Mark your calendar: the Northern California Kit Car Club (NCKCC) will be holding its annual show at the Oakland Aviation Museum on Sept. 21. Besides hosting the club’s interesting collection of cars, the museum has on display a number of significant aircraft. The largest one is the Solent Mk III Flying Boat, once owned by Howard Hughes, and appeared in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark as a Boeing China Clipper. In regular service in the late '40s between England and South Africa, there are only two left in the world.  

Another interesting feature of the Oakland Aviation Museum is a number of experimental planes built from kits. They include the following:

-Bede BD-5B: Constructed by do-it-yourself plane builders, Bedes are powered by various small engines such as Honda and Mazda power-plants.

-Glasair SH-II: Introduced in 1979, the Glasair was the first pre-molded composite (fiberglass) kit aircraft ever offered.

-JDT Mini  Max 1600R: This ultra light is a minimum-cost aircraft that comes in kit form and requires a minimum of building space to complete. It took 1200 hours over seven years to build this kit.

-Jurca MJ.77 Mustang:This is a replica P-51B as a 3/4 scale representation of the famed "Red Tail" Mustang, flown by the illustrious Tuskegee Airmen as bomber escorts over Europe in WWII.

-Kitfox IV 1200: The Kitfox is the most successful aircraft on the market today. It retain its value due to incredible fuel economy.

-Wright EX Vin Fiz: This replica of the Wright Bros. Model EX was built in 1972. The real Model B “Vin Fiz” flown by Calbraith Perry Rodgers, completed the first transcontinental flight in 1911. 

Also included in the display are a Grumman NF-14A Tomcat and MIG-15bis of Korean War fame.     

The NCKCC show on September 21, 2014 will be an "Open Cockpit" day so visitors can get up close and personal with many of the planes.