Yes, it is true -- Flight Miniatures now carries metal die-cast models for sale and distribution!

Earlier this year, Flight Miniatures and InFlight 200, the leading producer of fine quality metal die-cast aircraft models, joined in a partnership that has led to our offering this new product line. As of April 2006, Flight Miniatures is the exclusive North American distributor for the InFlight 200 model line.

Note that these are not the typical 1:400 or 1:500 scale metal die-cast models you would normally see (see below for a comparison).

The model on the left is in 1:400 scale; the 1:200 scale InFlight 200 model is of the same aircraft type.

InFlight 200 produces models in 1:200 scale exclusively and specializes in commercial aircraft, in liveries that are recognizable or representative in their time.

The excellent quality of the InFlight 200 model is quite evident. The main model is made of a zinc and aluminum metal alloy. All liveries are applied by state-of-the-art tampo printing using high-gloss color-matched paint.

In addition to the InFlight 200 aircraft models, we are also offering the Sky Guardians line of military aircraft models. These 1:72 scale metal die-cast models range from WWII military aircraft, including the P-51D, Spitfire, BF109G-6 and Zero, to modern military aircraft, including the latest front-line aircraft such as the F/A-18E Super Hornet, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-15C Eagle and the F-14 Tomcat. New types which will be added soon are the Sukhoi SU-27, Lockheed F-104 Starfighter and P-38J Lightning.

The military models are intricately detailed, with authentic markings, armament, and many moving parts. They also feature metal stands that are adjustable, allowing the models to be displayed in a number of different positions.

What impact will the InFlight 200 metal die-cast models have on the Flight Miniatures plastic snap-fit models, and vice versa? Despite the similarities in the scale, aircraft types and liveries for both product lines, we consider the two as very different products. In truth, we think they complement each other, filling the gaps in each product line.

Both InFlight 200 and Flight Miniatures have similar goals and objectives for our product lines – to produce an optimum product, offer it at an affordable price, and constantly strive to set higher standards with every new release. Our partnership allows us to share the technical and design information for the tooling and the livery artwork, which helps support our goals.

The Airspotters Story

Eastern Airlines was one of the Big Four domestic carriers, along with American, TWA and United, that, until it closed its doors in 1991, dominated the U.S. airline industry for over five decades.

The story of Eastern followed much the same path as most legacy airlines, from its beginnings through the war and into its final turbulent chapters following in the wake of deregulation.

He later decided to focus on the manufacturing side of his business and sold Pitcairn Aviation to Clement Keys in 1929. Keys turned around and sold to North American Aviation -- a holding company for several airlines and manufacturers, including Curtiss and General Motors -- and in 1930 Pitcairn Aviation was renamed Eastern Air Transport.

Eastern added passenger service and expanded its routes to connect 16 major cities on the Atlantic seaboard. By 1932, the airline was offering flights to as far north as Toronto and south to Miami and Bermuda. Eastern had become the dominant airline on the east coast.

On February 19, 1934, amidst allegations of favoritism in the awarding of mail routes, all airmail contracts were cancelled and mail delivery was assigned to army pilots. During three disastrous months, 12 army pilots died in 66 crashes and forced landings while delivering mail. The cost of airmail delivery quadrupled.

In compromise, mail routes were put up for bidding again, but with new rates and stipulations, including a ban on airlines that had contracts before the cancellation. The airlines simply changed their name to circumvent this prohibition, and that is why Eastern Air Transport became Eastern Air lines.

The Air Mail Act of 1934 also required that airlines be separate from aircraft manufacturers. When North American Aviation was ready to divest itself of Eastern in 1938, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, World War I flying ace and general manager of Eastern, aggressively led a group of investors to purchase the airline for $3.5 million.

Rickenbacker stayed with Eastern until he retired on December 31, 1963. Under Rickenbacker’s leadership, Eastern enjoyed increasing success and growth.

From auto racer to flying ace to chief executive officer — Edward Rickenbacker became a public figure after WWI. He brought his persona to Eastern and made the airline a household name.
(Photo courtesy of U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission.)

He built Eastern’s Great Silver Fleet, which became renowned as their DC-2 aircraft plied the East Coast. In June 1941, one of these became the first plane to land at the new National Airport in Washington, DC (now known as Ronald Reagan National Airport). Eastern was the first airline to use autogyros for mail service, on the Philadelphia-New Jersey route.

The airline was doing very well financially too. It was the first national airline to turn a profit on passenger service alone, without mail subsidies. The company acquired Wedell-Williams Transport Corporation, New York Airways, and Ludington Airlines, and also invested in newer, more advanced aircraft.

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During World War II, half of Eastern’s fleet was turned over to the Armed Forces. The airline flew military support flight between Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Trinidad in the Caribbean. Eastern created its Military Transport Division (MTD) based in Miami, comprising a fleet of Curtiss C-46 Commando aircraft.

Rickenbacker took an active role in the war effort, touring and inspecting pilot training bases and production facilities in Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Africa. While in a B-17 on one of the missions, he and the crew were lost at sea for 24 days. They were rescued suffering from exposure, dehydration and starvation. Rickenbacker resumed his interrupted mission after only a few days of rest.

Like other Big Four airlines, Eastern favored the Lockheed Super Constellations.
(Photo courtesy of U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission.)

With a new management team, Eastern entered the jet age in 1960 and purchased Douglas DC-8s for its New York-Los Angeles route. Eastern’s jet fleet would be augmented by Boeing 727s in 1962, and at this time the airline changed its livery to include the now-famous dark blue “hockey stick” design.

On April 30, 1961, Eastern introduced a revolutionary approach that changed the air travel industry, a new kind of service called the Air-Shuttle. The Shuttle operated hourly no-frills flights continuously in the busy northeastern corridor, between Boston, Newark, NJ, Washington,DC, and New York. No reservations were required and the airline even guaranteed a seat -- by adding more planes as needed.

The innovative idea proved to be an overnight success, and the Eastern Air-Shuttle ferried thousands of commuters in their Lockheed Constellations and Electras in the Northeast Corridor of New York-Washington, DC-Boston. The shuttle service saw its first jet aircraft in 1967 and eventually became all jet by 1978, with Boeing 727s, Airbus A300s and Lockheed L-1011s in the fleet.

In 1967 Eastern added routes to the Bahamas and Seattle, Washington. On September 21, 1969, the airline finally inaugurated its first coast-to-coast service to Los Angeles, the last of the “Big Four” airlines to do so.

As a way to expand into the Caribbean, Eastern acquired the Puerto Rican airline Caribair in 1971. Eastern became the official airline of Walt Disney World and its official ride in the theme park was “If You Had Wings.”

Eastern was the means by which Airbus got a foothold in the U.S. aviation industry. After Airbus offered Eastern a generous deal, the airlines’ new President, former astronaut Frank Borman, agreed to buy 23 Airbus A300s in early 1978. This was a breakthrough for Airbus, which had tried unsuccessfully for several years to penetrate the lucrative U.S. market.

1978 also saw another major watershed for the airline industry -- the Airline Deregulation Act. However, the full impact of this legislation would not be realized until a decade later.

Eastern’s safety record had been declining since a mid-air collision with a TWA jet over Connecticut in 1965, and was further marred by two disastrous planes crashes in the 70s -- one in the everglades near Miami in 1972 and the other on a landing at JFK in New York City in 1975.

Eastern established a hub in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1980 and acquired all of Braniff International’s South American routes in 1982, and a year later formed Eastern Metro Express. The Metro Express served Puerto Rico, Mayaguez and several smaller Caribbean communities from the San Juan hub; many cities around the South from Miami; and several northeastern cities from New York’s JFK International Airport. Eastern became the launch customer for the new Boeing 757.

Then the ripples started by the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 magnified and the airlines were hit hard.

Deregulation offered new freedoms and open competition to the airline industry. Upstart no-frills airlines were able to offer drastically reduced fares, thereby triggering ruthless airfare wars as airlines jockeyed for more passengers. This, added to rising fuel prices and labor disputes, caused the legacy airlines to operate at a loss, making them candidates for hostile takeovers and mergers.

Eastern was furthermore burdened by debts from acquisitions and aircraft purchases made in the 70s. In 1986, after years of losses and $3.5 billion in debt, and desperate to keep its doors open, Eastern was sold, for $615 million, to Frank Lorenzo of Texas Air Corporation.

Lorenzo hired non-union workers, offered first-class seats at coach fares, created a new airfare war, and generally disrupted an already ailing airline industry to the point that more and more airlines were filing for bankruptcy -- which allowed him to have the pick of which airlines he wanted to buy. His Texas Air Corporation included Continental, People’s Express, Frontier Airlines and New York Air.

We have 5 plastic snap-fit models and one metal die-cast model in the Eastern Air Lines colors.

Jaineel Prasad developed a keen interest in aviation at a very young age, finding it both challenging and informative.  He is still constantly amazed at the physics and technology involved -- how the mechanics work; the velocity involved in take off and flying; to him, the very concept of airplanes is “very profound.”

Jaineel began collecting models because he thinks of them as “historical stuff to keep; like an art collection.” Indeed, he proudly displays his models “in special casing, for everyone to see.” 

He likes models in the 1:200 scale, his favorite aircraft type being the Boeing 747-400. The Qantas “Wunala Dreaming” plane especially, he feels, is “very artistic and cool.” In a moment of wishful thinking, he would love to see the liveries in all our current 1:200 scale models represented on the 747-400 models! Other liveries Jaineel considers aethestically pleasing, or “elegant and classic,” are those of United, Air France, Singapore, Cathay Pacific, All Nippon, KLM, and Air New Zealand.

Jaineel makes his living as an administrator and is fairly new to the hobby of collecting. In addition to his collecting models, he also collects models of cars and sports such as surfing, ice skating and football.

He found Flight Miniatures while surfing the internet, and he describes our website as “well presented and very user friendly.” He would like to see us offer “United in the new colors, the All Nippon cartoon livery and the British Airways ‘Rose Tail’ livery.”

Recounting his childhood awe of flying, Jaineel says, “Whenever I saw a big jumbo jet flying in the sky, I would wonder about it. How could such a huge thing fly and travel so fast!  What an amazing and intelligent creation of mankind”!  There’s probably quite a few of us that would agree with that statement!  We wish you happy collecting ahead, Jaineel!

For your information, air travel to and from Fiji is served by Air Pacific, and domestically by Air Fiji and Sun Air. Below are the Air Pacific models we have in our fleet.  

As we promised in our last newsletter, here are the Top Ten Most Popular Aircraft Models for the first quarter of 2006.  You—our customers—have spoken, and we thank you!