I recently stopped by Planes Of Fame Air Museum in Chino, CA, and had a nice surprise waiting. That's the fun things about this museum; you never know what might be flying in or what amazingly rare or beautiful aircraft might be getting worked on. On this day, WW2 F4U Corsair pilot, Major John Tashjian, USMC (ret), had just been buried in San Diego. Major Tashjian has a close history with the museum's Corsair, as he'd flown in this very one at least once, way back in 1945, while he was stationed in the Pacific theater. On this day, the Corsair had just made an appearance at Tashjian's funeral and would be returning soon. I passed the time by walking around and talking to some of the museum workers and soon I heard the familiar sound of a Pratt & Whitney R-2800 thumping slowly along.
I positioned myself at the open gate and got a few pictures as the pilots brought her in and folded up the wings. That is always an impressive thing to behold. After they got her back in her hangar, I made brief small talk with Steve Hinton and his brother, John, and then departed for the day, happy that I'd got to be present during this rare occasion.
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