Air Show Overload

    It has accidentally become quite the Aviation Week. My air-show-friend, Jim (with whom I usually travel to see the Reno Air Races) called to let me know that the Chino Air Show was happening last weekend. On top of that, this Friday, The Collings Foundation will be flying their B-17 and B-24 into Orange County, and we will run down to the airport to see them (more on that later).

     Chino Airport is the home to the Planes of Fame Air Museum, which is dedicated to keeping as many planes as possible in flying condition, and although it is only 26 miles from here, and they hold an air show each year, but I had not yet visited. And since they were advertising some unusual planes would be flying, we went down for the day to see the show.

C-47 (rear) and PT-22

B-25 parked among the spectators.

    We here at The Orangerie think that the best planes have propellers; jets just do not seem to have the same romance. The warbirds of the World War 2 era represent the zenith of prop-driven design and performance, and this was the first time I had seen many of these types in the air.
    So, here is a bit of a hodgepodge of shots from the show, in no particular order or thematic organization:

Slightly comical: The Grumman F3F-2. This is what the U.S. Navy started the war with.

Douglas SBD Dauntless

    Low and Slow: there were four avengers flying.

Grumman TBF Avenger

Avenger #2

Avenger #3

Avenger #4

Grumman F6F Hellcat

    Our favorites are always the P51s, which are the the most beautiful prop-driven planes ever produced. The supercharged Rolls-Royce engines have a very distinctive sound, and are as impressive to listen to as the planes are to watch.

P-51s rolling out.

P-51D "Lady Jo"

Shiny.

North American P-51D

Another P-51D

    P-38s are also a favorite of ours: very sleek and elegant planes. You do not see P38s very  often, and there were two of them flying on Saturday.

Lockheed P-38

Lockheed P-38J Lightning

Silhouette identification exercise: P-38, P-40, P-51.

    There were two p40s flying:

Curtiss P-40N Warhawk

Curtiss P-40

    Another unusual sight: a p-47. This is a "razorback" model. It's big and heavy and fast.

Republic P-47G Thunderbolt

    And to round out the European Theater plane collection, there were two Spits and an Fw-190.

Spitfire

Spitfire

Fw 190

    Three Zeroes were also flying.

 

Mitsubishi A6M Zero

Mitsubishi A6M Zero

    OK, there were also jets...

MiG-17

F-86

    But we don't care as much for them. This is what we love to see:

 

    We will definitely be attending more often in the future.