PressContactLegal

KCNO is the four-letter code for Chino Airport in California, where more old warplanes are kept flying than anywhere else on earth. We are a founding team in the Jet World Championship, and that airport is our home base. For 2029 we have two A-4 Skyhawks, two pilots, two gamers and fourteen race Sundays. Take a closer look at the N in our name. It is a map of the airport.

See the seasonPartner with the team
AirframeA-4 Skyhawk BaseChino, California NextR01 Doha, 24 Feb 2029

The N is the field

Chino has three runways. Two of them, 26R and 26L, run side by side. The third, runway 21, cuts across both at an angle. Turn the airport map so north points to the right and those three runways form the letter N, which is exactly how we drew ours. The diagonal runs past the corners because runway 21 does too.

Left stem
Runway 26R, 7,000 feet, the one the Skyhawks use
Right stem
Runway 26L, the shorter parallel
Diagonal
Runway 21, crossing both

Watch the lights. They run down each runway in turn, toward the end the wind favors right now, just like the approach lights a pilot follows on the way in. The runway in use lights up first.

Wind calm,
runway two six.

Every flight at Chino starts the same way. You check the windsock, you pick your runway, and then you taxi. We run the whole team on that habit: read the conditions first and worry about speed second. Our first race is a two-hour Grand Battle over Lusail, in Qatar.

—days
—hours
—min
—sec
Hero: the all-navy A-4 Skyhawk, centerline along the fuselage, 26R and KCNO on the rear fuselage, 01 on the fin, taxiing at Chino at dusk, the San Gabriel mountains behind.

Right now at the field

About Chino
Wind 260 at 11 Runway 26R in use. Sea breeze, the usual afternoon.

News

All news

Around the team

TeamWho flies, who fights from the ground, who signs for the aircraft. SkyhawkWhy a sixty-year-old attack jet, and why it is painted like a runway. The fieldThree runways, two museums, one windsock. Home. WeekendThursday to Sunday, hour by hour, and how a period scores. StoreNavy and bone, with the runway drawn on the N. Made in small runs at the field. The TowerOur glass-walled suite above the garage, at every round.

A nose, a fin, a chest and a result every Sunday.

When you partner with the team, you get two pilots, two gamers, a jet that carries your name and fourteen shots at a podium. The league promotes every round with its own marketing budget, and you do not pay for any of it. Title, Primary, Associate and Digital positions are open for 2029.

See the positions

Sixteen people, two Skyhawks.

A championship team is smaller than most people think. We have two pilots, two gamers, a strategist, a chief mechanic, an inspection team, four crew on the floor and a few people who tell the story. Every person on this page either flies the jet, fights with it or signs off on it.

How a unit works

In this championship, a unit is one aircraft, one pilot and one gamer. The pilot flies the jet. The gamer sits at a station on the ground and runs the combat system: the locks, the shots, the flares, all the calls that score points. The strategist talks to both of them. We field two units, and the rules say both have to be registered and cleared before either one can race.

The rules lock in three things for the whole season: the aircraft type, the roster we report to the league, and an inspection team of at least two people who sign the maintenance log every day. The rest of the team is built around those three rules.

Unit 01

Lead unit
Pilot portrait, bone flight suit with one navy fin across the chest, helmet under the arm, face turned into shadow.
Pilot, Unit 01Unannounced. Commercial certificate, A-4 type rating, ICAS ACE Level 4 with dogfight endorsement.
Gamer portrait, bone team jersey, navy fin, headset at the neck, visor and shadow hiding the face.
Gamer, Unit 01Unannounced. Runs the combat system for aircraft 01 from the ground station.
Studio side profile of Skyhawk number 01, all navy with bone markings, on bone.
Aircraft 01A-4 Skyhawk. Competition airframe. See the Skyhawk

Unit 02

Second pilot portrait, same framing, thin navy rim light.
Pilot, Unit 02Unannounced.
Second gamer portrait, same framing.
Gamer, Unit 02Unannounced.
Studio side profile of Skyhawk number 02, all navy with bone markings, on bone.
Aircraft 02A-4 Skyhawk. Competition airframe.

Reserve, strategy, the floor

Reserve pilot and reserve gamer

We carry a third pilot with the same ratings and credentials, and a third gamer registered with the league. If a seat opens up on a Thursday, someone is in it by the first training session on Friday.

Race strategist

The strategist is the one voice both units hear during the Grand Battle. Period by period, the strategist decides who defends, who attacks and when to use flares. And before every merge, the strategist checks the wind.

Chief mechanic and inspection team

Two names go to the league ninety days before the season starts. They own the daily log, and nobody else gets to call a jet "airworthy." Chino has more people who can keep an old jet flying than anywhere else on earth. We hired two of them.

Pit crew

Four people on the floor handle fuel, turnaround, the canopy and the chocks. They wear fire-resistant gear and closed-toe shoes, and nobody walks past the intake line without a reason.

Leadership

Team principal portrait, navy jacket, bone background, face in profile and shadow.
Team PrincipalSigns the Participation License and answers to the league for everything on this page.
Commercial director portrait, same treatment.
Commercial DirectorPartner positions, disclosures, the livery.
Chief mechanic portrait, bone workwear, in the Chino hangar with a warbird in the background.
Chief MechanicLead inspector. The last signature before an aircraft taxis.

Heinemann's hot rod.

The Navy asked Ed Heinemann for a thirty-thousand-pound attack jet. He gave them one at half the weight, with a delta wing so small it never needed to fold. The A-4 Skyhawk flew in 1954 and was still in front-line service fifty years later. It is the smallest, simplest, toughest jet on the championship list, and the only one you can refuel with a stepladder.

Three-quarter rear view of a bone Skyhawk in a hard level turn over the Chino Hills, the navy band catching the sun, KCNO on the fin, vapour off the wingtips.

Why the Skyhawk

It turns

A short delta wing with slats on the front edge that drop on their own when the nose comes up. A period lasts sixty seconds, and the fight usually goes to whoever gets their nose around first. Pilots nicknamed the A-4 the Scooter for a reason. It was built to be thrown around.

It is small

The wingspan is twenty-seven and a half feet. That makes it hard to see, hard to lock onto and easy to park. Our two race jets and the spare fit in the space an F-16 team needs for one aircraft.

It is honest

One engine, one seat and manual flight controls with hydraulic boost. There is no computer between the pilot and the airplane, just cables and a throttle. When the pilot moves the stick, the jet goes exactly where it is pointed.

Chino knows it

Civilian Skyhawks have played the enemy in military training for decades, so the parts, the engines and the people who know them are still out there. Some of those people live ten minutes from our hangar. Pursuit Jet Team flies the Skyhawk too. Expect the two teams to fly it very differently.

Specification

A-4N Skyhawk, civilian register, competition configuration.

Length
12.3 m
Wingspan
8.38 m
Height
4.6 m
Empty weight
About 4,750 kg
Maximum take-off weight
About 11,100 kg
Engine
One Pratt & Whitney J52-P-408 turbojet
Thrust
49.8 kN
Limit load
+7 g, limited to the championship envelope
Maximum speed
About 1,080 km/h at sea level, limited to the championship envelope
Seats
One
Combat system
League-supplied, operated from the ground station by the unit's gamer

The livery

Think of the jet as a runway at night. It is painted navy from nose to tail, and every marking on it is in bone white, laid out the way a runway is marked. A dashed centerline runs down the side. Our home runway number, 26R, is painted big on the rear fuselage with KCNO above it. The unit number fills the tail, with the N at the very top. That is the whole livery. Four markings, and you can tell where this jet comes from at a glance.

Side profile of the all-navy Skyhawk on bone: centerline along the fuselage, 26R and KCNO on the rear fuselage, 01 on the fin.

Gallery

Cockpit close-up, the A-4's stick and throttle, a glove with the N on the back.
Intake and nose from below, the small 01 under the canopy, hangar light, slats drooped.
Fin close-up: the navy fin with the big bone 01 and the small N at the top, the start of KCNO on the fuselage below.
Spare airframe under a bone cover, the navy fin with 03 visible where the cover is pulled back.
The competition station: three screens, telemetry overlay, gamer's hands on a button panel, no joystick.
Full-motion simulator in the Chino hangar, A-4 cockpit shell, the crossing N painted large on the wall.

Chino. KCNO.

Chino sits about forty miles east of Los Angeles. The Army built the airfield in 1940 to train pilots, and in a way the pilots never left. Two museums here, Planes of Fame and Yanks, keep more World War II aircraft flying than anywhere else in the world. The air is dry and the mountains are close. Most afternoons a breeze comes in from the Pacific and the whole field lands on runway 26. This is home.

Read the sock

Chino has three runways. Set the wind below and the tool picks the one a Skyhawk would use, the same way the tower does. The runway with the most headwind wins. When the air is calm, everyone uses 26R.

Wind 260 at 11

Headwind and crosswind are shown in knots, and runway headings are magnetic. This is for fun. In real life, the tower decides.

Why here

The people

Chino is where you go when you need someone to rebuild a 1950s jet engine by Thursday. Our chief mechanic came from the museum next door. So did a lot of our spare parts.

The weather

The field gets around three hundred flying days a year. Summers are hot and winters are clear. Every October the Santa Ana winds blow in from the desert, the whole field flips around to runways 8 and 3, and the gusts teach young pilots a thing or two.

The runway

Runway 26R is seven thousand feet long. A Skyhawk at race weight needs less than half of it.

The round

Monterey is Round 11 and our home race in California. It is six hours up the coast by car or forty minutes in the jet. Expect half the airport to show up.

The hangar

Night in the team hangar at Chino: two navy Skyhawks side by side, 01 and 02 on the fins, a single work light, crew at the ladder, a vintage Mustang parked in the corner belonging to the museum next door.

Inside are three aircraft, a room with two league-spec competition stations, and a full-motion simulator with the N painted on the wall right where the pilot looks after touchdown. We have two race jets and one spare, all the same model for the whole season, as the rules require. The hangar doors face west, and when they are open you can see the windsock from the cockpit.

Field information

This is the airport's automated weather report, the same one our pilots read before every flight. It updates every hour.

Before calling the tower, every pilot listens to a recording called the ATIS. It gives the information letter, the time, the wind, visibility, clouds, temperature, the altimeter setting and the runway in use. Pilots repeat the letter back so the controller knows they heard it. The strip across the top of this website is our version.

The conditions on this site are a model of a typical day at Chino for each hour and season. They are not a live feed. Please do not use them to fly.

Fourteen Sundays.

The first season starts in Doha after Eid. From there it moves one race at a time through the Gulf, Asia, the Americas and Europe. Everything stops on September 1 so the aircraft can be shipped, and the season ends in Miami the weekend before Thanksgiving.

CalendarResultsStandings

Round 1, Doha

Lusail. Grand Battle Sunday 24 February 2029, 14:00 local.

—days
—hours
—min
—sec

Where we go

Every city on the calendar, in the order we race them.

Thursday to Sunday.

A race weekend runs four days. The fan village opens on Thursday. Teams train on Friday and qualify on Saturday. Then on Sunday, all ten teams are in the air together for two hours. Our sessions are listed below. The rest of the weekend belongs to the support races and the fans.

Thursday

  • 16:00 Village opens, press event
  • 16:30 Technical inspection, both aircraft
  • 17:30 The Tower opens for guests
  • 18:00 University and Golden Sorties on the sightline

Friday

  • 09:00 Training block 1, our fifteen minutes
  • 12:15 Airspace reset
  • 13:45 Training block 2
  • 16:15 Junior and Academy qualifying

Saturday

  • 11:00 Qualifying, flights 1 to 10
  • 13:30 Display slot
  • 14:15 Qualifying, flights 11 to 20
  • 17:00 Junior race 2

Sunday

  • 12:45 Airspace sterilised, staging
  • 14:00 Grand Battle, all ten teams, two hours
  • 16:15 Grand Podium
  • 16:45 Closing ceremony

Times follow the official flight schedule and can shift with race control and the weather. The Grand Battle slot never gets shortened.

How a period scores

Each period lasts sixty seconds. One jet attacks and the other defends, then they switch. The clock always runs the full minute, no matter what happens.

EventPointsTo
Confirmed direct-shot hit, up to three per period+3Attacker
Period survived without being hit+2Defender
Lock defeated by flares, up to two per period+1Defender
Envelope exceedance, called by telemetry−3penalty
Departure from the corridor−3penalty

Conditions first

How we fly a minute.

Before the two jets meet, our strategist checks the wind in the race corridor the same way we check the windsock at home: which way it is blowing, how hard, and where it will push a turning fight. A Skyhawk turning into a twenty-knot wind holds its spot. Turning with the wind, it drifts about a hundred yards every circle. So we fight on the upwind side and make the other jet come to us.

From the stands, it will look like we always know where the fight is headed. It is not luck. We just read the windsock.

Where to watch

From the Village

The race corridor runs right in front of the main viewing area. The fan village sits there too, with live scores on the big screens and a sixty-second countdown for every period.

From The Tower

Our suite above the garage. You get live data from both jets on the wall, the strategist's radio in your headset if you want it, and a screen just for the wind. Hospitality.

From home

Every round is shown live, with cameras inside both jets, long lenses from the ground, and a small window on the gamer's screen whenever a lock goes on.

News

Put your name on the band.

A partnership puts your name on the jet and gives you two pilots, two gamers and a result every Sunday. The league markets every round from its own budget, so that reach comes free. There are four levels and fourteen rounds. And your brand rides on the jet everybody films, because it is the only one painted like a runway.

Title

One partner, 2029
  • Nose of both aircraft
  • Gamer chest, both units
  • Team naming: "KCNO Motorsports presented by"
  • The Tower at every round, twelve seats
  • Category exclusivity within the team

Primary

Two or three partners
  • Fuselage, both aircraft
  • Gamer sleeves, crew uniform
  • Six seats in The Tower per round
  • Hangar day at Chino

Associate

Four or five partners
  • Fin or wing, both aircraft
  • Gamer cap, digital overlay
  • Two seats per round

Digital and regional

Four to six partners
  • Game skin placement
  • Social output, named rounds
  • Regional rights in a home market

Every deal is built around the partner and the season, so ask us for the full deck. If the league already has an exclusive partner in your category, we clear the deal with JWC Holdings before anyone signs.

Where it goes

Tap a number on the jet or in the list.

  • 1Nose, both aircraftTitle
  • 2The mouth of the band, forward fuselagePrimary
  • 3Fin, beside the numberAssociate
  • 4WingAssociate
  • 5The tail of the band, rear fuselagePrimary
  • 6Gamer chest and sleevesTitle and Primary
Side profile of the all-navy Skyhawk with six numbered positions.

Positions for 2029

Each open spot below gets a partner's name the day the contract is signed.

Title
open
Primary 1
open
Primary 2
open
Primary 3
open
Associate 1
open
Associate 2
open
Associate 3
open
Associate 4
open
Digital 1
open
Digital 2
open

Talk to us

Our commercial director will reply within three business days, after checking that your category is available.

Navy and bone.

Team gear, made in small batches at the airport. On anything big enough, the N carries a dashed centerline down each of its three strokes, just like the real runways. Members get ten percent off with their code.

The Tower.

The Tower is our glass-walled suite above the KCNO garage at every round. Both jets sit on the floor right below you. Live data from both units runs on the wall, the wind has a screen of its own, and you can listen in on the strategist's radio if you like. Thursday is the quiet day. Sunday is loud.

Glass-fronted suite above a pit garage: guests at the window looking down at a bone Skyhawk being worked on, the navy fin directly below them, telemetry and a wind readout on the back wall, KCNO etched on the glass.

What is included

Thursday

Welcome reception and lunch. You watch technical inspection from the gallery, then walk through the garage with our chief mechanic. This is the day to bring your most important guests.

Friday and Saturday

Watch both training sessions and all twenty qualifying flights from the suite. Between sessions, one of our gamers shows the room how the combat system works.

Sunday

Watch the Grand Battle from the window with live scores, take your seat at the podium ceremony, and finish with the closing party back in the suite.

How it is sold

Pricing is per round and follows three market levels set by the league. The suite seats twelve. At Standard and Premium rounds you can also book half of it for six.

BandRoundsSeatThe Tower, 12 seats
MarqueeDoha, Miami$4,800$52,000
PremiumAustin, Montreal, Mexico City, Silverstone, Paris, Suzuka$3,600$39,000
StandardBalance of the calendar$2,400$27,000

Chino days

Outside the calendar.

Hangar day

Bring up to twenty guests to Chino. Both jets come out of the hangar, the simulator is running, you have lunch with the crew, and the museum flight line is right next door. From $18,000.

Station day

Six guests spend an afternoon racing each other on the competition stations, scored just like a Sunday, with one of our gamers coaching. From $7,500.

Ask for a round

Get based here.

At an airport, every plane is either visiting or based there. Membership is how a team of sixteen people turns into a team of thousands. You pay once a year, and you get closer to the team than any ticket can.

Transient

$95 a year
  • Ten percent off the store
  • Members' pre-sale on Tower seats
  • Team radio replays after every round
  • Numbered membership card
Join as Transient

Based

$290 a year
  • Everything in Transient
  • Chino hangar open day, once a year
  • Live strategist channel during the Grand Battle
  • Based jacket, numbered
Join as Based

Hangar

$1,900 once
  • Everything in Based, for life
  • Name painted on the hangar door at Chino
  • One Tower seat at a Standard round each season
  • Limited to 500
Join the Hangar

Sixteen seats. Some are still open.

We are a small team, and every job here matters. These are the roles we are hiring for the 2029 season. You will be based at Chino and on the road for fourteen rounds.

Apply

Send a resume and a few lines on why you want the job. Pilots, please list your certificate, type ratings and ACE level first.

Press

Logos, livery images and facts you can print. For anything else, just ask.

Logo pack

The main logo on navy, the reverse version on bone white, and the N on its own. The diagonal in the N runs past the corners on purpose, because it stands for runway 21. Please do not shorten it, tilt it or change its color.

Facts

Name
KCNO Motorsports
Status
Founding team, Jet World Championship, entry confirmed
Airframe
A-4 Skyhawk, declared, confirms at season registration
Base
Chino Airport (KCNO), California
Fleet
Two competition airframes, one spare
Roster
Two pilots, two gamers, one reserve of each, a strategist, chief mechanic, inspection team and four crew
Colours
Orange #F1600D, navy #2E3135, bone #F4F2EC
First round
Doha, Lusail, 24 February 2029

Livery renders

Both Skyhawks in close formation over the Chino Hills.
Technical side profile, bone background.

Contact

Partnerships

partners@kcnomotorsports.com

The Tower

tower@kcnomotorsports.com

Press

press@kcnomotorsports.com

Store

store@kcnomotorsports.com

Base

KCNO Motorsports, Chino Airport, California. By appointment. Look for the windsock.

Someone from the team will reply within three business days.

Privacy

Draft, for legal review.

PrivacyTermsCookies

Go around.

This page does not exist. Climb, turn around and come back in.

HomeSeason