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Static exhibits include the only Mitsubishi J2M3 Raiden (Jack) fighter and a Yokosuka D4Y3 Suisei (Judy) dive bomber. Other flyable one-of-a-kinds to be seen at the museum include one of two Boeing P-26As left (and the only one that flies) and the last Seversky fighter, a two-seat development of the P-35. It is one of only two original Northrop flying wings left in the world, and the only one that flies.Īnother long-term project, the restoration of the thirteenth Bell YP-59A “Airacomet,” America’s first jet, is nearing completion and with luck, it will take to the sky again sometime in the next year, powered by original I-16 engines. A 12-year restoration saw the first flight of the Northrop N9MB in 1993. Other jewels of the collection include a P-51A Mustang that was restored to flight status in 1980, the first Allison-powered Mustang to be restored to fly. Over the years, airplanes from the museum have appeared in the movies Midway and Pearl Harbor, and even in car commercials. In 1965, the museum’s flyable North American O-47 was used as a substitute to finish the final flying scene of “Flight of the Phoenix” following the crash of “The Phoenix” in which Paul Mantz was killed. Along the way, the only Nakajima Ki-84 “Frank” was restored in the late 1960s.The A6M5a Model 52 Zero was restored to flying condition in the late 1970s, the only completely original Zero left in the world still powered by a Sakae engine. Among the first to be restored to flight status was an F6F-5 Hellcat in 1972, followed by a Curtiss-built P-47G Thunderbolt that is still one of only a small handful of “razorback” Thunderbolts in existence. Even then, the existence of the museum was problematic, and many of the aircraft on display were little more than salvaged airplanes sitting in open fields. After a peripatetic existence at several locations in southern California, the museum finally settled at Chino airport in 1967. Planes of Fame is one of the oldest privately owned air museums in the world, having opened its doors to the public in April 1957. Knowing that wasn’t always the case, we thought it apropos to talk to one of the pioneers of the warbird community, Ed Maloney, owner/creator of Planes of Fame Air Museum, about his views on the changes he’s seen and the future of warbirds. Today, just the reverse is true with private collections popping up around the globe.
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There were few museums and almost no private collectors who tracked historic aircraft down and saved them. With the prices of restorable warbirds escalating out of sight and new restorations taking to the air almost daily, we often lose sight of the fact that at one time, most of those airplanes were cast off as junk.