Warbird Information Exchange

Next year, I am planning on making my first trip to Chino for the airshow as well as to visit Yanks and Planes of Fame. I'm assuming the dates will be May 2-3 since the airshow seems to traditionally be held the first weekend of May. Ideally, I will have four total days to spend in the area, plus a little time before/after my flights arrive and leave. The flight I am looking at puts me in the area by early afternoon Friday, after which I would attend the show Saturday-Sunday, and then have two days to do other things. I am hoping that I can spend one of those days at Joshua Tree or possibly checking out the March AFB and/or Palm Springs air museums. A few questions:

How many of the static aircraft from Yanks and POF can one realistically expect to see during the airshow? Would I need to spend another day in Chino after the show to see the other aircraft at Yanks and POF? Is it realistic to expect relatively normal museum access in the days following the airshow?

I have heard of ramp access in the afternoon and evening the day before the airshow, but it sounds like both are catered more towards professional photographers. Is that access available for non-media members? I'm not planning on bringing out photography equipment other than my small digital camera that fits in my pocket. Am I going to look like a jerk if I show up to a sunset photo tour (or something similar) if I don't have a fancy camera?

Any other tips/best practices to share? Other locations that might be worth visiting? Good places to stay or eat? I'm sure I'll be eating at least one meal at Flo's ...

Thanks for any tips and suggestions!

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Matt

In regards to Chino/POF stuff:

Friday you should definitely be there for arrivals. I believe this past year they had a tram going from the museum to the flightline so if you wanted to you could see the statics at POF and then go to the ramp for arrivals the rest of the evening.

You will not be seeing nearly any of Yanks collection on display at the show so plan on doing that when you have the time.

The Palm Springs Museum is definitely worth seeing if you are in town and not that far away.

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Better is the enemy of Good.

First off enjoy!

Not sure of your age and walking ability, but the ramps at Chino can get long and hot, so what may look like an easy walk between POF and Yanks, and the viewing areas can get long. I only say that as a buddy of mine who had been going for years suddenly realized last year it was too much for him to take it all in.

Depending on your level of interest, you can easily spend 2 hours each at Yanks and POF on the statics.

Camera size should never be anything to be worried about. Go for it.

Joshua tree is great, but would really take most of a full day out of your time. You may get enough feel for the desert if you do Palm Springs (see below)

Palm springs museum is worth it. The tram ride to the top of the mountain (and an hour to walk around up top), lunch in town and then the Air Museum would be a good and varied day.

March is also worth it. Reasonably close to Chino. Allocate 2 hours walking the statics.

San Diego has three places I highly recommend, the Air and Space Museum and adjoining Balboa Park and the USS Midway. But this would be a full day and 2 hour drive from Chino each way. May be too ambitious for 4 days, but if you have an interest in Naval aviation the Midway is worth it. USMC outdoor display at Miramar is good.

If you have a few hours to kill before or after a flight to LAX I recommend Griffith Observatory, Santa Monica pier, or the In-N-out burger on Sepulveda blvd near LAX to get a feel of LA.

Not sure if Yanks is open on airshow days. You might want to call them to check. Normally admission to the airshow gives you access to the POF compound/static displays. You can also order airshow tickets ahead of time online at the POF site using EventBrite.

I would suggest your arrival / departure airport to be that of Ontario International Airport as it's just a few miles north of Chino ...avoid traveling thru LAX if possible.

https://www.flyontario.com/flights



JDV
www.fuselagecodes.com

As an after thought to my above comment I have made a more worthy suggestion:

Ontario International airport is less than SIX miles from Chino airport. Therefore there are certainly hotels in the ONT airport area. After the Chino air show you could drive down to March Field Air Museum (a 45 minute drive) then to San Diego (about a 90 minute drive) for the three aviation sites there (SD Air Museum, MCAS Miramar and the USS Midway). Fly home from the San Diego airport.

JDVoss
www.fuselagecodes.com

Unless things have changed recently Yanks is closed on weekends and that includes airshow weekend. At least they have never been open during any of the shows I have attended. We generally arrive the Friday prior to the show for lots of good reasons, one which being that we know if we want to tour Yanks then Friday will be our only opportunity.

Closed on weekends? I've seen many aviation museums closed during the week and only open on the w/e, but not the other way around. How can they afford to keep the doors open without w/e revenue?

Not sure on the airshow weekend but the website says otherwise for normal hours.
https://yanksair.org/contact/

HOURS
Tuesday – Sunday
9:00AM – 4:00PM
Closed Mondays and Major Holidays

Thanks everyone for the advice! Some good stuff to think about here.

I'm going under the assumption that Yanks will be closed airshow weekend. I just wasn't sure if they brought a bunch of aircraft outdoors for static display for the show. Looks like I'll have to visit on Tuesday, which is totally fine. It's nice to hear that all of the POF aircraft are accessible during the show too.

I am also planning to fly into Ontario. I have no desire to deal with LAX or any possible LA traffic. Ontario has some nice options that arrive on Friday - it's just a matter of booking them once I get time off approved.

I hadn't thought to look into San Diego, but that might be a more interesting option than heading out to the desert - especially since I haven't seen an aircraft carrier before! It looks like the major attractions are located pretty close to each other too. That's definitely something I'll be thinking about.

No matter what, I'm going to be as ambitious as possible while I'm out there. Have to make the most of it!

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Matt

Ontario is the right move. As far as San Diego, you do have a wider variety, but San Diego is a trip in itself. Personally the Midway is great though I am not a fan of their some of their restorations of planes. Great group of volunteers though.

_________________
Better is the enemy of Good.

Yanks will be closed the Saturday and Sunday of the Airshow as we will be participating.

Yanks is open Tuesday-Sunday from 9am-4pm and only closed on Mondays and Major Holidays.

We will be open for regular business on the Friday of the airshow

Best Wishes for your travels.