Planes of Fame Airshow, Chino Airport

The annual Chino airshow was well attended and enjoyed good weather. There was public access to the flightline before the flying display, including a remarkable lineup of Sea Furies, Thunderbolts and Mustangs, including the famous Voodoo and Strega racers.

A shadow hanging over proceedings was the tragic death of Planes of Fame pilot David Vopat, just a week beforehand, in the crash of the Northrop N9MB flying wing, which was to have been the star attraction for me. A Missing Man formation was flown at the start of the show in his honour.

The flying display itself was fine, but, as so often, the crowd faced south, into the cloudless sky, meaning that until late afternoon the aircraft fuselages were in deep shadow, so it was very difficult to get well-lit flying shots.

There are more photos of some of the Planes of Fame Museum's (PoF) aircraft on my page for that visit. We attended the show on the 3rd May, but some of the photos here were taken on our visit to the airfield the day before.

Aircraft Reg'n Thumbs Notes
Beech T-34C Turbo Mentor N34CC (NX34CC) AD-462 USMC ex 160529, N234CK
Bell 412EP N21844 Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)
Boeing P-26A Peashooter N3378G (NX3378G) 33-0123 23 USAF PoF. Ex Guatemala AF 0672
Cessna 190 N9848A Marked as '07541'
Cessna O-1E Bird Dog N62TX Marked as '10051'
Consolidated P4Y-2 Privateer N2871G (NX2871G) 6302 Ex USN 66302 62
Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk 1 N94466 (NX94466) SU-E RAF ex AK933, Canadian AF 1057
Curtiss P-40E Warhawk N40245 (NX40245) 7 Yanks Air Museum. Ex Canadian AF 1038, N1223N, as '41-36483 7'
Curtiss P-40N Kittyhawk IV N85104 (NL85104) 79 USAF PoF. Ex Canadian AF 858
De Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk N48262 (NX48262) Marked as UK Army 'WP599'. Ex RAF WK612.
Douglas A-1D Skyraider N409Z (NX409Z) 126997 JC-409 USN ex French AF 78, N92053
Douglas A-26B Invader N4313 (NL4313) 44-34313 BC-313 USAF Ex N5457V, C-GHLK, N119DR
Douglas C-47B (DC-3A) N60154 44-76423 3X-S USAF What's Up Doc? Long history inc KN381. We saw this at Palm Springs Air Museum.
Douglas C-47B (DC-3C) N47SJ CD USAF Betsy's Biscuit Bomber ex 43-48608, OT-CWF, USN 438608, F-RAMB, F-RAOO, 4X-FNN
Douglas C-47B (DC-3C) N791HH 44-76791 L-W6 USAF Willa Dean ex USN 76791, F-RAMO, F-RASK, F-UIHD, F-RAJB, 4X-FND, Israeli AF 034
Douglas C-53D Skytrooper (DC-3A) N45366 42-68830 R-CU D USAF D Day Doll ex N45366 (NC45366)
Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless N670AM (NX670AM) 28536 399 USN ex New Zealand AF NZ5062
ERCO 415-E Ercoupe N94809 PoF
Fairchild 24-C8F N16682 (N1C6682) PoF
Fairchild C-123K Provider N87DT Yanks Air Museum. Unmarked ex USAF 54-0581
Focke Wulf (Flug Werk) FW-190A-8N replica N190RF (NX190RF) 14 white PoF ex Rudy Frasca.
Folland Gnat T1 N7HY Ex RAF XP514, Red Arrows livery
Formation - Curtiss P-40N, P-40E x2, Spitfire N85104, N94466, N20245, N749DP  
Formation - Douglas Skyraider, Grumman Avenger N409Z, N7835C  
Formation - Douglas Skyraider, Vought Corsair N409Z, N83782  
Formation - Grumman Wildcat, Hellcat N5822, N1078Z  
Formation - Lockheed TV-2, CT-133, MiG-15 N6633D, N377JP, N87CN  
Formation - Republic P-47 - Missing Man N3395G leaving N47DM, N47DA, N47FG In memory of David Vopat, PoF pilot who died the previous week in the N9MB crash.
Formation - Republic P-47 Thunderbolt N47DM, N47DA, N47FG  
Formation - Seversky AT-12, Boeing P-26A N55539, N3378G  
Formation - Seversky AT-12, Boeing P-26A, Mustang P-51A N55539, N3378G, N4235Y  
Formation - Vans RV-4, RV-6, RV-6A, RV-8 N240SB, N606BJ, N670SB, N61ED  
Grumman (GM) FM-2 Wildcat N5833 (NX5833) Q-T RAF markings, ex USN 86819
Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat N1078Z Ex USN 70222
Grumman F7F-3 Tigercat N700F (NX700F) 80390 D3 55 USMC Here Kitty Kitty! Ex N6129C
Grumman F7F-3 Tigercat N909TC (NX909TC) 80425 JC-4 USMC ex N7235C, G-RUMT
Grumman OV-1A Mohawk N4235Z (NX4235Z) 59-2604 US Army
Grumman TBM-3 Avenger N7835C (NX7835C) 46 Ex USN 91264
Hawker Sea Fury FB10 N15S (NX15S) WJ288 153 Ex G-SALY
Hawker Sea Fury T20 N20SF (NX20SF) 8 Sanders Bros' famous racer Dreadnought. Ex RN VZ368, G-9-3, Burma AF UB-451. We saw this again at Ione.
Hawker Sea Fury T20S N924G 924 Sanders Bros. Ex RN VX300, D-FAMI, D-CAMI, G-BCKH, N46990, as RN 'ES8502'. We saw this again at Ione.
Heritage Flight - F-16D and P-47D 93-0540, N47DM Just the pair on practice day.
Heritage Flight - F-16D and P-47s 93-0540, N47FG, N47DM  
Lockheed 12A Electra Junior N93R Yanks Air Museum. Ex 38-0540
Lockheed TV-2 (T-33) Shooting Star N6633D (NX6633D) 51-4033 Palm Springs Air Museum. USAF ex USN 126591, N335V
Lockheed (Canadair) CT-133 Silver Star N133DV (NX133DV) 21610 FT-610 USAF Ace Maker III ex Canadian AF 133610
Lockheed (Canadair) CT-133 Silver Star N377JP (NX377JP) PoF Pacemaker (at Reno unlimited air Races), marked Sun Air Parts. Ex Canadian AF 21377, 133377
Lockheed TP-38J Lightning N138AM (N1X38AM) PoF USAF ex 44-23314 as 162 Skidoo
Lockheed P-38L Lightning N7723C (NL7723C) 44-26996 981 USAF Honey Bunny ex N53752 (NX53752), CF-GCH, N5596V
Lockheed EC-121T Warning Star N548GF 53-0548 Yanks Air Museum. USAF
Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon 01-0050 SW USAF Viper Demo Team
Lockheed Martin F-16C Fighting Falcon 93-0540 SW USAF Viper Demo Team
McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle 77-0150 ST Yanks Air Museum USAF
MiG-15bis N87CN 1051 PoF ex Chinese AF 83277 as 'North Korean AF 1051 red'
Mitsubishi A6M5 Reisen (Zero) N46770 (NX46770) 61-120 PoF Japanese Navy original
Morovan Zlin 142C N684CM Rob Harrison Tumbling Bear aerobatics
Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 N991PT 2859 37 USN
North American AT-6C Texan N7055H USAF
North American AT-6D Texan N6432D 42-86390 34P-171 USAF
North American SNJ-5 Texan N1038A 90917 WD-17 USMC War Dog ex 44-80911
North American SNJ-6 Texan N349JB USAF ex 44-82333, USN 112247, N7983C, as '44-9319 TA-319'
North American P-51A Mustang N4235Y (NX4235Y) RAF ex 43-6251 as 'AG470 RU-M'
North American P-51C Mustang N4651C (NX4651C) USAF ex 43-25057 as '43-6819 QP-B Boise Bee'
North American P-51D Mustang N151BP 44-84753 62 Palm Springs Air Museum Bunny ex N5436V, N51TC
North American P-51D Mustang IV (mod racer) N551VC (NX551VC) 5 Voodoo - the world's fastest piston-powered plane. Ex 44-73415, Canadian AF 9289, N6526D
North American P-51D Mustang IV (mod racer) N71FT (NX71FT) 7 Strega ex 44-13105, Australian AF A68-679
North American P-51D Mustang N510TT Ex 44-73339, Costa Rica AF 2, N51RR, G-SIRR, as 44-74008 VT-F left Comfortably Numb, right Keep 'em Flying
North American P-51D Mustang N5441V (NL5541V) Ex 45-11582 as '44-72861 607 left Dolly, right Spam Can'
North American P-51D Mustang N7715C (NL7715C) Ex 44-73053, Indonesian AF unknown, as '44-13334 U-G4 Wee Willy II'
North American P-51D Mustang N151D (NX151D) Ex 44-72777, Indonesian AF F-344, N8064V, as '44-73304 U-QP' right Sparky left Blondie
North American P-51D Mustang N551MB (NX551MB) Goldfinger ex 44-73693, Sandinista AF 116, N6375T (NX6357T), Salvador AF 408, NL35FF (N35FF)
North American P-51D Mustang N151MW 45-11633 J-C5 Lady Alice ex N5413V
North American P-51D Mustang N51ZM 45-11471 PI-J DiamondBack ex N5481V, N332
North American P-51K Mustang N451TB (NL451TB) A-SX Kimberley Kaye ex Indonesia AF F350, as 44-11153
North American TB-25J Mitchell N3675G 44-30423 PoF
North American TB-25N Mitchell 43-28204 N9856C Pacific Princess
North American T-28B Trojan N171BA (NX171BA) USN 138171 BA-841 1 USN
North American Navion A N91161 91161 PoF US Army markings.
North American Rockwell OV-10D Bronco N97854 Mangic Foundation OV-10 Squadron. Ex USN 155493.
Pilatus P-2-06 N5241M PoF Luftwaffe livery, ex Swiss AF U-142, G-BONE
Piper J3C-65 Cub N35547 (NC35547) Eric Tucker Airshows, Method Seven markings
Piper L-4H Grasshopper 43-29441 33-B N48679 PoF
Republic P-47D Thunderbolt N47DA (NX47DA) USAF ex 44-90471 as '42-26641 LM-S'
Republic P-47D Thunderbolt N47DM (NX47DM) 42-29150 K4-S USAF Dottie Mae ex N328FA
Republic P-47G Thunderbolt N3395G (NX3395G) PoF ex 42-25234 as '42-8487 UN-I'
Republic TP-47G Thunderbolt N47FG (NX47FG) 42-25068 WZ-D USAF Snafu ex N42354, G-CDVX
Ryan Navion N3374G USAF
Seversky (Republic) AT-12 Guardsman N55539 (NX55539) 41-17529 PoF USAF
Stinson L-5E Sentinel N723E 42-14986 Yanks Air Museum
Supermarine Spitfire FRXIVe N749DP (NX749DP) NH749 L ex Indian AF 54, G-MXIV
Vought F4U-1A Corsair N83782 (NX83782) 17799 799 PoF USN
Vultee (Convair) BT-13B Valiant N54822 Civil Air Patrol markings. Ex N13VV Recently restored at Chino for Jim Irwin, boss of Aircraft Spruce & Speciality.
Yakovlev Yak-3U replica N130AM 6 PoF ex Egyptian AF 533 C-11 converted to Yak-3U G-BTHD

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