Lucky Burton decided to surprise me for my Birthday and took me to the Chino Air Museum yesterday in Chino CA. Sweet !!!!!! I have always wanted to go there because they have a flying P-38, and for only 2K you can hitch a ride in it. Maybe someday. LOL. They also have the only Mitsubishi powered Japanese Zero in the world. As well as a bunch of Bellytanks. So you can see why I've always wanted to go. It was better than I expected. Here are some pics, and a link to the rest. Enjoy. This is a Russian made jeep that uses a model A cowl gas tank. So check this out !!!!! We found this old sign behind the Bell X-3 that the museum was using to cover a ditch. A Ditch !!!! We'll needless to say, the sign came home with us !!! I talked to the main guy and he told me that if I buy a 1 year membership to the museum, that I could have the sign. Sooo coool. Perfect for the Shop Here's a link to the rest of the pics:
Great pics Bobby. Happy Birthday too. This thing needs to be 1:1 scale That sign is great. Get any of those belly tanks?
You are correct Mr. Green, the place is great and filled with inspiration at every turn for any hotrodder...Thats where we got to ride in the Bomber for the show while I was out in Pomona earlier this year.......Littleman........forgot, the best thing about that place....its a real working type museum.......they actually use their stuff and keep it all working for the most part..
You DO know they put another sign over that ditch every time some one buys it, don't you? Ha-GREAT score!
Yeah that place is the best! my friend got a job working there as a helper about 20 years ago...now he runs the place! he even became a pilot and flies those vintage beasts! he's always had a p***ion for vintage aircraft, but who doesn't. He does a great job keeping that place funded and running and always appreciates when visitors have good things to say about it. So it's good to hear you guys had a great time. Needless to say its a regular stopping ground for me when I need a little inspiration. Very cool place.
The best time to go is the first saturday of the month as they fly something significant on a certain anniversary.For example,they will fly their naval planes to commemorate the battle of the coral sea etc,I went to their 50th anniversary and they flew every plane they had and then some. The funny thing is that we were looking in the door at Fighter Rebuilders making comments on the half restored Spitfire when the guy guarding the door piped up and said that that plane'WAS JUST A TARGET'.I didn,t get his meaning until I noticed the Luftwaffe badge on his jacket.He was German!! Anyway a great museum and make sure you eat at the airport cafe. I,ll try and dig the photos out.
Hey Bobby Green, There's a New Air Museum at the Palm Springs airport that is on my short list to visit. Judging by what I see on the outside of the building it looks pretty promising ! Rob
I got to go there in 97. Looks like they've real cleaned up the place. I remember of all the planes I saw, I freaked out most at the Ryan Fireball. Looks king of like a single seat T-28 with a jet in the tail. I was shocked anyone had the sence to save one, as they made very few.
Nice score on the sign!!!!!! Jack Northrop and his flying wing idea...transformed into the modern B-2 Bomber...... so much history in that sign, you have no idea how lucky you are!!! The Lockheed P-38 is my favorite WWII plane.
The best part about all of that is that is going back to burbank, to hang in a vintage building a stones throw from were Lockheed was. CBB
My thoughts exactly. You must be a person of Impeccable taste ! It's been on my list for a while now. I'll post pics when I make it there. One of these days, I'll get a group together and fly the B-17. Wanna come? Thanks man. no, I couldn't get any tanks out of them. I'll try harder next time. LOL
I grew up a few towns over from Rantoul, Illinois. There used to be an air force base there (Chanute AFB) and there were all kinds of old planes on stands all over the base and around town. I always liked going there with my dad on his food sales route when I was a wee lad. The base is now closed and they have a museum there where they moved a lot of the planes they had on display. The last time I was there they had .38 Special playing in one of the hangers for a fundraiser. This past summer some of the biker clubs had drag races out on the old runway. Someone (not me) ought to get with those guys and put on a show/drags because they aren't strangers to putting on events with bands, races, and booze and it would just be cool in general. They approached the NSRA about trying to get a show there, from what I heard, the NSRA in all of their wisdom declined. I am going to see if I can get the bubbletop in there with some pics of the old jets when I get it done. Link to Air Museum Here: Chanute Air Museum
i havent been there in quite some time, but it really is an amazing place. i remeber when they used to have the van nuys air show (i dont think they do it anymore) they had a B-29 and a B-17 there you could walk thru them and ever since then ive been waiting for an opertunity to go on that flight - i know im a quiet lurker around here, but if a group of car guys get together, id love to go on that flight.
Not trying to steal the thread, but the 4th largest air museum is in Warner Robins,Ga about 10 miles off of I-75. great place to visit, with some significant pieces. plus a section devoted to an ancient civilization found on the base, 10000 yrs old. Have always wanted to go to chino.
Yea did you go back into the shop and check out the line of rotary engines, when I visited the museum, a couple years ago I had told my dad about it, and then told me how he flew a B25 when he belonged to the Confederate (now the PC Commemorative ) Air Force and they swapped out an engine over the weekend, and then flew it back to CO, aparently that was a norm, to fly out a plane, trade out engines with a serviced one and fly home, I am sure that wasn't cheap. They also put on a pretty good air show, but save the bucks, and drive down the road and park at the end of the flight line Mike
Hey Bobby Green, you've only seen half of the flyable P-38's at Chino. There's another one at Yanks Air Museum, on the west side of Chino. http://www.yanksair.com/ Their web site is lame, but most all of their planes are flyable, though I don't think they fly them. Chino is a must for me whenever I'm anywhere near So Cal.
The museum in Palm Springs and the one in Chino are affiliated in some way. When Chino has its air show, Palm Springs sends some of it's planes over, including the B-17. If you like old planes in the air, you have to make it out to this show. Period. Usually in March. Cool thing about living in Chino, every once in a while an old warbird buzzs your house.
I,ve been to both Museums,and can tell you...they are both worth the trip! The one in Palm Springs isn't that old. Both have ongoing projects that they are restoring. Palm Springs had a Tank and a Helicopter that they had just finished when I was there. Chino had just finished the resto on the Northrope Flying Wing and the guy said they were going to fly it the next weekend. So I took the boys back so we could see it fly. Pretty amazing! Also...Flo's Diner,in Chino, has pretty good breakfast too!When I was there,there was about 80 Harleys and around 40 Hotrods that,they told me,go there once a month. This was in 2001,so not sure if anything has changed. Where I live in Yorba Linda,when they have an Air Show in Chino,the planes fly over my house all day. It's the same when the sky is really clear. All kinds of Fighter planes and weird stuff fly over. Not uncommon to see 4 planes flying in formation.
Happy Birthday Bobby!!! Yeah we had a good time out there. Can't wait to go back. There is also a smaller museum at March Air Force base right off the 215. I haven't stopped there yet but it looks cool......Lucky
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