Ohio Museum Brings World War I Excitement

The World War I Dawn Patrol Rendezvous, a biennial event sponsored by the museum and the Great War Aeroplanes Association will feature vintage reproduction full scale and 7/8 scale aircraft, such as the Nieuport, SE.5 and Fokker Dr. I triplane. Pilots will perform precision flying in the skies above the museum and compete in a flour-bombing competition, with aircraft launching from and landing on the museum's rear field.

Additional activities will include period re-enactors in a war encampment setting, era automobiles on display and participating in a parade, flying exhibitions by WWI radio-controlled aircraft, and a collector's show for WWI items. Food and merchandise will also be available for sale.

One of the participants in the WWI Dawn Patrol Rendezvous is Great War Aeroplanes Association president and pilot Fred Murrin, who always looks forward to flying at the Dawn Patrol Rendezvous.

"WWI was a great time period. Airplanes back then had a lot of character, and so did the pilots," he said.

Murrin first became interested in the social, political, and technological aspects of WWI in the mid-70s, and said that the far-reaching consequences of WWI deserve recognition.

"WWI was a defining war of the 20th century, but it isn't in the forefront of people's minds," he said. "If you stop and think about it, it let communism get a foothold in Russia and we lived with that until the wall came down. Many people don't think about it, but WWII was in many ways a continuation of WWI."

Over the course of seven years Murrin built his own plane, a reproduction Fokker Dr. I triplane, which he will fly at the museum. Known as one of the best dogfighters of the war, the Fokker Dr. I was valued by Germany as one of its most agile aircraft. There are no originals left in existence.

Like many of the pilots who fly at the Dawn Patrol Rendezvous, Murrin dresses in period flying gear at air shows to enhance the image of the aircraft, and allow visitors to experience a more authentic feel.

The WWI Dawn Patrol Rendezvous provides an opportunity for visitors to see planes that were built by other pilots as well. These pilots, who are also members of the Great War Aeroplane Association, travel from across the country, coming from as far as the Northeast and Arizona to participate in the event.

"There should be some new planes this year," said Murrin. "It's always fun to see what shows up."

And what shows up according to Murrin are pilots who enjoy flying their planes but who also will not hesitate to engage in a few friendly battles as well.

"We have things like flour-bombing competitions where we take paper bags of flour up in the planes and drop them like you would a bomb," said Murrin. "When they go off they leave a little flour dust so you can see where the bomb hits as you try to bomb a target."

But the best feature of the WWI Dawn Patrol Rendezvous according to Murrin is that it is extremely affordable for entire family.

"Like the museum, the Dawn Patrol Rendezvous is free. So you can bring as many people as you want and it won't cost you anything for admission or parking." -- www.nationalmuseum.af.mi