AT THIS AVIATION EXPO, HISTORY TAKES FLIGHT : CROWDS AT VAN NUYS AIRPORT PROPELLED INTO A WORLD OF LEARNING.

Byline: Erlina Tulabut Daily News Staff Writer

Don't expect everyone who attends the Van Nuys Airport Aviation Expo to recite the differences between an F-14 Tomcat and an AT-6 Texan.

While there will be aviation buffs aplenty at the two-day expo, many visitors are simply local families who enjoy the free event.

``The majority of the spectators are always from the San Fernando Valley - about 90 percent,'' said Van Nuys Airport manager Ronald J. Kochevar. ``Even if you're not an aviation buff, there's still a lot of things to see.''

With the theme ``Fascination With Flight,'' this year's expo hopes to capitalize on the aviation interest piqued in the younger members of the crowd, Kochevar said. Military recruiters as well as ``Home Improvement'' star Taran Noah Smith, who has a student pilot's permit, will be on hand to inspire budding pilots.

While vintage planes have always been the focus of the expo, this year's activities also include a Saturday flyover by the B-2 stealth bomber. This marks the first Los Angeles appearance by the revolutionary bomber stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.

Other attractions include an event-opening flyover by a formation of F-16 Falcon fighter jets, Los Angeles Fire Department hoist-rescue and water drop demonstrations, an Apache helicopter demonstration, sky-diving teams and a radio-controlled model airplane show.

Clay Lacy of Encino, a former Air National Guard pilot who has flown continuously from Van Nuys Airport since 1952, will attempt a dead-stick landing with a Pilatus Turbo Porter with the propeller standing still.

Visitors also can experience what it feels like to be one of the Navy's Blue Angels by viewing a film that simulates an air show flight.

It's events like these that have the locals thronging the airport before and after the expo, said Chris Rushing, a member of the Condor Squadron, which will fly its AT-6 Texans over the show both days. The expo has grown in size and reputation since it began 33 years ago.

``These people are coming for a reason,'' said Rushing, who at 32, is a new recruit to the core of former World World II fighter pilots who began the group in 1962. ``On Fridays, people are lined up in the streets to see the planes coming in and again on Mondays to see them leave.''

While he expects the crowd to be wowed by the exhibitions, he also hopes the general public will come away with a sense of history.

``These planes have been around for 50 years, and it's good that people see what the military used to be like,'' he said. ``It didn't used to be the high dollar airplane.''

Pilot Bill Reinschild said their influence goes much farther than local boundaries.

``These airplanes have historical significance and value to not only our country, but to everyone who remembers the great air wars,'' said Reinschild, who houses his 1944 P-51 Mustang at the airport. ``These planes are a part of our heritage and our history.''

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1) Vintage planes belonging to the Condor Squadr on line a runway at the Van Nuys Airport.

(2) Can you identify this plane? Perhaps after the expo you'll be able to. It's an F-15.