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Congratulations to Chris Liguori, our latest Zero pilot.  

Chris Liguori, post Zero flight

Chris was introduced to CAFSoCal a few years ago as a P51 warbird ride participant – a gift from his lovely wife.  

Since then he’s been at the wing, pitching in as time allows and has proven to be a more than capable pilot behind the controls of the F6F Hellcat.

Anxious to add to his repertoire, Chris  just had his first flight behind the stick of a Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero on June 3rd.

Way to go Chris! You’ve joined a small and distinguished group of people on the planet! Can’t imagine what that must feel like.

Following the flight, Chris was met by a proud ground crew and his ceremonial shot of sake!

Chris Liguori receiving his shot of Sake after his first flight on the A6M3 Zero

Great guy that he is, Chris has promised to give us a quick interview comparing what it’s like to fly the Zero vs the Hellcat. We’ll have that up soon. 

The B-25/PBJ and the Hellcat participated in the 2017 Memorial Day Weekend activities at the Palm Springs Air Museum.

Our aircraft arrived on Saturday and were on display at the museum for the weekend. The PBJ was made available for rides and took to the sky on multiple warbird ride missions to the delight of all involved.

The Holiday weekend ended with museum’s annual “Flower Drop” where hundreds of red and white carnations were dropped from the bomb bay of the B25 “Pacific Princess”. The red and white flowers against the blue sky was a spectacle to be witnessed in person. The airdrop was followed by a Missing Man Formation which included our PBJ and Hellcat as well as a P63 King Cobra and a P51-D.

Thanks to Scott Plummer or airshowvid.com for generously sharing some of the footage for the video.

What a great weekend and a privilege to have been part of the moving ceremonies honoring our veterans. Our sincere gratitude goes to the organizers and volunteers at the PSAM for their tireless efforts in putting on a great show as well as their unmatched hospitality.

As if that wasn’t enough, the Hellcat made a great photo subject on the return trip back to Camarillo, late on Monday.

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We all wish we could fly these beautiful warbirds.

Failing that, we are happy to settle for hearing first-hand from those skilled enough to fly a vintage WWII fighter.

In this candid video, CAF Col. Steve McCartney graciously shares his first impressions of the Spitfire Mk. XIV after his second flight ever piloting the sleek aircraft. It helped that the questions were coming from Ms. Caroline Sheen of the Air & Space Magazine who was spending a full day of her Southern California vacation at the CAFSoCal museum and hangars.

The impromptu session ends with Caroline asking us “do YOU want to get your pilot’s license?”  Well, yes. Maybe. But we’ll leave the warbird flying to folks like Steve!

Our B-25/PBJ will be at the Palm Springs Air Museum for the Memorial Day Weekend.  

While it is there we will be selling rides in the world’s only flying PBJ.  

You can purchase and schedule your ride on the PBJ in advance using our Rides webpage and choosing the Memorial Day weekend dates and times from the drop down list.

CAF SoCal Presentation Series: Harnessing the Sky: Fredrick “Trap” Trapnell The U.S. Navy’s Aviation Pioneer

From bi-planes to jets!

On Saturday, June 10th, local author Dana Trapnell Tibbitts, will share the nearly lost history of the man called the “godfather of modern naval aviation.”

Based on the award winning biography, Harnessing The Sky: Frederick “Trap” Trapnell, the U.S. Navy’s Aviation Pioneer, recently published by the Naval Institute Press, this Living History presentation is open to the public.
Weather and maintenance permitting, the museum will fly it’s Zero killer, the F6F Hellcat, an airplane whose expedited development under Trapnell was critical to U.S. victory in World War II.

Tibbitts, who is Vice Admiral Trapnell’s granddaughter, will share the little known story of early flight test and the development of another formidable Navy fighter, the F4U Corsair. Trap became the first Navy pilot to fly a jet, and then guided Navy flight test through the monumental and treacherous transition to jets.

Other iconic, flyable aircraft will also be on display, like a real Japanese Zero. For the adventurous, rides for hire will be available in several different vintage military aircraft. A food vendor will also be on hand for those wishing a meal.
Mark your calendars to learn about the Navy’s test pilot legend, Frederick “Trap” Trapnell. Saturday June 10th, 11am at the Commemorative Air Force museum at the Camarillo Airport, 455 Aviation Drive, Camarillo, California. Experience living history.

During the PBJ tour to Dayton Ohio in April, the crew were given a presentation by Dr. Dan Desko of B-25history.org at the CAF Heart of America Win in Olathe, Kansas.

Dan’s very personal and informative presentation was on the North American Aviation production facility in Fairfax, Kansas.

The main take-home lesson for us was the revelation that all B-25/PBJ aircraft, including ours, were built at the Kansas facility.

The following link is to a video of that presentation:

After a seemingly interminable wait, the newly overhauled Merlin engine has been delivered to CAFSoCal and the maintenance crew wasted no time in starting the installation process.

We anticipate a test run of the engine in the next few day, followed by a test flight after which the Mustang will again be available for the remainder of the airshow season as well as the warbird rides program.

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The PBJ is back in the home hangars following an outstanding 13 day barnstorming tour culminating in participation in the 75th Anniversary of the Doolittle Raid Commemoration at the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. 

The debut tour for the PBJ included stops in New Mexico, Kansas, Ohio, Arkansas and Texas, to eager crowds for aircraft tours and rides.
We are thrilled to report that the aircraft performed impeccably and the reception of the host organizations and enthusiasm of the public far surpassed any expectations.

Col. Cole accepting a PBJ Patch from the crew

Group photo of all participating B25 crewsThe following short video serves as the highlight of the main event at the NMUSAF in Dayton.

This playlist contains videos of the veterans we met during the tour:

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our supporters who followed us on this epic journey and offered their encouragement and praise to a tired crew on the various social media platforms. 

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Follow this link for a presentation on North American B-25 production facilities in Kansas

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Images from tour stop locations, Gathering of Mitchells at Grimes Field and the Doolittle Commemoration assembly and flyover at the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

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The PBJ will be part of seventeen B-25 Mitchell bombers from around the country appearing at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Doolittle Tokyo Raid. (LINK to news NMUSAF news release.)

Departing on April 11 and returning on the 23rd, the PBJ will make multiple stops along the way at the locations listed below, where the aircraft will be available to tour and for warbird ride experience to the public.

Rides can be purchased from our rides page, except at the Grimes field in Ohio

For questions and reservations for B-25/PBJ rides on this tour, please call:

805-603-9910