Castle Air Museum
 |
|
 Location within California
Location within California
|
|
| Established | 1981 |
|---|---|
| Location | 5050 Santa Fe Drive Atwater, California 95301 |
| Coordinates | 37°21′53″N 120°34′41″W / 37.36475°N 120.577944°W |
| Type | Military Aviation |
| Website | www |
Castle Air Museum is a military aviation museum located in Atwater, California, United States adjacent to Castle Airport, a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base which was closed after the end of the Cold War in 1995. It is one of the largest aerospace museums displaying vintage aircraft in the western United States.
The museum opened in 1981, and currently displays over 60 restored World War II, Korean War, Cold War, and modern era aircraft. The outdoor museum covers 11 acres (45,000 m2), and among the exhibit highlights are a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird (one of only 19 surviving), a Boeing B-52D Stratofortress, and the massive, ten-engined Convair RB-36H Peacemaker, one of only four surviving and the largest mass-produced piston aircraft in history. An indoor museum features artifacts, photographs, uniforms, war memorabilia, aircraft engines, and a restored B-52 Stratofortress flight deck. A crew of volunteers restores and maintains the aircraft on display. The museum also hosts a periodic Open House in which visitors can view the interiors of certain planes.
In May 2008, the museum reached its 50th displayed aircraft milestone with the addition of a Douglas A-4L Skyhawk. The aircraft was shipped to the museum in August 2006, and restored at a cost of $12,000.
In October 2013, the Museum received a retired VC-9C aircraft that had previously served during several administrations as an alternate Air Force One and Air Force Two aircraft when use of the primary VC-137 or VC-25 was impractical. Labeled as a “mobile flying White House”, Mark Hendrickson, Director of the Merced County Department of Commerce, Aviation and Economic Development Department, said residents need to view the air museum as an economic development opportunity, especially when a plane of this stature is added to the collection. Vice Presidents such as Al Gore, Dick Cheney, and First Ladies such as Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, and Hillary Clinton, as well as Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan, were among the individuals who used the plane.
...
Wikipedia