Planes of Fame Airshow at Chino and the last flying Japanese Zero

The Planes of Fame Airshow at Chino Airport (KCNO) in Southern California is one of the most historically significant aviation events in the country. Its centerpiece is the world’s only airworthy original Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero, flying with its original Nakajima Sakae 14-cylinder radial engine — an artifact so rare that fewer than a dozen people on Earth fully understand its maintenance. If warbird aviation has a sacred ground, Chino is it.

What Makes the Planes of Fame Airshow Different

Most major airshows emphasize spectacle — military jet teams, pyrotechnics, and massive crowds spread across huge venues. Planes of Fame takes the opposite approach. The crowd line is close. The experience is intimate. When a P-51 Mustang fires up its Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, the sound pressure hits your chest and ripples your clothing. This isn’t observation from a distance. It’s immersion.

The Planes of Fame Air Museum has operated at Chino since 1957, spending nearly seven decades not just collecting World War II aircraft but actively flying them. That distinction defines the museum’s entire philosophy: these are planes of fame, not planes behind a rope.

The Last Flying Original Japanese Zero

The museum’s most extraordinary asset is a Mitsubishi A6M5 Model 52 Zero, recovered from a Pacific island, restored, and maintained in flying condition with its factory-original Nakajima Sakae engine. No American engine swap. No retrofit. The original powerplant.

Maintaining this aircraft is an exercise in extreme resourcefulness. Volunteer mechanic Dave, one of the crew responsible for the Zero, described the parts situation as “a creative exercise in patience.” The team machines custom parts and sources materials globally. According to Dave, roughly a dozen people on Earth truly understand the Sakae engine, and three of them volunteer at Planes of Fame.

“Every time it flies, I hold my breath until it lands,” Dave said.

The Zero’s engine produces a sound entirely distinct from American radials — smoother, higher-pitched, almost musical. During its airshow demonstration, the announcer asked the crowd of thousands to fall silent before engine start. The quiet was total. When the Sakae caught and the Zero lifted off, it rose with an almost weightless grace that reflected its original design philosophy: light, maneuverable, fragile, and deadly.

If that engine fails catastrophically, there is no replacement waiting in a warehouse. This is the last one.

What Flies at Planes of Fame

The airshow features an extraordinary lineup of rare and flyable warbirds spanning every theater of the Second World War. Highlights include:

P-51 Mustang — flown by museum president Steve Hinton, one of the most accomplished warbird pilots alive
Grumman F8F Bearcat — a stocky, radial-engine Navy fighter that climbs at angles that seem impossible for a 1945-era airframe
Focke-Wulf 190 — one of the rarest flyable German fighters in existence
Supermarine Spitfire — flown in a simulated dogfight against the Fw 190 over the California desert, its Merlin howling against the BMW radial’s growl

The museum’s year-round collection also includes a flying Boeing B-17, a North American B-25, and a Kawanishi N1K Japanese floatplane fighter. Most are maintained in airworthy condition.

Steve Hinton and the Mission Behind the Museum

Steve Hinton has served as president of the Planes of Fame Air Museum and has been flying out of Chino since his teenage years. He has logged time in more types of World War II fighters than perhaps anyone currently living.

His motivation comes down to one thing: the next generation.

“Every kid who sees that Zero fly, or that Mustang fly, or that Spitfire fly, they get something that no book or movie can give them,” Hinton said. “They get the real thing. The sound, the smell, the feeling in their chest. And maybe one of those kids grows up to be the next person who keeps these things in the air. That’s why we do it.”

That investment pays visible returns. One family at the show — who fly in annually from Prescott, Arizona, in a Cessna 182 — said their children request the Chino airshow months in advance. Their eight-year-old daughter’s favorite aircraft is the Spitfire because, in her words, “it sounds like it’s singing.”

Planning a Visit to Chino and Planes of Fame

Chino Airport (KCNO) sits in Southern California’s Inland Empire at 650 feet elevation, with the San Gabriel Mountains to the north. It is a towered field during normal operations.

If flying in during the airshow:

Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) are established during the event. Check Notices to Air Missions well in advance.
Transient parking is available but fills up extremely early. Coordinate with the museum ahead of time.

If driving in:

Parking is straightforward and the event is well-organized.
General admission provides excellent sight lines.
The ramp access pass is worth the upgrade — walking among the aircraft before and after they fly is an entirely different experience from watching behind a fence.

The museum is open year-round, independent of the airshow. Visitors can see the full collection any time. More information is available at the museum’s website, planesoffame.org.

Key Takeaways

The Planes of Fame Air Museum at Chino houses and flies the world’s only airworthy original Japanese Zero, powered by its factory Nakajima Sakae engine.
The annual airshow features rare warbirds including the Fw 190, Spitfire, F8F Bearcat, and P-51 Mustang in an intimate, close-quarters setting.
The museum has been collecting and flying historic aircraft since 1957, with a volunteer-driven maintenance operation that machines custom parts to keep irreplaceable engines running.
Steve Hinton and the Planes of Fame team fly these aircraft specifically to inspire the next generation of aviation preservationists.
Pilots flying in should plan for TFRs and limited transient parking; the ramp access pass offers the best experience for any visitor.