WOLI), and the Russell Group’s Hawker Hurricane, which arrived late on Saturday but in time to participate in some of the flying. Unfortunately, the would-be star, the Me-109 also belonging to the Russell Group, failed to make the trip again this year. Dissapointing as such no-shows are, all but the most single-minded attendees absorb the loss and move on to the next attraction. Solo aerobatics were provided by Kevin Russo in a North American SNJ (Navy version of the T-6), and Sean Carroll in his Yak-9. The ground segment of the latter Russian presence presented some of the grimmest aspects of a grim war, and the presentations by the reenactors in the Russian encampment always hold their audiences spellbound as they describe the hardships endured.

  Traditional airshows could take a lesson from MAAM. A theme, ground activities, real live people sharing their flying stories and interacting with the audience, all combining to give the visitor an unforgettable experience – one they will return for again.