Reading Air Show, largest militaria market in the east, June 1, 2, 3

[Spike 7.62]

The Mid-Atlantic Air Museum puts on the Reading Air show at it's air field the 1st weekend of June. I've been to this show 3 times and it is great. No guns for sale (unless you haggle one from a re-enactor) but there is everything else- equipment, mags, t shirts, past and present. There's also a tent that claims to have every war movie ever made, if you can find a title they don't carry you get a movie for free. There is a WWII re-enactment battle, as well as static displays and weapons galore. Of course there are also air planes flying around, such as Avengers, Mustangs, C 47, Yak 9, B 25 and a British Lancaster bomber, just to name a few I remember. Lastly there are special guests, I've met R Lee Ermey, the guys from Band of Brothers an The Pacific (the real vets, not the actors), German Africa campaign veteran and author Gerard Hennes, a Luftwaffe ace, Mustang Ace "Bud" Anderson, a survivor of the Indianapolis sinking, the navigator of the "Enola Gay" and there are a lot more.

If you are a history buff, you must attend this show. I'm going on Saturday only, as of right now, unless I can find a baby sitter for Friday as well.

Anybody else going?

[J]

It sounds awesome. I never heard of it before. 

I'm stuck helping the gf with a yard sale and of course have no baby sitter. Sucks too because that's a straight 30 minute shot from where I'm going to be.

[GUDERIANSDOG]

It sounds awesome. I never heard of it before. 

I'm stuck helping the gf with a yard sale and of course have no baby sitter. Sucks too because that's a straight 30 minute shot from where I'm going to be.

Hey J, it is a great day out, and there are lots of parents with kids. My son will be dressed as a German Gefreiter on museum security this year. It is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; the planes are amazing, as are the reenactor camps, armor, and battle simulations. Definitely talk the GF into going. The militaria market is very cool, I found my dvd copy of Cross of Iron there.
Pics of some planes from last year:


Lots more pics here: http://www.maam.org/wwii/photos/aircraft/ww2_acft.htm

This is the main info site:http://www.maam.org/maamwwii.html

[Spike 7.62]

How old is your child? Lots of people bring their kids, but be prepared. It gets incredibly hot, so bring sunscreen, a hat for you and your kid, lots of H2O and snacks. There are food vendors but the lines are long and the price is high. I wear a camel-bak and stuff snack bars into the pocket, but will still get at least one hot dog or something.

Lots of walking too, so bring a stroller. One with big wheels if possible, it's mostly grassy and it can get tricky after being trampled on by 50,000 people all day.

Guderiansdog, what unit is your son with? I've been thinking of getting into WWII re-enacting, the 9th W-SS "Hohenstaufen" is in my neck of the woods but I haven't contacted them yet.

[GUDERIANSDOG]

How old is your child? Lots of people bring their kids, but be prepared. It gets incredibly hot, so bring sunscreen, a hat for you and your kid, lots of H2O and snacks. There are food vendors but the lines are long and the price is high. I wear a camel-bak and stuff snack bars into the pocket, but will still get at least one hot dog or something.

Lots of walking too, so bring a stroller. One with big wheels if possible, it's mostly grassy and it can get tricky after being trampled on by 50,000 people all day.

Guderiansdog, what unit is your son with? I've been thinking of getting into WWII re-enacting, the 9th W-SS "Hohenstaufen" is in my neck of the woods but I haven't contacted them yet.

Ditto on what Spike said, J. Bring a stroller, hats, sunglasses, sunblock, and lots of drinks/snacks. It is always hot on the tarmac. But they have a free shuttle bus set up from several distant satellite parking areas, which makes parking relatively painless now(it used to be a real major pain.) I like going on the Sundays personally, Saturdays are pretty crowded usually. Some of the best deals are also had at the militaria market then too. Earlier in the morning is better if you are trying beat the heat, by afternoon it can be pretty brutal.

Spike, the kid was never in any organized unit, just in different uniforms for the air show scenes after he finished his Civil Air patrol duty. He' s out of that service now, but will be museum security this year, not actually reenacting. (He just corrected me.) I had a friend from up around Sinking Spring who did the full on Wehrmacht reenacting for a quite few years. But Paul eventually got out because it was becoming excessively political, and some of the newer 'storm-front' mentality members joining up bothered him to no end.

[J]

Did either of you guys go to this?

Was stuck helping with a yardsale but had a fairly good sized old Navy plane go flying over the house Sunday afternoon. I'm assuming it was a cargo plane or smallish bomber but the thing was sweet.