Chino California "Planes of Fame" Show Faces Possible Shutdown

First the great aviation museum at KSNA run by the late Paul Mantz and Frank
Tallman disappears, then the magnificent Supermarine air museum at Santa
Monica KSMO is closed, now the vast collection of vintage aircraft at Chino
KCNO is threatened.

Aviation history is in the cross hairs of capitalism; future generations
will despair the loss.

Please sign this petition:
https://www.change.org/p/planes-of-f...p-our-air-show

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http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news...-228799-1.html

"Planes of Fame" Show Faces Possible Shutdown

By Mary Grady | April 6, 2017

The Planes of Fame Air Museum, in Chino, California, plans to celebrate its
60th anniversary with its 25th annual airshow on May 6 and 7, but now a
judge is scheduled to decide on April 20 if the show will be shut down.
According to local news reports, a group of commercial tenants at Chino
Airport asked the court for the closure, citing financial losses and
hindrances to doing business. The show disrupts access and use of the
airport for up to nine days, the complainants say, and creates traffic jams
that keep customers away. The Museum has posted a petition on its website,
seeking signatures of support to keep the show. “For the local community,
the annual Air Show provides an economic stimulus to local businesses and
entrepreneurs both on and nearby the airport,” says the Museum statement.

The show also is the main fundraising effort for the nonprofit museum,
according to the Planes of Fame website. “Revenue from the annual Air Show
helps us to carry on our mission to preserve aviation history, inspire an
interest in aviation, education of the public, and honor aviation pioneers
and veterans,” says the website. “Thousands of letters of support, phone
calls, comments and offers of help have been received thus far and have only
strengthened our resolve.” The museum first opened in Claremont, California,
in 1957, with a collection of 10 airplanes, and moved to Chino in 1973.
Planes of Fame now exhibits more than 150 aircraft.
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Sign this petition:
https://www.change.org/p/planes-of-f...p-our-air-show

A lawsuit has been brought against the Planes of Fame Air Museum by the
Yanks Air Museum, Flying Tigers Aviation, SOCAL MRO, and Zangeneh
Aeronautics with the sole intent to stop the 25th Annual Planes of Fame Air
Show at Chino Airport slated for May 6 & 7, 2017.

The annual Air Show is one of the few remaining events in Southern
California where visitors from around the world can enjoy the sights and
sounds of aircraft from the Golden Age of Aviation flying overhead. Each
year the Air Show attracts thousands of families, aviation enthusiasts, and
others who come together to witness rare and historic aircraft, as well as
some of the most talented aviators take to the skies. The Planes of Fame
Air Show at Chino Airport is considered one of the top five air shows in the
country.

As a non-profit, 501c.3 organization, the annual Air Show serves as the
primary fundraising effort for the Planes of Fame Air Museum. Revenue from
the annual Air Show helps us to carry on our mission to preserve aviation
history, inspire an interest in aviation, education of the public, and honor
aviation pioneers and veterans. And as this year’s Air Show marks the 60th
anniversary of the founding of Planes of Fame Air Museum, we have seen how
our mission has impacted multiple generations of families, and is
introducing aviation to entirely new generations.

For the local community, the annual Air Show provides an economic stimulus
to local businesses and entrepreneurs both on and nearby the airport. For
the City of Chino and the County of San Bernardino, the Air Show provides
increased visibility as thousands of visitors flock to the Chino Airport for
the show.

In response to the inquires regarding the nature of the lawsuit, the
allegations involve the experience of economic hardship over Air Show
weekend and an inconvenience to operations.

The fate of this Air Show will be decided on April 20 in a court of law.

PLEASE RESPOND ASAP AND SHARE THIS PETITION ON ALL OF YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA AND
EMAIL. Help us save the Air Show! We are asking our friends, visitors,
community, and colleagues to join together to support the Air Show. Please
send us a note or letter indicating your backing of the Air Show and be sure
to include your thoughts on why it needs to continue.

Please send all comments, concerns and questions to

-------------------

http://planesoffame.org/index.php?pa...p-your-airshow
Don't Let Them Stop Your Airshow!

NOTE UPDATES TO STATEMENT AT END OF THIS PAGE.

A lawsuit has been brought against the Planes of Fame Air Museum by the
Yanks Air Museum, Flying Tigers Aviation, SOCAL MRO, and Zangeneh
Aeronautics with the sole intent to stop the 25th Annual Planes of Fame Air
Show at Chino Airport slated for May 6 & 7, 2017.

The annual Air Show is one of the few remaining events in Southern
California where visitors from around the world can enjoy the sights and
sounds of aircraft from the Golden Age of Aviation flying overhead. Each
year the Air Show attracts thousands of families, aviation enthusiasts, and
others who come together to witness rare and historic aircraft, as well as
some of the most talented aviators take to the skies. The Planes of Fame Air
Show at Chino Airport is considered one of the top five air shows in the
country.

As a non-profit, 501c.3 organization, the annual Air Show serves as the
primary fundraising effort for the Planes of Fame Air Museum. Revenue from
the annual Air Show helps us to carry on our mission to preserve aviation
history, inspire an interest in aviation, education of the public, and honor
aviation pioneers and veterans. And as this year’s Air Show marks the 60th
anniversary of the founding of Planes of Fame Air Museum, we have seen how
our mission has impacted multiple generations of families, and is
introducing aviation to entirely new generations.

For the local community, the annual Air Show provides an economic stimulus
to local businesses and entrepreneurs both on and nearby the airport. For
the City of Chino and the County of San Bernardino, the Air Show provides
increased visibility as thousands of visitors flock to the Chino Airport for
the show.

Help us save the Air Show! We are asking our friends, visitors, community,
and colleagues to join together to support the Air Show. Please send us a
note or letter indicating your backing of the Air Show and be sure to
include your thoughts on why it needs to continue. WE NEED RESPONSES BY
APRIL 4, 2017 – PLEASE ACT NOW!

Please send all comments, concerns and questions to


Please Sign the Online Petition. Please note that we are asking for
signatures ONLY and NOT DONATIONS. If the option pops up, please skip.

UPDATE TO STATEMENT
In response to the inquiries regarding the nature of the lawsuit, the
allegations involve the experience of economic hardship over Air Show
weekend and an inconvenience to operations.


FURTHER UPDATE TO STATEMENT
Dear Friends and Supporters, Planes of Fame Air Museum has been overwhelmed
with the outpouring of support from you, our fiercely loyal and extended
family.

Thousands of letters of support, phone calls, comments and offers of help
have been received thus far and have only strengthened our resolve. We will
persevere. We believe the show MUST go on.

Thank you for your continued support!


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http://articles.latimes.com/1988-08-...monica-airport

Travels in Time : New Santa Monica Museum Will Showcase Aviation History
August 18, 1988|TRACY WILKINSON | Times Staff Writer

Through the years, one of California's oldest airports has been a haven for
barnstormers and Hollywood stunt pilots and the place where the likes of
Howard Hughes and Hal Roach tied down their private planes.

But it was the arrival of the Douglas Aircraft Co. in 1922 that ushered
Santa Monica into aviation history.

In 1924, when it was little more than a dusty airstrip in a barley field,
the Santa Monica Airport (then called Clover Field) was the launching point
for the first around-the-world voyage of an airplane, the Douglas World
Cruiser.

$20-Million Overhaul

Eleven years later, Douglas engineers built the first DC-3. From Santa
Monica, the aircraft embarked on its maiden voyage, revolutionizing
commercial air travel.

That history, plus other examples of aviation's influence on culture and
society, will be recounted in a $3-million museum under construction at
Santa Monica Airport.

For the Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday August 21, 1988 Home Edition Westside Part 9 Page 2
Column 1 Zones Desk 1 inches; 30 words Type of Material: Correction
In a story on an aviation museum that appeared in Thursday's Westside
section, the 1927 movie "Wings" was attributed to the wrong director. The
movie was directed by William Wellman and produced by Lucien Hubbard.

The new Donald Douglas Museum is part of a $20-million overhaul that the
69-year-old airport is undergoing. In addition to the museum, a restaurant,
80 hangars and a modern administration building are being placed north of
the airport's single runway.

The museum, scheduled to open by November, replaces an older museum housed
in a World War II-era building that many people said was too dark and
cramped for visitors to appreciate the exhibits.

The new showcase is a cavernous, hangar-like building, shaped of
galvanized-steel decking and modern glass blocks, nearly 60 feet high and
with 32,000 square feet of floor space. A concrete elevator shaft and a
rust-colored metal staircase jut up the middle.

It will house the memorabilia of Donald Douglas Sr., aviation pioneer and
founder of Douglas Aircraft, and up to 20 vintage airplanes, including a
1930s Spitfire, a P-51 Mustang and at least one DC-3, the so-called
work-horse aircraft whose safety, speed and durability made the
transportation of passengers comfortable and economically practical for the
first time. Some planes will be suspended from the museum's ceiling.

Among other planned exhibits, which will appear on a rotating basis, is a
retrospective on the relationship between aviation and the entertainment
world. It will look at how movies, such as Howard Hughes' 1927 "Wings," have
revolved around aviation themes, said the museum's managing director, Rol
Murrow.

"Our dream is to turn from a collection of dusty old planes to something
great," said Murrow, who is also president of the Santa Monica Airport Assn.

Histories Intertwined

"This museum is about human achievement as expressed in aviation," he said.
"Our ultimate dream is to stimulate other peoples' creativity to accomplish
great things."

Much of the history of Santa Monica and of Douglas Aircraft is intertwined;
as a leading producer of military aircraft, the company's hangars, runways
and other buildings occupied a huge parcel of land north of the airport and
was a major employer in the city. By the early 1960s, Douglas had evolved
into a sprawling aerospace firm but increasingly found Santa Monica less
willing to allow it to expand. It merged into the McDonnell-Douglas Corp. in
1967 and moved to Long Beach in 1976.

The airport reached its peak in the mid-'60s, with about 1,000 takeoffs and
landings a day. Now, it is used primarily by business executives,
medical-rescue groups, traffic reporters and occasionally by President
Reagan. Takeoffs and landings are down to about 500 a day.

Notable Aviation Leaders

The museum, restaurant and hangars are part of a complex being built by the
Supermarine Aircraft Co., co-owned by David G. Price, who is also president
of the museum's board of directors. Donald Douglas Jr. is chairman of the
board, and other members include Paul MacReady, who invented the
human-powered Gossamer Albatross and Gossamer Condor aircraft, and Walter
Boyne, former director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and
Space Museum.

The restaurant will be called the DC-3 and will be operated by Bruce Marder,
owner of the trendy Rebecca's and West Beach Cafe in Venice.

The museum is also expected to serve as future site of a series of epic
murals painted in 1935 by noted California artist Stanton McDonald-Wright,
Airport Director Hank Dittmar said.

McDonald-Wright painted the murals for the Santa Monica Library as part of
the WPA project. They were removed from the library walls when the library
was torn down in 1964 and have been in storage at the Smithsonian for nearly
two decades.

For years, Santa Monica officials and art lovers have hoped to have them
returned. The Smithsonian now appears willing to lend them to the city if
Santa Monica provides transportation, restoration and a suitable,
climate-controlled site for their display, Dittmar said.

He estimated the restoration will cost about $35,000. The murals are valued
at $5 million.

Special Murals

McDonald-Wright, a leading member of the synchromist school of art, is
considered one of Southern California's leading artists of the century.
Using a technique he mastered called Petracrome, which mixes crushed tile
into the paint, he painted 38 murals in all. They are made of fabric-covered
white pine panels 133 feet long and 6 to 10 feet high.

In the murals, the artist uses scenes of history's great thinkers and
artists--from Confucius and Copernicus to Michelangelo and Bach--and
history's great events--from the invention of the wheel to the filming of
movies--to depict the two streams of man's development: the creative and
imaginative versus the rational and scientific. The two streams finally
merge.

"I'm really excited that they are interested in (placing the murals at the
new museum)," said Roger Genser, a member of the Santa Monica Arts
Commission who for years has campaigned to have the artworks returned to the
city.

"It's a shame we were silly enough to give them away in the first place. The
artist is highly important in the history of American art, right there on
the cutting edge of 20th-Century avant-garde art. And this is a really
important piece."

For the Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday August 21, 1988 Home Edition Westside Part 9 Page 2
Column 1 Zones Desk 1 inches; 30 words Type of Material: Correction
In a story on an aviation museum that appeared in Thursday's Westside
section, the 1927 movie "Wings" was attributed to the wrong director. The
movie was directed by William Wellman and produced by Lucien Hubbard.

The murals also depict part of Santa Monica's history, including portraits
of the Carillo family, one of the city's pioneer families, and of a 1924
Douglas Cloudster flying over a man building a skyscraper. The Douglas
family was among private and public donors financing the painting of the
murals.

Restoration Fund Raiser

To help raise money for the restoration of the murals, an event called "Fly
for Art" is being staged from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the airport. Tickets
are $50 and available from the SMARTS nonprofit arts foundation.

The event will also feature vintage aircraft, buzzing the skies over Santa
Monica. Rides in a DC-3, Hawker Sea Fury or A-26 Invader will be given to
the bigger donors.

Of the money raised, $30,000 will go to the artist who wins a competition
for designing a sculpture that will be displayed in the lobby of the
airport's new administration building.

The five finalists in the competition are Karl Ciesluk, Ron Pippin, Sylvia
Gentile, Will Nettleship and Peter Alexander. Maquettes of their proposed
sculptures will be displayed at the administration building.

Dittmar said he hoped the new museum and other improvements at the airport
will open the facility to more public use and create more support for it.

In the past, the airport was at the center of bitter and protracted legal
fights among residents who protested the noise, city officials who wanted to
put the land to other use, pilots and the Federal Aviation Administration
that culminated in an operating agreement in 1984.

'Open It Up'

"The airport has been viewed as a private enclave, the private dominion of
pilots who owned airplanes," Dittmar said. "We are trying to open it up for
the community to enjoy.

"We are trying to make this part of the community, not a wall to drive by
and look at. That's why the museum is important. Beyond showcasing history,
it will get people in here . . . interacting."

Dittmar said the upgrading of the airport does not include plans for air
traffic to increase appreciably because the land occupied by the airport is
decreasing.

Also, an agreement with the FAA limits the number of tied-down planes to
550, plus 40 transient craft.

Construction of the new facilities is part of a plan to vacate 37 1/2 acres
of land south of the airport. The city will lease that land to the Reliance
Development Group, which plans to build a 1.4-million-square-foot office
complex.

Controversial Project

The Reliance project has drawn a barrage of protest from neighboring
residents who fear the new offices will dump huge amounts of traffic onto
their streets. The controversy over the office project has overshadowed the
construction at the airport itself, and, so far, there has been no organized
opposition to it.

"Everybody is just waking up to the fact that we've been concentrating on
the other (project) and not looking at what's happening at the airport
itself. Now, there are two big buildings there," said Gregory Thomas, head
of a homeowners group near the airport that has led the opposition to the
Reliance project.

"It depends on what their plans are, whether it remains an airport for
weekend fishermen taking their Pipers up, or becomes (an airport for)
executive jets and commuters," he said. "If the airport stays the way it has
been, then I don't think anyone is going to (object). If it changes
direction, we will have to take a hard look at it."