Planes of Fame Air Museum

Last updated

Planes of Fame
Pof entrance.jpg
U.S. - Los Angeles Metropolitan Area location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Established12 January 1957 (1957-01-12)
Location
Coordinates 33°58′53″N117°38′23″W / 33.98139°N 117.63972°W / 33.98139; -117.63972
Type Aviation museum
Collection size150+ planes
Founder Edward T. Maloney
President Steve Hinton
Website www.planesoffame.org

Planes of Fame Air Museum is an aviation museum at Chino Airport in Chino, California. [1]

Contents

History

The museum's Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress undergoing restoration to flight. Planes of Fame Museum Entrance lrg.jpg
The museum's Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress undergoing restoration to flight.

Establishment in Claremont

The Air Museum was founded by Edward T. Maloney on 12 January 1957, in Claremont, California, to save historically important aircraft. [2] [3] By February 1959, when it acquired the last F-86A in the California Air National Guard, the museum had 14 aircraft. [4] As the museum quickly acquired airplanes, its location proved too small and in 1960 it approached Long Beach, California about leasing a hangar at Long Beach Municipal Airport. [5] [6] Two years later, it suggested relocating to Torrance Airport. [7]

Move to Ontario

By 1962, the museum's collection of 72 aircraft had outgrown its original home. [8] [9] In February of that year, it began renovating a hangar leased by the Southern California Aircraft Corporation at Ontario International Airport in Ontario, California and made a request to the city to sublease the building. [10] [11] The city was skeptical, questioning the museum's quality, but eventually approved the request in early April after the museum agreed to maintain the property. [12] [13] A month later the flyable portion of its collection started arriving there. [a] [10] Following an initial opening to the public in July, the museum held a grand opening on 3 August 1963 with 27 aircraft on display. [14] [10]

After the expiry of SCAC's lease in 1966, the museum offered to take over the building. [15] The city tentatively approved a one to three year lease that June. [16]

Move to Buena Park

In 1970, redevelopment of the airport at Ontario forced the museum to move again. [8]

Three years prior, in December 1967, James Brucker, who had accrued a collection of vehicles from his business supplying Hollywood productions, opened the Movieland: Cars of the Stars Museum in Oxnard, California. [17] Two years later, construction was begun on a new location in Buena Park, California near Knott's Berry Farm. Plans called for the facility, called Movieland: Cars of the Stars and Planes of Fame Museum, to feature two 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m2) buildings side by side and with a common entrance. [18] The museum's 25 non-flyable aircraft were disassembled and trucked to the new building, which opened on 5 June 1970. [19] [20] [21] [b]

Meanwhile, the airworthy aircraft were moved to Chino Airport, about 30 miles (48 km) away. [8] [c] The last aircraft left the property on 12 November 1970. [23]

Consolidation at Chino

When Movie World closed in 1973, the name "Planes of Fame" was transferred, along with the static planes, to the flying collection at Chino. [8] [d] [e] The following year, when the museum reopened, it was combined with the old "Air Museum" name to become the Planes of Fame Air Museum. [26] After first leasing a building at the airport, it presented a plan to construct a 15,000 sq ft (1,400 m2) hangar in October 1981. [27] Around the same time, the museum began restoration on its N-9M flying wing. [28]

In the early 1980s, Robert Pond was establishing Planes of Fame East at the Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. [29]

A hangar to display the museum's Japanese aircraft was completed in December 1982 and opened in April 1984. [30] [31] The first step in a three phase plan, phase two involved an additional hangar and phase three would see a new office complex. [32]

The museum imported an An-2 from Hungary in 1987 and a MiG-15 and MiG-17 from Poland in 1988. However, the following January, after the aircraft had passed through customs and been placed on display, they were determined to have been acquired in violation of government regulations about imports of military equipment from certain countries. [33] The museum stated that it was unaware of the restrictions and began a petition to keep the airplanes. [34] As a result of Congressional action, the museum received an exemption in November. [35]

Steve Hinton became president and CEO of the museum in 1994, taking over from Ed Maloney. At the same time, a new foundation was formed to provide direction. [36]

As more aircraft were restored and the collection grew, an additional display facility was opened in 1995 at Valle, Arizona. [37] Located halfway between Williams, Arizona, and the south rim of the Grand Canyon, it houses more than 40 of the museum's aircraft, many flyable.

Planes of Fame East closed in 1997, with Bob Pond's personal collection being transferred to the Palm Springs Air Museum. [38]

Expansion at Chino

An agreement signed in February 2000 allowed the museum to grow to 9.53 acres (0.0386 km2). It subsequently announced plans for a 15,000 sq ft (1,400 m2) hangar as the first part of a four phase expansion. [39]

The Chino facility opened its 9,000 sq ft (840 m2) Enterprise Hangar in 2002. [40] Designed to resemble the hangar deck of a World War II aircraft carrier, it contains a number of items from the USS Enterprise (CV-6) donated by members of her crew and flight squadrons. It also houses many aircraft typical of those that served on the Enterprise during the war.

By the end of 2003, the third phase had begun with the construction of a third, 15,000 sq ft (1,400 m2) hangar. [41]

The Chino facility was further expanded in 2004–08, adding two new hangars, new offices, a gift shop, library, and the Hands-On Aviation youth education center. Display areas for jets and other aircraft of the Korean War, Cold War, and Vietnam War were added. In October 2009, another new hangar was dedicated, this one built by the 475th Fighter Group to store their memorabilia and house the museum's rare Lockheed P-38 Lightning. [26]

An F-14 that the museum had received in trade from the Yanks Air Museum was seized by the U.S. Navy in March 2007. The aircraft had been insufficiently demilitarized when they were sold to a salvage company and there were concerns that an Iranian front company may have attempted to obtain parts from them. [42]

The museum was the subject of a lawsuit brought by Yanks Air Museum and other tenants at Chino Airport in 2016 who argued that the museum's airshow interfered with other flight operations. [43]

The Valle facility closed during the COVID Pandemic and has not reopened as of 2024. [44]

Expansion to Santa Maria

The museum announced plans to open a new location at the Santa Maria Public Airport. [45] It received planning permission for the 208,962 sq ft (19,413.2 m2) facility in December 2024. [46] [47] It broke ground on the new location in February 2025. [48]

Exhibits

475th Fighter Group

The museum's P-38 Lightning P38 Lightning.jpg
The museum's P-38 Lightning

In the late 1990s, members of the 475th Fighter Group (Satan's Angels) established a permanent home for the artifacts, photographs, records and memories of their U.S. Army Air Forces unit, which recorded 562 victories, received two Presidential Unit Citations, and produced 42 "Aces" in the South Pacific combat area. It was the first all-Lockheed P-38 group and the only one formed overseas in Australia.

This new museum was dedicated in October 1997, at the expanding March Field Air Museum complex at the former March Air Force Base near Riverside, California, where the first test flight of the P-38 took place. The March Field Museum chronicles the history of U.S. military aviation since 1917. Legally known as The 475th Fighter Group Historical Foundation, Inc., the museum was housed in a 1,250-square-foot (116 m2) modern steel building reminiscent of a World War II military hangar.

In 2005, the museum's board decided to merge the museum into The Air Museum Planes of Fame. As of 2015, a 3,600 sq ft (330 m2) hangar at Planes of Fame was under construction for the 475th. [49] [50] [ needs update ]

Collection

Aircraft

The museum's Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero A6M5 Planes of Fame.jpg
The museum's Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero
In January 2013, the restoration continued. Pickadilly Lilly II.jpg
In January 2013, the restoration continued.

The museum's collection of Japanese aircraft is the largest of its type in the world. This collection includes the only authentic airworthy example of the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter in the world, [51] with its original Sakae engine and an Aichi D3A featured in the movie Tora! Tora! Tora! .

Many other rare aircraft are maintained in flyable condition, [52] such as a North American P-51A Mustang, a Boeing P-26A Peashooter, a Lockheed P-38J Lightning, and a Republic P-47G Thunderbolt.

Many of the museum's roughly 150 aircraft were built in Southern California, and about 30 are flyable. [53] [54] Others are under restoration in the full-time restoration facility.

As of May 2021 the complete collection consists of: [55]

The museum was previously home to the world's only surviving Northrop N-9M flying wing, which was destroyed in a crash on April 22, 2019.

Ground vehicles

The Military Vehicle Corps, often referred to as the Motor Pool, is a small group within the Planes of Fame Air Museum. The Military Vehicles in their collection are primarily from World War II and are maintained and operated by a group of Museum volunteers. These vehicles are used in parades, public events (e.g. Marching Thru History), and WWII re-enactments. The following vehicles are some of those that are on display at Chino. [56]

Events

The museum's Vought F4U Corsair, a WWII combat veteran. F4U1 Corsair.jpg
The museum's Vought F4U Corsair, a WWII combat veteran.

The museum holds a monthly mini-airshow around a certain theme, [1] such as: "World War I Aviation", "Experimental Aircraft", "Korean War Aviation", "Airplanes In The Movies" and "Naval Aviation". Each mini-airshow starts with one or more talks or seminars given by people involved with the featured aircraft (such as combat pilots), followed by a flight demonstration of two or three aircraft related to that day's theme. [57] Beginning in 2021 the museum changed the name of these monthly events to "Hangar Talk". [58]

The museum flies all of its airworthy aircraft, as well as many other warbirds visiting from other museums or brought by private owners, during its annual airshow. This event is the largest gathering of warbirds in the western US. Many aircraft are rare or one of a kind. [59] In 2022, the museum began a new event with the gathering of military vehicles and historical reenactors named "Wheels, Tracks, and Wings" held on June 18. [60] The event expanded into a two-day event in 2023. For 2024, the event was renamed "Wings, Tracks, and Wheels" to be held on May 4-5 with over ten warbird aircraft expected to fly, special presentations, historical reenactors, military vehicles, and concluding with a M4A1 Sherman Tank demonstration. [61]

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. The original location was maintained to display the non-flying aircraft. However, plans called for it to be eventually vacated.
  2. This should not be confused with the similarly named, but unrelated, Movieland of the Air Museum which reopened at the Orange County Airport later that same month. [22]
  3. This airport was formerly the home of Cal-Aero Academy, an Army Air Corps facility that trained more than 10,000 pilots before the end of World War II.
  4. By April 1973, the name of the combined museum had changed from "Movieland" to "Movie World". [24]
  5. The museum received a permit to allow it to rent its half of the building for industrial use in November 1974. [25]

Notes

  1. 1 2 Flight Journal, Aces of the Red Star at Planes of Fame Air Museum, Aviation in the Movies, February 2, 2008 – Chino, California, Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  2. "West Coast's First Aviation Museum to Open at Claremont". The Daily Report. January 10, 1957. p. 1. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  3. Signor, Robert H. (February 9, 1958). "West's First Air Museum". Independent-Press-Telegram. p. 8. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  4. "Last Sabrejet to Be Added to Air Museum". Progress-Bulletin. February 9, 1959. p. 8. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  5. "Seek L.B. Site for Air Museum". Press-Telegram. October 14, 1960. p. B-2. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  6. "Air Museum Ponders Move to L.B." Press-Telegram. November 2, 1960. p. B-2. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  7. "Air Museum Proposed Move to Torrance". Los Angeles Times. July 8, 1962. p. 1. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Mormillo 1983, p. 58.
  9. "Claremont Air Museum Leaders Seek Move to Ontario Airport". Progress-Bulletin. March 13, 1963. p. 1. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 "Ceremony Planned by Museum". Progress-Bulletin. July 24, 1963. p. 1. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  11. "City Council will Decide by Tuesday". The Daily Report. March 13, 1963. pp. A-1, A-4. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  12. "City Considers Rejection". The Daily Report. March 27, 1963. p. C-1. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  13. "Air Museum to Locate in Ontario". Progress-Bulletin. April 3, 1963. p. 1. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  14. "Ontario Air Museum Will Open Saturday". The Daily Report. August 2, 1963. p. C-8. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  15. "Public Will Pay to Park". The Daily Report. May 11, 1966. p. C-1. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  16. "Commissioners Approve Lease for Airport Museum". The Daily Report. June 16, 1966. p. C-1. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  17. "Somis Autos Go on View". The Daily News. November 6, 1967. p. 6. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  18. Cordero, Joe (July 12, 1969). "New Buena Park Attraction Seen As Tourist Trade Boost". The Register. p. A3. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  19. Dailey, Jack (June 3, 1970). "Planes' Fame Will Remain". Solano-Napa News Chronicle. p. 6. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  20. Golding, George (May 2, 1970). "Old Movie Planes Again in Spotlight". The Times. p. 17A. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  21. "Air Museum to Donate 25 Planes". Los Angeles Times. June 4, 1970. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  22. "Air Museum Due to Reopen Saturday". Los Angeles Times. June 27, 1969. p. 8. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  23. "Air Museum's Gone". The Daily Report. November 12, 1970. p. B-1. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  24. Kinsch, Harold (April 30, 1973). "Cam 'n' Eggs". Camarillo Daily News. p. B-1. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  25. Roberts, Charles (November 5, 1974). "Drivein's Now "Peep Show'". Anaheim Bulletin. p. 5. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  26. 1 2 "History & Mission". Planes of Fame Air Museum. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  27. "Planes of Fame Seeks Permanency". Chino Champion. October 9, 1981. p. 17. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  28. "Group Rebuilding Flying Wing". North County Blade Tribune. AP. November 7, 1986. p. 4. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  29. Matheny, Dave (September 10, 1990). "Up in the Air". Star Tribune. pp. 1E, 7E. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  30. Erlich, Matthew (February 22, 1985). "Planes of Fame Keep 'em Flying". Chino Champion. pp. 18–19. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  31. "Ribbon Cutting at Planes of Fame Opens Japanese Exhibit". Chino Valley News. April 25, 1984. p. n.p. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  32. Behr, Debra (May 25, 1984). "Old Warriors Fly in from the Past". Los Angeles Times. pp. 1, 4, 5, 11. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  33. Saavedra, Tony (January 26, 1989). "Soviet Bloc Airplanes Considered Illegal Imports". San Bernardino County Sun. pp. A1, A10. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  34. "Museum's Landing of Russian Planes at Root of Dispute". Daily Press. AP. July 3, 1989. p. C-1.
  35. "Museum Gets to Keep MiG Planes". Chico Enterprise Record. AP. November 3, 1989. p. 1A. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  36. "Hinton Heads Air Museum". Champion. May 6, 1994. p. A-11. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  37. "Valle Museum, Airport Open". Arizona Daily Sun. June 17, 1995. p. A3. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  38. Dexter, Patty (July 30, 2015). "Wings of the North Air Museum opens Aug. 1 in Eden Prairie". Southwest News Media. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  39. Hand, Charles (April 29, 2000). "Planes of Fame Continues to Grow". Chino Champion. p. C-13. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  40. Hermann, David (October 5–6, 2002). "Impressions of War on High Seas". Los Angeles Times. p. B1. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  41. Chandan, Preeti (December 27, 2003). "'Planes of Fame' Museum Spreading Its Wings". Chino Champion. p. C-4. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  42. "Feds Seize Fighter Jets from Chino Museums". Chino Champion. March 10–16, 2007. p. A1. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  43. Thompson, Josh (November 18, 2017). "Planes of Fame might expand, not move". Champion Newspapers. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  44. "Planes of Fame Air Museum Valle, Arizona Facility Closed to Public Viewing". Planes of Fame Air Museum. February 9, 2023. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  45. Hinton, Jane (January 5, 2023). "Welcome to our blog!". Planes of Fame Air Museum. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  46. Scully, Janene (December 9, 2024). "Planes of Fame Air Museum Expansion Closer to Takeoff in Santa Maria". Noozhawk. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  47. Feraday, Caroline (February 21, 2025). "Vintage aircraft museum on Central Coast is significant step closer". KCLU. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  48. Anderson, Jason (February 20, 2025). "Planes of Fame Air Museum breaks ground at Santa Maria Airport". Santa Maria Times. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  49. "475th Fighter Group Historical Foundation". 475th.org. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  50. "475th Fighter Group". Planes Of Fame. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  51. World War II Museums Archived 2012-03-14 at the Wayback Machine , Planes of Fame Air Museum, Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  52. Exploring The Air Museum - Planes of Fame Chino, Warbird Alley, California, Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  53. Ogden, Bob. Aviation Museums and Collections of North America, Sudbourne, England, 2007. ISBN   978-0851303857.
  54. Parker, Dana T. Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II, Cypress, CA, 2013. ISBN   978-0-9897906-0-4.
  55. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 Planes of Fame Air Museum (May 15, 2021). "Flying & Static Aircraft". planesoffame.org. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  56. "Military Vehicles". Planes Of Fame. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  57. "Events Calendar". Planes Of Fame. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  58. "Hangar Talk Featuring the North American P-51A Mustang". Planes Of Fame. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  59. "Air Show 2013 Recap". Planes Of Fame. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  60. "Living History 2022 - Wheels, Tracks, and Wings". Planes Of Fame. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  61. "Wings, Tracks, and Wheels 2024". Planes Of Fame. Retrieved April 11, 2024.

Bibliography

  • Mormillo, Frank B. (December 1983 – March 1984). "Chino's 'Planes of Fame'". Air Enthusiast . No. Twenty–three. Bromley, UK: Fine Scroll. pp. 56–64. ISSN   0143-5450.