Chino "PLANES OF FAME" Air Show 2011

[Jeff D. Welker]

Chino Air Show 2011 - MAY 14 & 15

"This year’s show will feature over 40 historic aircraft performing for your enjoyment as well as a salute to 100 years of Naval aviation."

Here is a link to the general info section of the official website - http://www.planesoffame.org/index.php?page=general-info

Since this will likely be my only shot at a Hawker Sea Fury this year, I am making plans to attend. As a newbie to Chino, I'd appreciate any suggestions for making this a good trip. Simple things like places to park, stay, eat, and what arrangements are needed to take photos (i.e. credentials)? Also, any recommendations for lens setups would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[jslugman]

Ned might chime in on this one as he's been before and I'm following him around this year for my first go-round.

[Jay Beckman]

I went last year (Gallery) and aside from some tough lighting conditions in flight, it's a pretty awesome gathering place.  I'm sure if PoF puts out the word that Navy and Marine Corps aircraft are wanted, they'll show up.

I'd recommend going over as early as possible Friday or even Thursday evening as they allow folks out by the crowd line for Friday practice (at least, they did last year.) and the evening arrivals (if landing from the East) are very nice in the late afternoon light.  I wish I'd gotten there earlier on Friday but I really didn't know where I was going.  I got airshow line access through visiting the PoF museum proper.  Seemed only fair.

If they offer the pre-dawn photo passes again, I'd go for it.  You're just about guaranteed to get the "May Grey" in the mornings but the light is akin to a giant softbox which keeps the dynamic range nicely in check.
Several images in my "Art of Flight" gallery came from walking around there starting at "Oh Dark Thirty."  One other shooting tip: Don't be afraid to back up off the fence for shooting fly bys.  They bend a pretty aggressive path around the crowd (especially from show left to show right) so aside from one or two brief obstructions as they go by, you can easily shoot from near the base of the tower with 400-500mms!  Last year, I tried facing South on Saturday and East on Sunday and each had it's pluses and minuses.

I'd suggest you travel as light as possible if you intend to push the envelope and hang late.  It's a very long walk back to the parking lots once the trams stop running!

Bonus, of course, is having two aviation museums on the airport grounds so you've got something to see when you get there and something to see before you come home!

As for lodging, plenty of choices around the area.  I stayed at a Best Western in Chino Hills that was only about five minutes from the field.

[Jeff D. Welker]

Thanks Jay - just the kind of info I am looking for.

[Ned Harris]

Jeff: My favorite place to stay is the Fairfield Inn by Mariott (909-390-9855). I always drive over on Thursday and shoot arrivals and practice on Friday. Jay's tips are all good, expecially the warning about the long walk back to your car. I always bring a folding chair and set it up by the fence and then move around on foot. I like to shoot from the area just to the right of the roped off media area. I take a short focal length zoom for close in  taxi shots and find 400mm perfect for the flight shots of individual aircraft. There are tons of excellent photo passes so bring all of your flash cards.

[Jeff D. Welker]

Thank you Ned for the input. I'm still healing from a broken right leg and waiting to have knee surgery on the left leg from a hunting accident earlier this year - telling me about the long walk is most helpful (thanks also Jay). I have a folding chair that will give me a great place to rest when needed. I'm covered on the short zoom and will likely rent a 400 prime for the trip.

I've currently got five 8GB CF cards; do you think that will suffice or should I get a few more (I shoot RAW)?

[Ned Harris]

Jeff: with a little discipline you should be able to get by with your 5 cards. The big unknown is weather, the skies are terrible some years but not all years.

[Scott Shea]

This is approx the weekend that I'll be doing my cross country for flight training...I think I've found the destination!

[Chris Kennedy]

This is from the Airshow FAQs.

May I fly in?
The airport is open until approximately 10:30 a.m. It will be closed from then until 12:25 p.m. when it is open for 30 minutes. It will close again at 12:55 p.m. and not re-open until approximately 4:30 p.m. You can ONLY fly in and out during the times the airport is open.

[dbudd]

Jeff..

This is what I did..

I had a little 9" netbook that I had bought off craigslist and then I bought a little Portable HD powered by USB. I can dump all my CF cards straight to my 100 gig HD at the end of the day. Since the HD is powered off the netbook I don't need a power source for the external HD. I can dump my CF cards if I need to in the field or back at the car.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136738&cm_re=Western_Digital_Elements-_-22-136-738-_-Product

I managed to find a 100GB for $39.

Only problem is once I've backed up the images on the external HD ...the urge to start looking at pictures is enormous!!!

DB

[dbudd]

Oh and the best part of the weekend is the Sunday afternoon departures....the light is wonderful and they take down the ropes.

DB

[Jeff D. Welker]

Thanks DB. Your comments are definately helpful.

As it turns out, I'm not going to Chino this year. I've decided to go to the ISAP Symposium in June and can't manage both trips within a two month timeframe. That being said, I've filed away all this great info and plan on using it to my advantage next year.