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Although it's named for one of the 20th century's greatest female pilots, everyone knows that McKeesport's Helen Richey Field isn't an airport ... it's a softball and baseball diamond.

But on Sunday, the outfield was indeed full of airplanes, not fly balls. The Keystone Clippers, a model airplane club from Rillton, Westmoreland County, conducted a fly-in in honor of the field's namesake.

It's part of a year-long celebration of Richey, a pioneering commercial and military pilot whose legacy is finally being re-examined more than 60 years after her death.

The fly-in, like the rest of the events, was organized by McKeesport Heritage Center.

Some of the planes --- like the model fighter jets --- weren't around when Richey was at the peak of her career in the 1930s and 1940s.

But other planes that the 15 members of the Clippers brought to McKeesport were indeed models of those that Richey flew all of those years ago.

Those warbirds were pretty hot planes and needed a skilled pilot at the controls, even when they weren't in combat situations. That explains why Richey's peers --- men and women alike --- considered her a top-notch aviator.

At least one of the model aviation enthusiasts at Renzie Park on Sunday had experience with both the miniature planes and the real McCoys. In civilian life, John A. Aranyos of Liberty Borough was a welder at U-S Steel's National Works in McKeesport.

But during World War Two, Aranyos was a pilot in the air corps, escorting bombers from England to Germany and back. He completed 82 combat missions, including three on D-Day, in a P-47, also called a "thunderbolt."

Sure, it wasn't quite the same as watching a full-size air show at a real airport.

But for more than 100 people at Renzie, the soaring models did demonstrate the wonder of flight --- and gave a little taste of the reason why 20-year-old McKeesporter Helen Richey dedicated her life to the fascinating field of aviation at a time when few other women pursued a job outside the home.