Category Archives: Warbirds

Warbirds

Planes of Fame Hosting United We Win – Minorities in WWII Event October 12th

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

The Planes of Fame Air Museum’s living history event for July is United We Win – Minorities in WWII, featuring the North American P-51 Mustang.

From the Planes of Fame Museum’s website:

Open to the public, Planes of Fame Air Museum (Chino, CA) presents its monthly Living History Event. The topic for the October 12 event is ‘United We Win – Minorities in WWII’, featuring the North American P-51 Mustang. A speaker panel of distinguished aviation experts, historians and veterans is featured, followed by a question & answer period and flight demonstration when possible. The P-51 will be on display and will perform a flight demonstration. At 12:00 noon, the Membership Sponsored raffle flight will occur.

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Warbirds

Planes of Fame Hosting Test Pilots Event September 7th

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

The Planes of Fame Air Museum’s living history event for July is Test Pilots, featuring the N9MB Flying Wing, P-59 Airacomet, and the SR-71 cockpit.

From the Planes of Fame Museum’s website:

Open to the public, Planes of Fame Air Museum (Chino, CA) presents its monthly Living History Event. The topic for the August 3 event is ‘Test Pilots’, featuring the N9MB Flying Wing, P-59 Airacomet, and the SR-71 cockpit. A speaker panel of distinguished aviation experts, historians and veterans is featured, followed by a question & answer period and flight demonstration when possible. The N9MB will be on display and perform a flight demonstration. At 12:00 noon, the Membership Sponsored raffle flight will occur.

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Warbirds

Planes of Fame Hosting Whistling Death – Solomon Islands Event August 3rd

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

The Planes of Fame Air Museum’s living history event for August is Whistling Death – Solomon Islands, featuring the Vought F4U Corsair.

From the Planes of Fame Museum’s website:

Open to the public, Planes of Fame Air Museum (Chino, CA) presents its monthly Living History Event. The topic for the August 3 event is ‘Whistling Death – Solomon Islands’, featuring the Vought F4U Corsair. A speaker panel of distinguished aviation experts, historians and veterans is featured, followed by a question & answer period and flight demonstration when possible. The F4U Corsair will be on display and perform a flight demonstration. At 12:00 noon, the Membership Sponsored raffle flight will occur.

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Warbirds

Planes of Fame Hosting AVG Flying Tigers Event July 6th

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

The Planes of Fame Air Museum’s living history event for July is the Flying Tigers and the AVG, featuring the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk.

Quick Stats from the Planes of Fame Museum’s website on their P-40N:

History

  • The P-40 is most widely known as the aircraft of the Flying Tigers, aka the American Volunteer Group (AVG), who began fighting the Japanese in China during the early days of the Pacific war.
  • The P-40 was not as maneuverable as the aircraft types flown by the Japanese.
  • The P-40 was built in a number of variants, sold to several foreign air forces, and operated under a plethora of names.
  • It was known as the Warhawk to the USAAF, while the British Commonwealth countries called the early versions Tomahawks and the later versions Kittyhawks. A number served with the SovietAir Force, under the lend-lease program.
  • The aircraft served in all theaters of WW2.
  • Purchased by Edward Maloney in 1960 and restored to flight by Planes of Fame Air Museum in 1980.

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Warbirds

Howard Hughes 1937 Sikorsky S-43 arrives at Kermit Weeks’ Fantasy of Flight

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Kermit Weeks and his Fantasy of Flight team are back at their home base in Polk City, Florida, after spending a week earlier this month prepping Howard Hughes’ Sikorsky S-43 for transport.  This is the plane that Hughes had originally planned to use for a record-breaking around the world flight. CAA delays and the arrival of a faster plane made him leave this beautiful seaplane on the ramp.

While Hughes was using the Sikorsky for some water landing tests on Lake Mead, a crash landing send the plane to the bottom of the lake, killing two other passengers and almost killing Hughes as well.  He had the airplane salvaged and refit it as his personal executive transport business and (ahem) Hollywood starlets to exotic (and not so exotic) locations.

There are only three of these beautiful planes left in the world.  Kermit plans on restoring the aircraft to airworthiness.

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