Michael J. Machat is an American artist, author, and pilot. He specializes in aviation art and was a frequent collaborator of

R.E.G. Davies Ronald Edward George Davies (3 July 1921 – 30 July 2011) was an English specialist in airline and air transport history, and commercial aviation economic research. Biography Educated at Shaftesbury Grammar School, he started work in London i ...

on the book series ''An Airline and its Aircraft''. Several aviation museums have permanent collections of Machat's art.

Biography

Machat grew up in

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...

. He would visit New York airports and draw airplanes as a kid. Machat began flying at age 16, exchanging his drawings and paintings for flying lessons. Although poor eyesight prevented Machat from commercial flying, he would eventually fly in more than 200 aircraft, including with the

U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (USAF TPS) is the Air Force's advanced flight training school that trains experimental test pilots, flight test engineers, and flight test flight officer, navigators to carry out tests and evaluations of new ...

, the Blue Angels, and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

. He attended

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

from 1965 to 1966, then served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

from 1967 to 1970 as an airman. Machat relocated to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where he graduated from

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

in 1979. Machat then began working at the

Douglas Aircraft Company The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...

as a Staff Artist and Corporate Representative. In 1984, Machat established his own aviation art studio. He was later elected as the first president of the American Society of Aviation Artists and was made a member of the Society of Illustrators, both of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and of Los Angeles. Machat previously served as president of

Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles (SILA) was founded in 1953 by a group of Southern California artists and designers "...to promote the professional status of illustration art as well as foster both philanthropic and educational goals". ...

Art

Machat created a mural of the

P-38 The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twi ...

for the Burbank Airport in 1996. One of Machat's drawings hangs on a wall at Bob Hope Airport in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

. Another, titled ''February 17, 1986'', is owned by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Machat has also painted for the U.S. Air Force, where he once served on active duty. Machat painted a mural titled ''The Golden Age of Flight'' for the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum. In 2012, Machat was selected to restore a painting by Douglas Ettridge of an Lockheed NF-104A at the Air Force Test Pilot School. Machat was awarded the 11th Annual Combs Gates Award by the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2013 for his mural, ''Fly DOUGLAS!'' In 2014, Machat completed a mural, ''Flying Navy'', for the

Museum of Flying The Museum of Flying is a private non-profit aerospace museum in Santa Monica, California. It was founded in 1974, closed in 2002, and reopened in 2012 in a new facility. The Museum exhibits the history of aviation, focusing on aviation history ...

in Santa Monica, CA. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (District of Columbia), National Soaring Museum (Elmira, New York), and the

National Museum of Naval Aviation The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Founded in 1962 and moved to its curr ...

(Pensacola, FL) have Machat's artwork in their permanent collections. Machat hosts a series of shows at the Museum of Flying, which began on June 8, 2019. He painted the

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

''Record Breakers'' for the museum and serves as curator at this museum.

Books

Machat illustrated a number of books by

R. E. G. Davies Ronald Edward George Davies (3 July 1921 – 30 July 2011) was an United Kingdom, English specialist in airline and air transport history, and commercial aviation economic research. Biography Educated at Shaftesbury Grammar School, he started wo ...

, including: *''

Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...

'' *''

Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

'' *''

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...

'' *''

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...

'' *''

TWA Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with ...

'' *'' Trans Brasil'' *''

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

: An Airman, His Aircraft, and His Great Flights'' He also authored several books, such as: *''Painting Aviation's Legends'' *''World's Fastest Four-engine Piston-powered Aircraft''

References

External links

Presentation by Machat
on painting ''The Golden Age of Flight'' mural
Time-lapse video
of Machat painting ''Record Breakers'' mural * (www.mikemachet.com) {{DEFAULTSORT:Machat, Mike 1940s births Living people Date of birth missing (living people) National Security Agency people Aviators from New York (state) American illustrators Pratt Institute alumni California State University, Long Beach alumni United States Air Force airmen Aviation artists