The Planes of Fame Airshow at Chino and the rarest warbirds still flying on the planet

The Planes of Fame Airshow at Chino Airport (KCNO) in Southern California is unlike any other aviation event in the country. While major airshows feature modern military demonstration teams, Chino puts genuinely rare World War II warbirds in the air — including the only airworthy original Mitsubishi A6M Zero in the world. The show combines intimate ramp access, flying museum pieces, and a crowd that treats these machines with the reverence they deserve.

What Makes the Planes of Fame Airshow Different?

Chino Airport sits about 35 miles east of Los Angeles in San Bernardino County, and it is warbird country. The Planes of Fame Air Museum has operated here since 1957, when founder Ed Maloney began collecting WWII aircraft at a time when most people wanted to forget the war. His mission was preservation through operation — keeping these machines flying, not just displaying them behind ropes.

The result is an airshow where the performers are the airplanes from black-and-white photographs. They are not static displays dragged out for a photo opportunity. They fly full performances, right in front of the crowd, with no velvet ropes and no keep-back barriers.

The World’s Last Flying Mitsubishi Zero

The museum’s Mitsubishi A6M Zero is the crown jewel. Japan built over 10,000 Zeros during the war. Exactly one still flies, and it lives at Chino.

This aircraft was captured in 1942 on Akutan Island in the Aleutians after its pilot was killed in a crash landing. The U.S. Navy recovered it mostly intact, studied it exhaustively, and identified its vulnerabilities. Some historians credit that single captured Zero with changing the course of the Pacific air war by showing American pilots exactly where the aircraft could be exploited.

When the Zero takes the runway at the airshow, the crowd goes silent. Nine hundred people, not a word. The Nakajima Sakae radial engine produces a high, tight whine — completely different from the rumble of an American Pratt & Whitney. When it banks overhead at roughly 300 feet with the rising sun insignia visible on the wings, the effect is visceral. The pilot flies it carefully, as one must with the last of its kind, but even at moderate bank angles and gentle climbs, the aircraft has an unmistakable grace. It floats. It looks weightless despite its 4,000-pound airframe.

Maria, one of the museum’s restoration specialists, has maintained the Zero’s airframe for six years. Every flight requires listening to the airplane, watching for cracks, and checking every fastener. There are no spare parts. No warehouse of extra Zero components exists. If something breaks, the team fabricates replacements from scratch or repairs what they have.

The Flying Program: Trainers, Fighters, and Formations

The day’s flying opens with a formation of trainers — a North American T-6 Texan, a Boeing Stearman, and a Vultee BT-13 Valiant — three yellow aircraft in echelon, buzzing the field at roughly 200 feet.

Next comes a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk in full Flying Tigers shark mouth livery, flown by museum volunteer Steve Barber. The P-40’s Allison V-1710 engine produces a heavy, guttural sound — pure brute force. The P-40 was never the fastest or most maneuverable fighter of the war, but it was tough, available, and showed up when America needed something in the air.

The P-51 Mustang follows, its Rolls-Royce Merlin engine producing the sound that keeps crew chief Danny coming back after 11 years of working on the same airframe. Then a pair of Grumman Bearcats — a postwar fighter that barely missed WWII combat but went on to dominate air racing for decades — perform aerobatics in formation.

These are not replicas with modern engines wearing period paint. These are original airframes with original rivets.

The Static Display Ramp

The ground displays are equally impressive. Visitors can walk right up to a Lockheed P-38 Lightning, a North American B-25 Mitchell, and a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress with its chin turret still pointed skyward. Cockpits are open for viewing. Crew members are available to talk. A kid can stand six feet from a Merlin engine and watch a mechanic check the oil.

An F-86 Sabre sits on static display — significant enough on its own, but made more so when a 93-year-old Korean War veteran who flew the type walked up, placed his hand on the intake, stood silently for a long moment, and said simply: “She was fast.”

The People Who Keep These Machines Alive

What separates Chino from the major military airshows is scale and spirit. These are not government-funded demonstration teams with unlimited budgets and logistics chains. The Planes of Fame operation runs on volunteers, donors, and mechanics who keep these aircraft airworthy with their own hands and their own money.

The crowd matches the commitment. Families drive seven hours from Tucson — a former Marine aviator, an aerospace engineer, and their two kids in Civil Air Patrol. A 12-year-old declares with absolute seriousness that she intends to fly the F-35. The volunteers, the veterans, and the next generation all share the same patch of California ramp, connected by these machines.

As one restoration specialist put it: if these airplanes stop flying, they become furniture. And furniture doesn’t inspire the next generation of aviators.

How to Get to Chino Airport

For pilots flying in, Chino Airport (KCNO) has Runways 26R and 26L. It is a towered field in Class Delta airspace, and the tower is accustomed to airshow traffic. Ramp parking fills up early, so plan an early arrival. Pilots approaching from the east through the Banning Pass should watch for restricted areas near March Air Reserve Base. The approach from the north through the Cajon Pass offers clear-day views of the warbird-filled ramp from pattern altitude.

The show typically runs on the first weekend in May. Check the Planes of Fame website for exact dates and scheduling.

Key Takeaways

The Planes of Fame Airshow at Chino is home to the world’s only flying original Mitsubishi A6M Zero, captured in 1942 in the Aleutians — one of the most historically significant aircraft still airworthy.
The show features flying WWII fighters and bombers that are original airframes, not replicas, including P-51 Mustangs, P-40 Warhawks, Grumman Bearcats, and more.
Ramp access is uniquely intimate — visitors can walk up to aircraft, look in cockpits, and talk directly with crews and mechanics with no barriers.
The museum and airshow are sustained entirely by volunteers and donors, making it a grassroots preservation effort unlike government-funded military demonstrations.
Chino Airport (KCNO) is accessible to GA pilots in Class Delta airspace, with the show held annually on the first weekend in May.