Castle Air Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 20 June 1981 |
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| Location | 5050 Santa Fe Drive Atwater, California 95301 |
| Type | Military aviation museum |
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The Castle Air Museum is a super cool place in Atwater, California, where you can see lots of old military airplanes. It's right next to Castle Airport, which used to be a big United States Air Force base. This base closed in 1995, after the Cold War ended. The museum is one of the largest places in the western United States to see historic aircraft.
Contents
About the Museum's History
The Castle Air Museum first opened its doors on June 20, 1981. It started with 12 airplanes as part of the U.S. Air Force Museum system. Just four months later, four more planes were added!
When Castle Air Force Base closed in 1995, the museum became a private place. It no longer received money from the government. This caused some money problems for the museum at first.
What You Can See Today
Today, the museum shows off over 60 restored airplanes. These planes are from different time periods, including World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, and even modern times. The outdoor part of the museum is huge, covering about 11 acres (that's like 8 football fields!).
Some of the most exciting planes you can see include:
- A Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, which is one of only 19 left in the world. It's super fast!
- A giant Boeing B-52D Stratofortress.
- The massive, ten-engined Convair RB-36H Peacemaker. This plane is one of only four left and was the biggest piston-engine plane ever made!
There's also an indoor museum. Here, you can find old items, photos, uniforms, and even parts of planes like engines. You can also see a restored flight deck from a B-52 Stratofortress. Many amazing volunteers work hard to fix and take care of all the planes. The museum also has special "Open House" days where you can go inside some of the planes!
New Planes Arrive
In May 2008, the museum got its 50th airplane on display! This was a Douglas A-4L Skyhawk. It took a lot of work and money to restore this plane.
In October 2013, the museum received a special VC-9C airplane. This plane was once used by important people like vice presidents and first ladies. It even served as an alternate Air Force One or Air Force Two for presidents like Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.
More recently, in 2021, the museum got five more planes from another museum that had closed. In July 2023, a McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter jet was moved to the museum. Also, a new cafe called Copper Wings Cafe opened in July 2023. In December 2023, a UH-12 helicopter was given to the museum.
Spooky Stories at the Museum
Some people say that the B-29A Superfortress plane at the museum is haunted! They call the spirit "Arthur." Museum staff and visitors, including people who study ghosts, have reported strange things. They've heard knocking and footsteps inside the plane. Lights in the aircraft have turned on and off by themselves. Even the propellers have been known to turn, even when they are locked! Some people have even taken pictures where they think they saw a ghost. Ghost researchers say their equipment has picked up unusual readings. These spooky stories were even shown on a TV show called Real Ghosts back in 1995.
Amazing Aircraft Collection
Planes on Display
- Avro-Canada CF-100 Mk.V Canuck
- Avro Vulcan B.2
- Beech C-45G Expeditor
- Beech YT-34 Mentor
- Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress
- Boeing B-29A Superfortress
- Boeing B-47E Stratojet
- Boeing B-52D Stratofortress
- Boeing F/A-18C Hornet
- Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter
- Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker
- Boeing WB-50 Superfortress
- Cessna C-150
- Cessna O-2A Super Skymaster
- Cessna T-37B Tweet
- Cessna U-3A Blue Canoe
- Cessna UC-78 Bamboo Bomber
- Consolidated B-24M Liberator
- Convair B-58A Hustler
- Convair F-102A Delta Dagger
- Convair F-106A Delta Dart
- Convair HC-131 Samaritan
- Convair RB-36H Peacemaker
- Curtiss C-46D Commando
- de Havilland Canada L-20 Beaver
- Douglas A-26B Invader
- Douglas A-4L Skyhawk
- Douglas B-18 Bolo
- Douglas B-23 Dragon
- Douglas C-47 Skytrain
- Douglas R5D-4 Skymaster
- Douglas RA-3B Skywarrior
- Douglas SBD-4 Dauntless
- Fairchild C-119C Flying Boxcar
- Fairchild C-123K Provider
- General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon
- General Dynamics FB-111A Aardvark
- Grumman A-6E Intruder
- Grumman F-14D Tomcat
- Grumman HU-16B Albatross
- Grumman S-2 Tracker
- Lockheed C-56 Lodestar
- Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star
- Lockheed F-80B Shooting Star
- Lockheed F-104B Starfighter
- Lockheed F-94A Starfire
- Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk
- Lockheed MC-130P Combat Shadow
- Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
- Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star
- Martin EB-57A Canberra
- McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle
- McDonnell Douglas VC-9C
- McDonnell F-101B Voodoo
- McDonnell F-4E Phantom II
- Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
- North American AT-6 Texan
- North American B-25J Mitchell
- North American B-45A Tornado
- North American F-86H Sabre
- North American F-100 Super Sabre
- North American RA-5C Vigilante
- North American T-39 Saberliner
- Northrop F-89J Scorpion
- Northrop T-38 Talon
- Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler
- Republic F-84C Thunderjet k
- Republic F-84F Thunderstreak
- Republic F-105B Thunderchief
- Saab TF 35 Draken
- Schweizer TG-3A
- Stinson L-5 Sentinel
- Vought RF-8G Crusader
- Vultee BT-13 Valiant
Helicopters You Can See
- Bell AH-1 SuperCobra
- Bell H-13 Sioux
- Boeing CH-47D Chinook
- Kaman HH-43B Huskie
- Sikorsky SH-60B Seahawk
Other Cool Exhibits
- AGM-28 Hound Dog - A type of cruise missile
- GAM-63 Rascal - A nuclear air-to-surface missile
- MB-1C - A special pod for nuclear weapons from a B-58 plane
- Kawasaki KAQ-1 - An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or target drone
- MK. 17 - A type of thermonuclear bomb
- NASA "Hyperglider" - An experimental vehicle for very fast flight
- Norden Mk. XV - A declassified bombsight (used to aim bombs)
- Ryan BQM-34 - Another type of UAV or target drone
