WE SUPPORT OUR TROOPS AND COUNTRY   THE ARTIST - MIKE MACHAT  

Mike Machat is one of America's most well-known aviation artists. Fascinated with airplanes since early childhood, Mike spent countless weekends sketching and photographing planes at New York area airports. As a teenager, he traded his artwork for rides in all types of aircraft, and eventually earned both his private and commercial pilot licenses in exchange for his aviation art.

After completing foundation art studies at Pratt Institute in New York, Mike served in the U.S. Air Force as a technical illustrator and then relocated in California. Earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from California State University at Long Beach, he joined Douglas Aircraft Company serving as a staff illustrator for seven years before leaving the firm in 1984 to establish his own aviation art studio.

Mike was elected first president of the American Society of Aviation Artists and is past president of the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles. As an active participant in the U.S. Air Force Documentary Art Program since 1978, he has 21 original works in the collection. Mike's artwork has also won awards in the Illustration West Exhibits, Experimental Aircraft Association and ASAA art competitions, and graces displays in the Pentagon, National Air & Space Museum, and many airline corporate headquarters worldwide.

As an aviator, Mike enjoys aerobatics and soaring, having accumulated more than 2,000 flights in sailplanes. He has flown in nearly 200 different types of aircraft from the B-52 to the Concorde, and in such tactical aircraft as the A-4, F104, F-15, and F-16, continually blending his love of aviation with his artistic talents. Mike is a firm believer in "living the experience" of flight.

Commercial aviation also comprises much of Mike's artwork, and he has illustrated and produced many airline histories including those of Delta, Finnair, Continental, El Al, Lufthansa, Aeroflot, and Pan Am. His list of clients also includes McDonnell Douglas, Lockheed, Airbus, Flying Tigers, NASA, and Reader's Digest just to name a few.

In January 2002, Mike announced his retirement from aviation art to take over as the new Editor-in-Chief of WINGS & AIRPOWER Magazines. Taking the helm of these 32-year-old publications represents the culmination of his career, and he looks forward to continuing his contribution to this nations' aviation history.

    Mike Machat Signed & Numbered Limited Edition Print "Evening Star"   The absolute zenith of the piston era, Lockheed's Model 1049G Constellation epitomized elegant air travel during the mid-1950's. Inbound from Europe, Trans World Airlines Ambassador Flight 863 originating in Frankfurt, Germany operated as "through service", and became Flight 269 to Los Angeles. Enjoying a magnificent view of the San Bernardino Mountains at dusk, the "Star of Windsor" enters Los Angeles airspace. As the last glow of daylight fades from the eastern sky, a lone star appears visible above the horizon. Whether it is this elegant airliner's namesake, or the lone celestial body, on this Christmas Eve, Saturday December 24, 1955, it is indeed a very special "Evening Star".   This 23-1/4" by 14-3/4" image size print, limited to 1049, is signed by the artist.   All Limited Edition prints are signed and numbered (S/N) by the artist. Limited Edition prints are restricted to a certain number. For example, if 400 prints are made from an original painting, once they’re gone, that’s it. There is no limit to the number of open edition prints of a particular painting. That’s why Limited Edition prints are more expensive — and more valuable to collectors — than "open" edition.  Rare objects are more valuable.