One of the world’s truly great warbird air shows is set to take place this coming weekend (May 6/7th, 2017) at Chino Airport in Chino, California. The Planes of Fame Air Show will be celebrating the Planes of Fame Air Museum’s 60th anniversary, so you know they will be pulling out all the stops to make this a spectacular event! As most readers will know very well, the Planes of Fame Air Museum is one of the oldest, largest and most important, privately held collections of vintage aircraft in the world. It rivals the greatest national museums on the planet for having saved so many important and often unique historical aircraft. Their air show is legendary, and sure to impress!
Over fifty aircraft are scheduled to fly at this year’s event, with the majority being of WWII vintage. Participants will include such gems as the uniquely airworthy Northrop N9MB Flying Wing, the world’s only flying (combat veteran) Vought-Sikorsky F4U-1 Corsair, Boeing P-26, Seversky P-35, Mitsubishi A6M Zero, and Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer. There will also be a P-40 Warhawk, B-25 Mitchell, a brace of P-51 Mustangs, SBD Dauntless, F7F Tigercat, F8F Bearcat amongst many others. Sanders Aeronautics will be performing an aerobatic routine in their Hawker Sea Fury, while Greg Colyer will fly aerobatics in his Lockheed T-33. And a USAF F-35A Lightning II will take part in a Heritage Flight with the Museum’s P-38 Lightning and two P-51s.
Visitors will also have the chance to witness panel discussions featuring ten WWII veterans, with many more honored veterans in attendance. The Military Vehicle Display Area will also have a WWII-era Sherman tank on show with reenactors in period field gear present.
Gates will open at 8am for those wanting to get a close look at the aircraft flying later in the day. General admission is $25 with free parking. Kids 11 and under can enter for FREE! There will be a ‘kids zone’ and plenty of vendors for food and drink, as well as all that air show stuff you’d love to buy!
The schedule planned so far for each day will be as follows…
9:30am – Veterans Panel: Honored Panel of Veterans will talk about their personal experiences in WWII, Korea and Viet Nam (held at the announcer’s stand)
10:40am – Opening Ceremony & National Anthem: Flypast by the N9MB, P-26, Zero, P-38, F4U-1 and P-51A
11:10am – N9MB Flying Wing Demo: David Vopat
11:20am – Rob Harrison Aerobatics: The Tumbling Bear in his Zlin 142C
11:30am – Army Air Corps Flying Display: P-51, P-40, P-38, Spitfire, P2, B-25, C-47
11:55am – Kent Pietsch “Interstate” Aerobatics: Kent Pietsch in the Jelly Belly Airplane
12:05pm – Intermission: No flying until 12:35pm
12:10pm – Veterans Panel: Honored Panel of Veterans will talk about their personal experiences in WWII, Korea and Viet Nam. (held at the announcers stand)
12:35pm – Korean War Era Flight Display: F-86, MIG-15, T-33, T-6, P-51, F4U, AD and YAK-3
1:05pm – Stew Dawson Aerobatics: F7F Tigercat
1:15pm – Extreme Aerobatics: Philipp Steinbach Gamebird GB1
1:25pm – Dennis Sanders Aerobatics Display: Hawker Sea Fury
1:35pm – Corsair Flight: F4U Corsair flying display
1:45pm – Navy Flight: F4U, FM2, Val, Zero, SBD, TBM, F6F and F8F flying display
2:05pm – Steve Hinton Aerobatics: – F4U Corsair aerobatics display
2:15pm – Kent Pietsch “Interstate” Aerobatics: Kent Pietsch in the Jelly Belly Airplane
2:30pm – Greg ‘Wired’ Colyer Aerobatics: T-33 Shooting Star aerobatics display – ACE Maker Airshows
2:45pm – Bomber Flight: B-25, Lodestar, PB4Y-2 flying display
3:40pm – Heritage Flight: USAF F-35 Lightning II Heritage Flight, P-51, P-51, P-38
4:00pm – End of Show
This is going to be a fabulous air show, so come on out and support the Planes of Fame this coming weekend. Be sure to check their website Planes of Fame Air Museum for tickets and any last minute information.
I believe one of the veterans from WWII was Cozy Cole. I do not
remember his first name, but they had his picture and name in the Riverside Press newspaper. My Uncle Leon Noel Shiverdecker was a gunner in WWII and a book about his squadron has information about him and the pilot he usually flew with . This was in the South Pacific, in Philippines, Japan, and other areas in the South Pacific area. He was on the USS Essex. The book was written by Gerald W. Thomas “Torpedo Squadron Four” I have read the book but returned it to my cousin my uncles daughter. I am wondering if the Pilot Cole is the pilot that my Uncle served with. I do not expect you to give me his contact information, but if you do have that ability to contact him would you give him my contact information. I think his initials are L. A. Cole Ens.
Thank you for your time.
Twila Shiverdecker Costello