The Planes of Fame Air Show at Chino and the flying museum where warbirds you thought were gone forever still take to the sky

The Planes of Fame Air Show at Chino Airport (CNO) in San Bernardino County, California, is one of the most remarkable aviation events in the United States. Home to the world’s only original flyable Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero, the show draws from a collection of over 160 aircraft—a staggering number of which are airworthy—making it less an airshow and more a living history lesson conducted at two hundred knots.

What Makes the Planes of Fame Air Show Different?

Most major airshows spread across vast flight lines with six-figure crowds. Chino is intimate. Visitors can stand close enough to a Merlin engine at startup to feel the vibration in their chest before the sound reaches their ears. The aircraft are parked wingtip to wingtip on the grass, accessible and unhurried. Attendees talk directly with pilots and mechanics rather than observing from behind barriers.

The museum behind the show has been at Chino since 1957, founded by Ed Maloney. He watched the U.S. military scrap World War II aircraft by the thousands—cutting them up, melting them down—and began buying, trading for, and rescuing warbirds from junkyards. His founding philosophy was not preservation behind glass. It was preservation through flight. That philosophy remains the museum’s operating principle today.

The Zero: The Rarest Warbird in the Sky

The Planes of Fame Zero is the only original flyable A6M5 Model 52 in the world. Captured on Saipan in 1944, it was shipped to the United States for evaluation and eventually acquired by Maloney. The restoration took years. Finding parts for a Japanese fighter designed to be lightweight and expendable was extraordinarily difficult.

When the Zero flies, the ramp goes silent. Its Nakajima Sakae radial engine produces a sound entirely distinct from American powerplants—higher pitched, thinner, almost musical. In late-afternoon light, with landing gear retracted and dark green paint catching the sun, the aircraft is an arresting sight that reduces grown adults to three-word sentences.

What Else Flies at Chino?

The Zero headlines the show, but the full roster reads like an encyclopedia of military aviation.

North American P-51D Mustang — The museum’s Mustang is a regular performer. Its laminar flow wing and Packard-built Merlin V-1650-7 at full power during a high-G climbing turn delivers the definitive Mustang experience.

Grumman F8F Bearcat — The Navy’s intended ultimate piston-engine dogfighter, built too late for combat. Its climb rate is visceral. The pilot pulls back and the aircraft leaves the earth like gravity is optional. The crowd gasps every pass.

Boeing P-26 Peashooter — The U.S. Army Air Corps’ first all-metal monoplane fighter, dating to 1933. Open cockpit, fixed gear, wire-braced wings. Watching it circuit the pattern alongside modern traffic is surreal.

Depending on the year, the lineup has also included a Focke-Wulf 190, a Hawker Sea Fury, trainers like the North American T-28 Trojan, and liaison aircraft like the Stinson L-5 Sentinel. The show covers the full scope of military aviation history, not just the headline fighters.

The flying demonstration is organized chronologically, moving from biplanes and the Peashooter era through World War II, with narration explaining each aircraft’s role, its pilots, and its historical significance.

The People Who Keep These Machines Alive

The museum runs on volunteer dedication. Retired engineers drive hours each weekend to work on multi-year restorations. One volunteer spent eleven years on the museum’s Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, working every Saturday. These are people who show up unpaid because they believe a radial engine turning over and olive drab paint against blue sky communicates something no textbook can replicate.

The pilots, mechanics, and volunteers share a conviction that flying these aircraft—not just displaying them—is a form of historical obligation.

What to See Inside the Museum

The indoor hangars hold aircraft unavailable anywhere else. Notable displays include:

Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka — a rocket-powered kamikaze weapon with a cockpit
Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet — the rocket-powered interceptor as dangerous to its own pilots as to the enemy
North American F-86 Sabre and aircraft spanning Korean War and Vietnam eras

A full day in the hangars alone would not be enough to see everything.

How to Get to the Planes of Fame Air Show

Chino Airport (CNO) is a towered field approximately 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, making it accessible for anyone combining the show with a Southern California trip.

Flying in: The airport has two runways, the longest at 7,000 feet. Transient parking is available but fills quickly on airshow weekend. Arrive at dawn.

Driving in: The museum sits on the south side of the field. Parking is straightforward, but lines build by mid-morning.

Pro tip: Visit on the Friday before the airshow if possible. Practice day flying is not open to the general public, but visiting the museum on regular admission days leading up to the show offers a chance to see aircraft being prepped on the ramp—mechanics running engines, pilots conducting walk-arounds. The atmosphere is quieter and more personal, with genuine opportunities to talk with the people who maintain these machines.

Key Takeaways

The Planes of Fame Air Show at Chino features the world’s only flyable original A6M5 Zero, along with a deep roster of rare warbirds including a P-26 Peashooter, F8F Bearcat, and P-51D Mustang.
The museum has been flying and maintaining warbirds since 1957, making it one of the longest-operating aviation preservation organizations in the country.
Chino’s intimate scale sets it apart from mega-shows—visitors get close to aircraft, pilots, and mechanics in ways larger events cannot offer.
The indoor museum collection is world-class, housing rare Axis and Allied aircraft spanning decades of military aviation.
Fly into CNO or drive from Los Angeles, but arrive early—the ramp and parking fill fast on show days.