Castle Air Museum

If you have ever traveled on that lonely stretch of Highway 99 between Fresno and Sacramento, you have looked boredom squarely in the face. Nothing but grain silos and railroad tracks. You are traversing one of the greatest agricultural centers in the world and boy, is it flat! About midway up is the town of Atwater, home of the Castle Air Museum. It makes a nice break from the drive, especially if you have fidgety little ones in the car.

I had read about the museum and its artifacts in various articles. What had caught my eye was that this museum is the keeper of several rarities that cannot be seen at a typical air museum. With that in mind we decided to get off the highway for a good stretch of the legs.

The road signs leading to the Castle Air Museum are rather poor, but fortunately our AAA guidebook had good directions. Upon arrival my immediate impression was this was going to be a treat. The planes are parked on gravel with grass around all them. This is unusual. Most museums park the planes on dirt where they are left to the elements. Funding and other limitations prevent them from being maintained.

Not here. With a full volunteer staff and generous donations, the planes at Castle Air Museum are restored and kept in pristine condition. Nose art is restored and aluminum polished. These planes look new!

As for their collection, it is extensive… 46 total and not just from the United States. There is an Avro Vulcan on loan from the British government, a huge delta-winged bomber that was made famous in the movie “Thunderball” with 007, a beautiful plane.

The grounds are well laid out with grass surrounding all the planes. Cement pathways direct you on a self-guided tour of all planes. Benches have been placed at various locations to rest your feet, cool off and take in the sights. We picnicked next to a B-52 bomber.

Oh, in case you’re wondering, our favorite plane was the B-36, a behemoth straight out of the 50’s and extremely rare. The Vulcan and B-47 ran a close second.

There is a wonderful museum on the grounds that houses tons of info and memorabilia, including flight decks, and a fairly good coffee shop. Check the Air Castle Museum web site below for hours and fees.

Highly recommended…my daughter loved it!

Related Links:

Castle Air Museum

CustomWebsiteDesignServices.com