The museum houses the only remaining flying Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero powered by its original Sakae engine.
It holds one of the world's few flyable examples of the P-38 Lightning, a signature long-range fighter of the Pacific theater.
The collection includes the YP-59A Airacomet, which was the first jet aircraft produced by the United States.
Many aircraft in the collection have been featured in major Hollywood motion pictures, including 'Pearl Harbor' and 'Tora! Tora! Tora!'
The museum was founded in 1957 by Edward T. Maloney, an avid aviation enthusiast who aimed to preserve warbirds before they were scrapped.
The site operates its own active restoration facility where volunteers maintain rare aircraft to airworthy standards.
The museum is situated at the historic Chino Airport, which was originally built as Cal-Aero Academy to train military pilots.
The Planes of Fame Air Museum is a significant aviation history facility that maintains many of its aircraft in flying condition rather than just static display. The collection features over 150 aircraft spanning the early days of flight through the jet age, with a heavy emphasis on World War II era warbirds. The museum is located at the Chino Airport, a historic site that served as a training base for the U.S. Army Air Forces during the 1940s. Its hangars house rare prototypes and combat-veteran planes, including the only flyable Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero in the world. The facility operates an active restoration program where visitors can often observe technicians maintaining the historic fleet. Educational displays detail the technical evolution of aeronautical engineering and the experiences of wartime aviators. The site frequently hosts flight demonstrations and living history events that showcase the performance of its restored machines. It functions as both an archive for aeronautical artifacts and a working hangar for active heritage flights.
The main hangar floor offers the best vantage point to photograph multiple aircraft in a single frame.
Check the museum's events calendar before visiting to time your trip with a scheduled engine run or flight demonstration.
Bring hearing protection if visiting during a flight demonstration day, as the engines are extremely loud.
Wear comfortable, closed-toe walking shoes to navigate the concrete hangar floors safely.
Avoid visiting during extreme heat waves in the summer months, as the hangars can become very warm.
Closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
Do not touch the aircraft, climb on displays, or cross roped-off boundaries without authorization.
