Mike Machat


Michael "Mike" Machat, born in the 1940s, is an American artist, aviator, and former NSA agent. He specializes in aviation art and was a frequent collaborator of R.E.G. Davies on Davies book series An Airline and its Airplanes, and has notably drawn airplanes of Pan Am, TWA, Aeroflot, Delta, TransBrasil, Eastern, British Airways, Saudia, El Al and others as part of his book collaborations with Davies and Marvin Goldman. Machat has also participated in books about the Berlin Airlift and several aircraft types. He has published two books, named World's Fastest Four-Engine Piston-Powered Aircraft: Story of the Republic XR-12 Rainbow, and Painting Aviation's Legends: The Art of Mike Machat.
One of Machat's drawings hangs on a wall at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California. 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.

Biography

Machat grew up in Long Island, New York. He would visit New York area airports and draw airplanes as a kid.
He graduated from Pratt Institute then joined the United States Air Force. Machat relocated to Los Angeles, California, where he attended California State University, Long Beach, Machat soon began working at the Douglas Aircraft Company.
In 1984, Machat established an arts studio. He was later elected as president of the American Society of Aviation Artists and was made a member of the Society of Illustrators, both of New York and of Los Angeles.

Museum of Flying

Machat hosts a series of shows at the Museum of Flying in Santa Monica, California, which began on June 8, 2019. He also painted a mural there.
Machat also serves as curator at this museum.