I visited both Planes of Fame and Yank's about three years ago. If I had to offer a one-word description, it would be "WOW!". Going to Chino was one of the highlights of my "warbird life". For decades, I had read about Chino and all of the warbird activity there, so it was a very special day for me. My wife was in an all-day business meeting in some town west of L.A. somewhere along I-10 (I forget the name; it's not important), so I was free to spend as much time at Chino as I wanted (yee-ha!

). I was wearing my VFM uniform shirt and ID badge, as I always do when I visit other museums. The folks at POF welcomed me like I was a personal friend! I got the "grand tour" of the restoration shops, got introduced to some of the restorers, and so on. One of the fellows working in the restoration shop apparently knows Doc and Chuckie and is familiar with the B-17. We chatted about air shows, warbirds, restorations, maintenance, and life in general. Those guys made me really feel at home. Even the two young ladies in the gift shop were super-nice. Most of the people at Yank's, on the other hand, didn't seem to give a hoot who I was or what museum I represented or what B-17 I crewed. It was obvious that I was just another damned tourist. About the only person to treat me with any respect was the elderly gentleman who was working in the gift shop. Yank's allows guests to walk through their restoration shop, but you have to "stay inside the lines". I asked about an in-depth tour of the restoration shop and the opportunity to shoot some detail photos, and they "politely" declined my request (sarcasm). I asked about being escorted onto the ramp to shoot pictures of the aircraft, and again, they "politely" declined my request (more sarcasm). They have a fantastic museum with a wonderful collection of aircraft, but I was less than impressed with the staff's attitude.
My advice: GO TO CHINO AND VISIT EVERY MUSEUM AND WARBIRD FACILITY YOU CAN, AND HAVE A GREAT TIME!
