Yanks Air Museum

Yanks Air Museum Yanks’ houses one of the largest collections of rare, historic, and legendary American aircraft in the world. Many of which are airworthy.

Yanks Air Museum was founded in 1973 with the goal of honoring and preserving the history of American aviation. As a nonprofit organization, Yanks has grown into one of the largest collections in the World and includes more than two hundred aircraft housed at a ten-acre facility at the Chino Airport. An exciting and educational experience for the whole family, come and see our dedicated team bring

history back to life as they actively restore aircraft to flyable condition. Tour the museum and discover how the Wright Brothers succeeded in their historic flight or arrange to host your family and friends at your own private event in one of our aircraft hangars. Kids of any age come to Yanks to have fun and explore this exciting and heroic time of American aviation history.

📅 On This Day in Aviation History — September 5, 1984On this day in 1984, a new chapter in American spaceflight touched ...
09/05/2026

📅 On This Day in Aviation History — September 5, 1984

On this day in 1984, a new chapter in American spaceflight touched down on a California dry lakebed.

At 6:37 a.m. PDT, Space Shuttle Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base, successfully completing STS-41D—its very first mission into space.

Over six days, Discovery and its six-person crew circled Earth 97 times and traveled approximately 2.5 million miles. Along the way, they deployed three communications satellites and put an unusual piece of technology through its paces: a lightweight experimental solar array that unfurled to more than 100 feet in length from a remarkably compact container in the Shuttle's payload bay. The experiment tested lightweight, deployable solar-array technology envisioned for powering large future structures in orbit.

The mission also carried another piece of aviation and space history. Charles D. Walker became the first commercial payload specialist to fly aboard the Shuttle, operating a McDonnell Douglas biotechnology experiment during the mission.

And if some of STS-41D looks unusually cinematic in archival footage, there's a reason for that. The crew carried an IMAX camera into orbit and filmed satellite deployments, experiments, and life aboard Discovery. Some of that footage later appeared on enormous theater screens in the 1985 IMAX film The Dream Is Alive.

After six days, Commander Henry 'Hank' Hartsfield Jr. brought Discovery down on Runway 17 at Edwards, bringing Discovery's maiden voyage to a successful conclusion.

It turned out to be just the beginning.

Discovery ultimately completed 39 missions, more than any other Space Shuttle. During that remarkable career, it would deploy the Hubble Space Telescope, carry John Glenn back into orbit, and fly both of NASA's "Return to Flight" missions following the Challenger and Columbia tragedies.

But all 39 missions started with STS-41D—and on September 5, 1984, Discovery proved for the first time that it could make the journey to orbit and safely come home again. 🚀

Aviation Trivia: Discovery was NASA's third space-qualified orbiter to join the Shuttle fleet. Can you name the two orbiters that flew before it?

Someone took a trip to the groomer last weekend… Come see if our museum cat will let you pet his new coat! 😻
09/04/2026

Someone took a trip to the groomer last weekend… Come see if our museum cat will let you pet his new coat! 😻

Wow! We're so proud to have one of our doggy jackets put to good use! We just got news from one of our fans that she had...
09/03/2026

Wow! We're so proud to have one of our doggy jackets put to good use!

We just got news from one of our fans that she had ordered a bomber jacket from us for her dog about a month ago in preparation for a huge fundraising event at her local dog shelter. Walter, the good-boy himself, and his owner, won the People’s Choice Award that evening for their “Top Gun, Maverick and Goose" theme. Overall, the event raised over $900,000 for the Humane Society of Elkhart County.

Give it up for Walter! 🎉

Wait... does this make Geebs Iceman?

We can't quite say "On This Day in History" since the date has been in question for a long time, but definitely during t...
09/02/2026

We can't quite say "On This Day in History" since the date has been in question for a long time, but definitely during this month...

Blanche "Betty" Stuart Scott, a notable pioneering female aviator for many reasons, was considered by many to be the first American female pilot to complete a solo flight, somewhere between September 2nd and September 12th, 1910 (Some average this out to September 6th, but we like to give her the earliest date possible).

Still, Bessica Medlar Raiche's September 16th flight is given the official credit for first solo flight by an American woman (which we'll talk about later this month). Why? While studying at the first flying school in America, under Glenn Curtiss, she was merely practicing taxiing, when either the limiter on her throttle moved or a strong gust of wind came along and lifted her into the air! It was a short, possibly accidental, flight, 40 ft in the air, but she completed it safely.

Just in case you also think a lucky gust of wind doesn't count, do remember all the other major accomplishments Scott received throughout her life, fair and square, contributing heavily to pioneering the way for women in aviation during a time they were even more underestimated than today:

✅ Second woman to complete a cross-country drive in an automobile, first to do so from NY to CA, making all necessary repairs herself en route: May 16 to July 23, 1910. This was such a huge piece of news at the time, that it brought her to Curtiss's attention, influencing him to offer her flying lessons.
✅ The only woman to receive flying lessons directly from Glenn Curtiss
✅ Set a long-distance flying record for women of 10 miles on July 30, 1911 right before extending it to a 25-mile record later in August of that same year
✅ First female test pilot
✅ First American woman to fly "long distance" (60 miles non-stop)
✅ Earned her reputation as an accomplished stunt pilot by flying upside down and performing "death dives" (diving from an altitude of 4000 feet and suddenly pulling up only 200 feet from the ground)

She's also considered the first American woman to fly as a passenger in a jet. Can anyone name the jet, the pilot, or guess the year?

This time, we cropped out the vertical stabilizer since that keeps giving half of these away. 🤣 How would you identify t...
09/01/2026

This time, we cropped out the vertical stabilizer since that keeps giving half of these away. 🤣

How would you identify this aircraft?

08/31/2026

We did the blow down bottle test last week and finalized the emergency landing gear system. Step by step, we’re getting there!

Some people spend their entire lives in aviation. Others simply spend their lives learning how to build, fix, and do thi...
08/29/2026

Some people spend their entire lives in aviation. Others simply spend their lives learning how to build, fix, and do things right—and eventually find their way to airplanes. Jim “Boozler” Harrison is the latter.

Born in Garden Grove, California, in 1951, Jim grew up as a stout, athletic kid who wrestled and played baseball and football. He was part of the first four-year graduating class at Pacifica High School. In 1970, Jim enlisted in the USAF. While in Vietnam in 1973, he met Noy, the woman who would soon become his wife. More than five decades later, Jim and Noy live locally in Chino Hills. Together they raised two sons, have three grandchildren, and have built a life Jim says is his greatest accomplishment. He described Trump, Rubio and DeSantis as some of his current inspirations, but when asked who influenced him most, Jim doesn't hesitate: his parents. His father, Jim “Big Jim” Harrison, was a well-known dairy lab technician, and his mother, Marion Harrison, worked as an office manager at Zody's. Both worked hard and taught their son something he still lives by today:

Do the right thing.

For Jim, that means more than simply knowing right from wrong. It means doing the job right. Building it right. Treating people right. And when you don't know how to do something, you learn. After welding school, Jim began a career that would span an incredible 48 years. The variety of things he fabricated during that career is almost difficult to believe.

Interestingly, airplanes weren't the reason Jim learned to work with his hands. His serious interest in aviation came after an entire career spent working in another trade. After retiring, Jim was looking for something to keep himself busy. A conversation with a neighbor eventually led him to Yanks Air Museum, where he began volunteering. Within a couple of months, Jim was hired. His craftsmanship and attention to detail were immediately apparent,
but just as importantly, he fit in with the crew.

Jim Harrison didn't need an aviation career to become an aircraft craftsman.
He just needed the same thing Big Jim and Marion taught him all those years ago:
Do the right thing.
And while you’re at it—
Do the job right.

And if you've read this far, throw us a guess as to what Jim's favorite project has been here at Yanks. We'll let you know if you're right!

📅 On This Day in Aviation History — August 28, 1957How do you push a jet bomber more than 20,000 feet above its normal s...
08/29/2026

📅 On This Day in Aviation History — August 28, 1957

How do you push a jet bomber more than 20,000 feet above its normal service ceiling? In 1957, the answer was simple—at least in theory: add a rocket engine.

On August 28, test pilot Michael Randrup and flight engineer Walter Shirley climbed aboard English Electric Canberra B Mk.2 WK163 and departed Luton on a record attempt. Their goal was to explore an altitude regime well beyond what the Canberra's two Rolls-Royce Avon turbojets could ordinarily reach.

Randrup initially climbed under conventional jet power to approximately 44,000 feet. Then came the unusual part. Installed inside WK163's bomb bay was a Napier Double Scorpion rocket engine. Once ignited, the additional thrust sent the Canberra into a steep climb that ultimately topped out at 70,308 feet (21,430 meters)—establishing a new FAI world altitude record.

Flying that high presented challenges beyond simply getting there. Near its maximum altitude, the Canberra was operating in what's commonly called "coffin corner," where the margin between stall speed and the onset of critical Mach effects becomes extremely narrow. Engineers calculated that Randrup had only about a 15-knot airspeed window to work with. Both men also wore pressure suits despite the Canberra's pressurized cockpit.

The aircraft itself was already designed with high-altitude performance in mind. The Canberra B.2 was a twin-engine jet bomber powered by a pair of 6,500-pound-thrust Avon RA.3 Mk. 101s, but its normal service ceiling was around 48,000 feet. The experimental rocket installation allowed WK163 to venture far beyond that limit.

Even better, this wasn't the end of WK163's story. The aircraft spent its career as a research test bed rather than an operational bomber and survived long after its record-setting flight.

Sometimes breaking an aviation record requires an entirely new aircraft.

Other times, apparently, you just put a rocket in the bomb bay. 🚀✈️

Aviation Trivia: The Canberra was also manufactured under license in the United States for the U.S. Air Force. Do you know the American designation given to it?

08/27/2026

Tony may roll his eyes at the attention, but we gotta give the fans what they want! And his decades of work and wisdom in airplane restoration are absolutely priceless.

After all these years, it’s hard to find anything that would bother or surprise him, as you can see here by his resistance to the varnish he applied last week. It can be hard to hear him, but at one point, he mentions he’s just too used to “too much dope!” 😂

What he MEANS is, he’s had to apply a lot of butyrate dope to the fabric-covered aircraft, and it smells TWICE as strongly as any of this varnish, at least. He always wears a respirator, but still… it’s hard to imagine being used to that kind of stink. 😷

What’s the stinkiest chemical you’ve had to work with during your time with aircraft?

Don't tell Geebs (our museum cat), but it's National Dog Day! Geebs may not have a canine counterpart to celebrate, but ...
08/26/2026

Don't tell Geebs (our museum cat), but it's National Dog Day! Geebs may not have a canine counterpart to celebrate, but we do have some adorable plushies relatively new to our gift shop. Who wouldn't want to cuddle with one of these?

Address

15121 Stearman Drive
Chino, CA
91710

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

+19095971735

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Yanks Air Museum posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Museum

Send a message to Yanks Air Museum:

Shortcuts

Share

Category