Wikipedia

Chino Airport

Chino Airport (IATA: CNO, ICAO: KCNO, FAA LID: CNO) is a county-owned airport about three miles southeast of Chino, in San Bernardino County, California, United States.[1] The Federal Aviation Administration's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2007–2011 classified it as a reliever airport,[2] due to its proximity to the Ontario International Airport and the John Wayne Airport (in Orange County).[3]

Chino Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCounty of San Bernardino
LocationChino, California
Elevation AMSL650 ft / 198 m
Coordinates33°58′29″N 117°38′12″W / 33.97472°N 117.63667°W / 33.97472; -117.63667
Websitecms.sbcounty.gov
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
3/21 4,919 1,499 Asphalt
8L/26R 4,858 1,481 Asphalt
8R/26L 7,000 2,134 Asphalt
Statistics (2016)
Aircraft operations (year ending 9/30/2016)164,588
Based aircraft590
An aerial view of Chino Airport and its immediate surroundings.

History

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Cal-Aero Academy was an independent flying school at Chino Airport when World War II started. The U.S. Army Air Forces contracted with the school to provide basic and primary flight training for Army Air Cadets.[4] The Abbott and Costello film Keep 'Em Flying was filmed at the base.

During the war, Cal-Aero operated the training base with Stearmans and BT-13s. The name "Cal-Aero" is preserved at the airport and it can be seen on several buildings.

Starting in early 1945, training aircraft surplused by the cessation of pilot training programs, and post-war, hundreds of combat aircraft were flown into Chino for disposal. This agricultural area was employed as a vast parking lot for warplanes. Soon, the entire area was filled with everything from T-6s to B-24 Liberators. Most planes met an undignified end in portable smelters which were brought there to melt down the warplanes into aluminum ingots.

During the mid-1960s, the field was used as the location setting for the TV series 12 O'Clock High, as the fictitious Archbury Army Air Field, which was home base to the (equally fictitious) 918th Bomb Group. The airfield itself and a number of World War II-era buildings were used for exterior shots.

Chino Airport is the home of two aircraft museums, the Planes of Fame and the Yanks Air Museum, and the airport is one of the centers of aircraft restoration and preservation with several different companies that do this work at the airport.

Accidents and incidents

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  • On 6 November 2007, a Beechcraft King Air impacted trees 3/4 of a mile past the departure end of runway 26R after takeoff in poor visibility. Both occupants were killed.[5]
  • On 13 June 2013, a private jet crashed into an empty office building near a hangar. Maintenance workers were testing the jet engines when the plane jumped over the chocks and the workers lost control. Since the building was empty, no one was seriously hurt, but the jet was destroyed.[6]

Facilities

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Chino Airport covers 1,097 acres (444 ha) and has three asphalt runways:[1]

  • 3/21: 4,919 x 150 ft (1,499 x 46 m)
  • 8L/26R: 4,858 x 150 ft (1,481 x 46 m)
  • 8R/26L: 7,000 x 150 ft (2,134 x 46 m)

General aviation

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In the year ending September 30, 2016, the airport had 164,588 aircraft operations, average 451 per day: 99% general aviation and <1% air taxi. 590 aircraft were then based at the airport: 424 percent single-engine, 86 percent multi-engine, 64 percent jet, and 16 helicopter.[1]

FBOs:

  • Encore Jet Center[7]
  • Threshold Aviation Group[8]

Airport businesses

  • M.I. AIR Aviation Education[9] – flight school
  • Dubois Flight School[10]
  • Mach One Air Charters[11] – jet charter provider with multiple FAA violations for unsafe operations[12][13]

See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d FAA Airport Form 5010 for CNO PDF, effective 2023-09-07
  2. ^ FAA National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems: 2007-2011
  3. ^ Chino Airport Archived 2007-11-24 at the Wayback Machine at San Bernardino County Department of Airports
  4. ^ Associated Press, “Cal-Aero Will Become Primary Training School”, ‘’The San Bernardino Daily Sun’’, San Bernardino, California, Wednesday 31 May 1944, Volume 50, page 10.
  5. ^ Accident description for N30GC at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on September 12, 2023.
  6. ^ Ezzeddine, Tena (14 June 2013). "Jet Slams Into Empty Offices at Chino Airport". NBC 7 San Diego. Archived from the original on 2013-06-19. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  7. ^ Encore Jet Center
  8. ^ Threshold Aviation Group
  9. ^ M.I. AIR Aviation Education
  10. ^ Dubois Flight School
  11. ^ Mach One Air Charters
  12. ^ "Transcript of FAA Action Against Chino Charter Company Mach One Air Charters". Archived from the original on 2018-09-16. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  13. ^ FAA Docket 2015-0643 FAA vs Mach One Air Charters, Dan Hill

Bibliography

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  This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  • Manning, Thomas A. (2005), History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas OCLC 71006954, 29991467
  • Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), Locating Air Force Base Sites, History’s Legacy, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC. OCLC 57007862, 1050653629
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