Hello everyone! I am extremely excited to announce that the annual Planes of Fame airshow held in Chino California is 8 days away! The folks over there at Planes of Fame put on the best airshows I've ever attended, not even the Greatness of the Reno air races or EAA Airventure in Oshkosh Wisconsin compare. The reason why it's so fantastic is pretty simple, WW2 Warbirds are the main focus, all the time. There are only ever 2 or 3 aerobatic performances from non-warbird aircraft, and always a military demo from a top of the line military aircraft. About 40-50 warbirds fly throughout the day, warbirds of all types and nationalities. Re-enactments were held from the early 2000's to 2014 (They don't anymore because of expenses, and they're afraid they'll set the grass on fire! With the drought and all). I've been attending the airshow since 2009, 9 years ago, and to prepare myself, and show all of you the greatness of this airshow, I'll be showing you videos from each airshow! None of the pictures and videos are mine
Planes of Fame Airshow: 2009- Celebrating 80 Years of Grumman Excellence
With 2009 being me and my dad's first trip to the airshow, and my first airshow ever, we didn't know what to expect, and boy were we pleasantly surprised from the get go. In front of the crowd on the hotramp is where the Warbirds are parked, and what a sight it was!
It was a line of warbirds for as far as the eye could see. This is the list of what aircraft were there, and how many were there.
P-38's-2
P-40's-3
P-47-1
P-51's-5
P-63-1
B-17-1
B-25's-2
C-47's-2
F3F Flying Barrel-1
J2F Duck-1
F4F Wilcat's-2
F6F Hellcat's-2
F7F Tigercat's-3
F8F Bearcat's-5
F4U Corsairs-2
SBD Dauntless-1
TBM Avenger's-4
A1-D Skyraider-1
Supermarine Spitfire-1
Fairey Firefly-1
Hawker Sea Fury-2
Yak-11-1
Yak-3-1
FW-190-1
A6M Zero's-2 (One with original Sakae engine, the only one in the world)
Aichi D3A Val "Tora Tora" BT-13-1
F-86 Sabre-1
Mig-15-1
T-33's-2
So that list right there confirms just how epic this airshow was! 52 Warbirds all in the same place, with almost all of them flying at once at the end the airshow, this "Airpower flight" was simply incredible to see, and you could feel the vibrations of the engines pound your chest. Unfortunately, 2011 was the last year they did this, and I couldn't tell you why it stopped. Safety concerns and expenses are probably the biggest culprits. While that was definitely the most memorable part for me, there were plenty of other breathtaking and life changing flights before that. All of the Grumman aircraft flew together in the Grumman flight, that display is where I fell in love with the F7F tigercat. After that, Pacific, European, and Korean war flights were also held. The Horsemen, an aerobatic team that usually flies P-51's, did the show for the first and last time, with F8F Bearcat's. The Air Force's A-10's and C-17 Globemaster had pretty cool demo's. Then of course there was the Heritage flight, with the A-10, 2 P-51's, and a P-38. 2009's airshow is still the best airshow I've ever attended, and from that point on me and my dad made it a necessity to go each year. That was the first time I'd seen most of those aircraft fly, and certainly the first time I saw a real M4 Sherman, and Hetzer! If you live in or around California, I suggest you make it a priority to see this show at least once, it is well worth it.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPI5DuY7-e0
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eldGJx7Wj00
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGany356WGo
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woP4BU34WI4
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTNy0xqKtFI
Planes of Fame Airshow 2009 - A-10 Thunderbolt II Demo
Planes of Fame Airshow: 2009- Celebrating 80 Years of Grumman Excellence
With 2009 being me and my dad's first trip to the airshow, and my first airshow ever, we didn't know what to expect, and boy were we pleasantly surprised from the get go. In front of the crowd on the hotramp is where the Warbirds are parked, and what a sight it was!
It was a line of warbirds for as far as the eye could see. This is the list of what aircraft were there, and how many were there.
P-38's-2
P-40's-3
P-47-1
P-51's-5
P-63-1
B-17-1
B-25's-2
C-47's-2
F3F Flying Barrel-1
J2F Duck-1
F4F Wilcat's-2
F6F Hellcat's-2
F7F Tigercat's-3
F8F Bearcat's-5
F4U Corsairs-2
SBD Dauntless-1
TBM Avenger's-4
A1-D Skyraider-1
Supermarine Spitfire-1
Fairey Firefly-1
Hawker Sea Fury-2
Yak-11-1
Yak-3-1
FW-190-1
A6M Zero's-2 (One with original Sakae engine, the only one in the world)
Aichi D3A Val "Tora Tora" BT-13-1
F-86 Sabre-1
Mig-15-1
T-33's-2
So that list right there confirms just how epic this airshow was! 52 Warbirds all in the same place, with almost all of them flying at once at the end the airshow, this "Airpower flight" was simply incredible to see, and you could feel the vibrations of the engines pound your chest. Unfortunately, 2011 was the last year they did this, and I couldn't tell you why it stopped. Safety concerns and expenses are probably the biggest culprits. While that was definitely the most memorable part for me, there were plenty of other breathtaking and life changing flights before that. All of the Grumman aircraft flew together in the Grumman flight, that display is where I fell in love with the F7F tigercat. After that, Pacific, European, and Korean war flights were also held. The Horsemen, an aerobatic team that usually flies P-51's, did the show for the first and last time, with F8F Bearcat's. The Air Force's A-10's and C-17 Globemaster had pretty cool demo's. Then of course there was the Heritage flight, with the A-10, 2 P-51's, and a P-38. 2009's airshow is still the best airshow I've ever attended, and from that point on me and my dad made it a necessity to go each year. That was the first time I'd seen most of those aircraft fly, and certainly the first time I saw a real M4 Sherman, and Hetzer! If you live in or around California, I suggest you make it a priority to see this show at least once, it is well worth it.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPI5DuY7-e0
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eldGJx7Wj00
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGany356WGo
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woP4BU34WI4
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTNy0xqKtFI
Planes of Fame Airshow 2009 - A-10 Thunderbolt II Demo
