Mike Machat | Aviation Artist, Author, Historian

As the nephew of a Republic Aviation
Corporation Chief Engineer, Mike Machat
was inspired to pursue an aviation career
since his early childhood on Long Island.
He became an avid model builder and as
a teenager, spent endless hours sketching
aircraft at all the local New York airports,
often being allowed out on the ramp to draw.

Having started flying at age 16, Mike
eventually traded his artwork for flight time,
making his first solo in a Piper J-3 Cub,
and eventually earning both his private and
commercial pilot licenses in the process.

After completing the Foundation Art Program at New York’s Pratt Institute, Mike served in the U.S. Air Force overseas and with the National Security Agency in Washington D.C. After relocating to Los Angeles, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from California State University, Long Beach and was hired by the Douglas Aircraft Company as a technical illustrator. Mike soon advanced through the ranks to become a Staff Artist and Corporate Representative for the McDonnell Douglas Corporation.

Moving on from the corporate world, Mike established his own independent aviation art studio and was elected first president of the American Society of Aviation Artists (ASAA). He served as president of the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles and became a senior, flight-rated, member of the Air Force Art Program, contributing 21 original paintings to the national collection. His aviation artwork has won numerous awards in the Illustration West, Experimental Aircraft Association, ASAA, Simuflite, and Naval Aviation Foundation art competitions.

As an aviator, Mike has flown in more than 200 different types of aircraft including the A-4, T-38, F-104, F-15, F-16, F-18, and Concorde. He has flown with NASA, the Blue Angels, and the USAF Test Pilot School, and was the first Air Force Artist to fly in the Rockwell B-1B Lancer and Grumman F-14 Tomcat in a U.S. Navy exchange program. An avid glider pilot, Mike has made more than 2,000 flights in sailplanes.

Mike designed and produced aviation murals for the Bob Hope Airport terminal building in Burbank, California, and created the centerpiece display for the new Air Force Flight Test Center Museum at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
His paintings are displayed in airline
corporate headquarters worldwide,
and have been accepted into the permanent collections of the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, National Soaring Museum, and National Museum of Naval Aviation.

Air Force Flight Test Center Museum Mural

Mike’s career focus includes aviation writing and editing. He served as Editor-in-Chief for Wings & Airpower Magazine as well as Acquisitions Editor for Specialty Press Aviation Publications, and brings a wealth of editorial and literary knowledge to all of his aviation endeavors. As the author of two best-selling books and countless magazine and website articles, Mike has told the stories of aviation luminaries and of his own aeronautical exploits. Having worked first-hand on projects with renowned aircraft designers, pilots, and astronauts, he has been able to capture in images and words the dramatic and colorful tales of many of aviation’s greatest legends.

For a video on Mike's aviation
art career, click on the DVD