C&T Publications REVOLUTIONS II - April 2015 | Page 69

Castle Air Museum
by Tommy Anderson

The Castle Air Museum is a military aviation museum located in Atwater, California which is adjacent to the site of the former
Castle Air Force Base. The Castle Air Museum is one of the largest aerospace museums displaying vintage aircraft in the
western United States.
Named in honor of Brigadier General Frederick Walker Castle, the Castle Air Museum opened in 1981, and currently displays
54 restored pre-WW II, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam and Cold War era aircraft. The outdoor museum covers 11, 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-engine Convair B-36, one of only four surviving and the largest mass-produced piston aircraft in history. An
indoor museum also features photographs, uniforms, war memorabilia, aircraft engines along with other military aviation
memorabilia, and gift shop.
The museum periodically hosts "open cockpit” days in which visitors can actually view the interiors of certain planes, as well
as brunches, golf tournaments, concerts, lectures and fundraisers.
For those traveling via RV, the museum also offers RV camp space with hookups

For more information please visit: http://www.castleairmuseum.org/

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