Update: 10 May 2017 — I had the opportunity to travel to the west coast for work and stopped by a lot of amazing aviation places while there to include the Planes of Fame airshow. I will be doing a post on the show, separate from this one. But while leaving to walk to the car, the fine folks at Yanks Air Museum were having a cookout, with adult beverages, at the back of the museum watching the airshow. Kind of amazing that the people suing to stop the show, are watching the show.
Update: 20 April 2017 –The hearing has been moved to 28 April due to the judge, that was scheduled to hear the case, has had some dealings with the airport and county. The request was made by Yanks Air Museum. It is also rumors that SOCAL MRO and Zangeneh Aeronautics has withdrawn from the case.
On Friday evening, 31 March 2017, the Planes of Fame Museum posted on their Facebook page that they were being “sued 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.” At first, everyone thought that this was an early April Fool’s joke, but it was not.
The thrust of the lawsuit, filed by the law firm Borchard & Callahan in Mission Viejo, cites financial losses and other hindrances to doing business, by a group of tenants at Chino Airport as it attempts to halt its upcoming annual Planes of Fame Air Show in May 2017. The lawsuit “alleges that the Air Show physically blocks and obstructs various airport businesses from operating by erecting fences and other barriers that keep would-be customers from accessing their businesses, creating huge traffic jams that keep customers away and by shutting down the air space, which grounds flight schools and other businesses not affiliated with the show,” according to a news release.
At a hearing, scheduled for April 20 in San Bernardino County Superior Court, the plaintiffs will request that the 25th annual show, scheduled for May 6-7, not be allowed to happen, the news release states. The plaintiffs also seek to be compensated for lost business since 2013.
The Planes of Fame Museum has an online petition soliciting public support for the airshow, that has met all of the requirements from and with approval of local and federal entities. The petition is found here: https://www.change.org/p/planes-of-fame-air-museum-don-t-let-them-stop-our-air-show
And of course, social media outlets like Facebook have been a focal point for support for Planes of Fame and angst towards Yanks Air Museum. Posts on the Yanks Air Museum Facebook page have been deleted, reviews on Yelp and Google Review have been one-starred and forums have been a buzz.
Last night, I was posting on the Yanks Air Museum site, that shows they have participating in the Planes of Fame airshow for years. I included pictures of their display which have been deleted. Others have sent me photos of Yanks aircraft at the show.
Please support one of the greatest warbirds museums in the world and their airshow. It is a shame that this has happened. And as a reminder, there are dozens of people that work at these locations that are not involved with the lawsuits from line guys refueling planes, volunteers at the museum and admin people. Please be civil in your communications as they may not be the person responsible for this mess.
I have had the opportunity to visit both sites and have been impressed with the displays that each have. I am also planning on attending the airshow in May.
ADDED
Seems that Flying Tiger Aviation has been open during the past two airshows and used the event to create additional revenue generating events outside of pumping gas.
Florida Warbirds 