B-25 Mitchell with WWII Russian lend/lease markings.
The 2010 Chino Planes of Fame Airshow was the best ever! The non-stop action from all the warbirds, military demos, and aerobatic performers was sensory overload.
The experience of all the warbirds starting and launching at one time was stunning. The sky was filled with P-51s, B-17, F8Fs, FM-2s, P-38's, B-25s, F6Fs, F4Us, F7Fs, P-40s, TBM-3s, SNJ-5s, F-3F, J2F, T-33, F-86, MiG-15, SBD, VAL, ZERO, Firefly, and more. The 3-ship P-51 Mustang Aerobatic Team "The Horsemen" demo was presented by ASB.TV. Strega and other air racing aircraft flew an air race demo. Silver Wings performed a wing walking act, Rob Harrison flew aerobatics a his Zlin 50 LX, Brian Sanders flew the Hawker Sea Fury equipped with the Sanders Aeronautics smoke system, Clay Lacy flew the smoke system equipped Lear Jet through some graceful aerobatic maneuvers, the F-16 Viper West team put on a great demo, and the C-17 did their awesome demo. The Northrop N9MB Flying Wing took to the air both days and was a great thrill to see the rare aircraft back in the air.
The Chino Planes of Fame Air Museum had more than 100 WW II era aircraft at the museum and on the flight line- what a sight! The Chino Airport is rich in history with it being a major WW II training base for aviators going to both the Pacific and European Theater of Operations.
The Planes of Fame Air Museum today was a vision of Ed Maloney. He lived near the Chino Airport and witnessed more than 5,000 WW II aircraft being cut up for scrap. Ed Maloney personally bought as many surplus aircraft and parts as he could afford and set out on a mission to restore them. Working from his backyard, Ed painstakingly restored each warbird and opened a small air museum for the public. The first museum was in Claremont, California and was the first of it's kind in the western United States. The location and size of the museum changed several times and grew past Ed's initial lofty visions. The growing collection of the restored WW II aircraft became known as the Planes of Fame Air Museum. We can thank Ed Maloney and his vision for what we have today.