Planes of Fame Air Museum

07/12/2025

There are only 13 Fridays left (not including today) until the Central Coast AirFest 2025, October 18-19 at Santa Maria Airport, CA! Have you gotten your pre-sale tickets yet? They are discounted for a limited time! Tickets: https://planesoffame.ticketspice.com/central-coast-airfest-2025

07/10/2025

We're excited to welcome back the OV-10 Bronco back to the museum for our August 2nd, 2025 Hangar Talk flying event here at Chino Airport! These aircraft, developed in the mid-1960s, were specialty aircraft designed for counter-insurgency combat (among many other uses). The sound of the Garrett T76 turboprop engines gives it a distinctive whine as it passes by. Don't miss it on August 2nd!

07/08/2025

COMING SOON! We're proud to have a special guest once again for Hangar Talk, the North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco! Join us on August 2nd, 2025, at Chino Airport as we present the Bronco on display and a flight demonstration! Doors will open at 9am with the event beginning at 10:30am. Special topics will be presented, leading to the flight demo around 12:15pm. We'll have food trucks and great things to see and do August 2nd!

07/07/2025

Something patriotic for today! There are so many photographic angles and shots all over the museum, and with the American flags hanging, it's easy to capture something special. Let's see your favorite photos you've shot at the museum with a patriotic theme!
We're open this week, Wednesday through Sunday, 10am-4pm.

07/05/2025

07/05/2025

Despite being the day after the fourth, we have a great crowd that came out for the July Hangar Talk flying event featuring the TBM Avenger! And even more exciting, we have a second TBM visitor on display! If you are local to Chino, there's still about an hour before the TBM fires up for a flight demo!

07/04/2025

🎇Happy 4th of July!
July Hangar Talk Flying Event - TOMORROW - Saturday, July 5th, 2025
Join us here at Chino Airport, CA, for our next Hangar Talk Flying event featuring the mighty Grumman TBM Avenger, a World War 2 torpedo bomber! Doors open at 9am with the event beginning at 10:30am. Special presentations and talks will kick off Hangar Talk, ending with a flight demonstration of the TBM Avenger! Get up and close with the 'turkey' as it fires up and taxis out. We'll have food trucks and many other things to see and do TOMORROW! Event is included with standard museum admission.

07/04/2025

We're sharing our 4th of July message a little early—because tomorrow we’ll be getting ready for Saturday’s Hangar Talk Flying Event (but we're open)!

As we celebrate Independence Day, we honor the courage and sacrifice that shaped our nation’s freedom. Every aircraft here helps tell that story—and we're proud to keep 'em flying for future generations. Have a safe and meaningful 4th of July!

07/02/2025

This Saturday We Look Back at World War II
Hangar Talk and the Flight of the General Motors TBM Avenger
We’ve got a fantastic line-up of presentations and a thrilling flight to enjoy as we present our “patriotic” version of Event Saturday for July.

Doors to the Museum open at 9:00am on Saturday, July 5th and regular admission prices are in effect (Members always get in free).

🔴“Hangar Talk” Looks Back at the end of the War in Europe
At 10:30am we present “Hangar Talk” in the Maloney Hangar. We’ve got a number of presentations made by members of the Museum’s Education Programs team as well as members of the Historical Unit of Southern California (HUSC).

🔴The Race That Never Was
This month, we’re taking a look back 80 years ago with the events that led to the end of the Second World War in the European Theater. We’ll enjoy another visit from General Dwight D. Eisenhower as he recaps the final months of the European war with a special look at the fierce fighting between the German military and the armed forces of the Soviet Union. Thanks to the HUSC, we’ll be visited by a Soviet Correspondent who was in Berlin during its fall in May 1945 and we’ll also hear the words of a German woman who survived the conflict.

🔴Spoils of War – German Scientists and Technology
Once the fighting stopped a new battle ensued – that for the technology and scientists of Germany between the allies and the Soviets. We’ll take a close look at what the United States was able to acquire during this crucial time.

🔴Rebuilding Europe – Trials, Plans, and the Cold War
We’ll also look at the rebuilding of Europe from the war crimes trials at Nuremberg to the start of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and nations of the free west.

🔴Ted TALK: War Through a Soldiers Eyes – the art of Bill Mauldin
We’ll close out this “Hangar Talk” event with great Ted TALK as we look at the remarkable and moving art of cartoonist Bill Mauldin, who captured for everyone the trials and tribulations of the common foot soldier.

✈️Our Flight of the General Motors TBM “Avenger”
At 12:15pm on our hot ramp, we present the flight of the Museum’s massive and ever-popular World War II-era aircraft, the General Motors TBM “Avenger.” This powerful torpedo-bomber served the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and several allied nations in the Pacific and Atlantic theaters. Affectionately called “the turkey,” this three-man aircraft could deliver up to 2,000 pounds of conventional bombs or a specialized torpedo. As a result, it was an effective and dangerous weapon for enemy ships and installations.

The Museum’s David Willis will present a brief talk on the history of this aircraft and the important role it played during the Second World War. Then one of our skilled Museum pilots (TBD will start the 1,700 horsepower Wright R-2600 radial engine directly in front of the crowd with an awesome roar.

🎟️David will then conduct our Member’s Raffle Drawing for a flight in one of the Museum’s trainer aircraft and then we’ll all enjoy a thrilling twenty-minute flight overhead of the “Avenger. Upon their return, guests have the opportunity to ask questions of the TBM’s pilot.

🍔We have Food Trucks and other hands-on activities for Saturday’s event. Our Museum Guides will be available to talk about the Museum’s collection and our B-17 will be open to visitors. Should be a great day at the Museum.

07/01/2025

Santa Maria Public Airport District unveiled the big announcement: direct nonstop flights from Phoenix, Arizona, beginning October 15th! Just in time for the Central Coast AirFest October 18-19!

✈️ Big news from !! Santa Maria Airport is thrilled to announce new nonstop service to Phoenix ( ) beginning October 15th via . With two daily flights connecting to over 250 destinations through Phoenix Sky Harbor, your next adventure just got a whole lot closer!

06/30/2025

THIS SATURDAY! Join us for our next Hangar Talk Flying event here at Chino Airport, CA, in the Inland Empire this coming Saturday, July 5th, featuring the mighty TBM Avenger: A World War 2-era torpedo bomber with the US Navy! Doors open at 9am with the event beginning at 10:30am. Following some incredible in-depth presentations and looks at aviation and historical topics, we'll be firing up the TBM Avenger right in front of the crowd, where it'll head out to the runway and take off for a flight demo over the museum. We'll have food trucks, reenactors, and special activities for the whole family! The event is included with standard museum admission, so don't miss out THIS SATURDAY!