The Indiana Warbird Campaign is a model plane show with realistic warbirds. The event will last through Saturday and feature a salute to military forces.
The Warbird and Classics Alliance is hosting the three-day air show at the Academy of Model Aeronautics, also known as AMA, starting Thursday.
“I have always said that this is a good way to keep history alive,” said Linda Crooks, the airboss of the Indiana Warbird Campaign.
The planes are remote controlled by pilots on the ground. A few of the pilots are trained for industry flying, but most of the pilots in this show are enthusiasts registered with the Indiana War Campaign.
The aircrafts are painted with a military paint scheme.
The AMA has hosted the Indiana Warbird Campaign for 14 years. The pyrotechnics were added last year, and the Crooks family says the event just keeps growing.
The AMA is providing a flight simulator for spectators to experience controlling the remote control planes.
Each day is filled with many ways to witness the planes in the air. Pilots will be openly flying their model planes between shows.
At noon on Friday and Saturday, pilots will be performing a choreographed air show. While airborne, the pilots will reenact the European and Pacific theater. Complete with explosions from pyrotechnics, the reenactment will feature giant scale planes and jets from various military branches and years.
“If I don’t have a few tears in a few eyes, I didn’t do my job,” Crooks said.
For early birds, pilots will patrol the skies to ensure the sky is clear for the pilots for the rest of the day. The Dawn Patrol will happen at 7 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Along with planes, visitors can shop around for electronics and kits. Museums, like the Museum of the Soldier, will have booths set up to share more history.
The event is open to the public and the gate fee is $5 per carload.