Stop by Booth No. 3052 to have a close look at the artwork of Michael Maiden, the Sandy, Ore. sculptor best known for his series of bronze American bald eagles. Maiden is also showing photos of his bronze sculptures of pilots, air and ground crewmen and aircraft.

A highlight of his booth display is a pictorial of his latest work, a three-part sculpture, now at the Naval Aviation Monument Park in Hampton Roads, Va. The first statue honors Eugene Ely, who in 1910 became the first pilot to fly an airplane off a ship’s deck.  The second shows a World War II pilot and his crewman racing to their aircraft. The third sculpture shows two present-day pilots and a maintenance chief. The three statues were commissioned by the Hampton Roads Squadron of the Association of Naval Aviation.

Maiden, in 2001, created a memorial sculpture for the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in Washington State. That work caught the eye of Fred Metz, a retired rear admiral and member of the Hampton Roads Squadron. Metz was instrumental in selecting Maiden for the sculpture now in Virginia.