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Model aircraft play a unique role in the imagination of aviation enthusiasts of all ages. They help contextualize the heroic stories and technological triumphs of flight. In many cases, the original aircraft are lost to history, but these small-scale representations remain as a reminder of that innovative past. Our essay of images focuses on select examples from the more than two thousand models held in the collection of SFO Museum. We hope the enlargement of details provides an opportunity to return our gaze to the art of the model makers, which can be easily overlooked when focusing on these historical recreations. See photographs from our model collection on display, pre-security, on the arrivals level of Terminal 3. This image was posted on August 01, 2022.

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