Castle Air Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Castle Air Museum

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Established	November 1979 (1979-11)
Location	Atwater, California
Type	Military aviation museum
Founder	Cliff James Gen. James P. McCarthy

The Castle Air Museum is a cool place to visit in Atwater, California. It's a special museum all about military airplanes! You can find it at Castle Airport.

History of the Museum

How the Museum Started

The museum first opened its doors in November 1979. Right away, a big B-17 bomber plane was brought to the airport. Workers started building the museum in December 1980. By March 1981, some old buildings from World War II were moved to the museum site.

The museum officially opened on June 20, 1981, with 12 aircraft on display. It was part of the United States Air Force Museum system back then. Just a few months later, four more planes were added!

Becoming a Private Museum

In 1991, there was news that Castle Air Force Base might close. This meant the museum's planes could be moved somewhere else. But after some planning, an agreement was made. The museum would stay open, but it would become a private museum, not run by the Air Force anymore.

The Air Force base closed in April 1995. Before it closed, people worked hard to make the airplanes look new again. After the base closed, the museum faced some money problems because it no longer received federal help. Around 2002, the museum started planning a new building. This building would protect delicate aircraft and hold a research library.

What's Happening Now

In May 2008, the museum added its 50th airplane! It was a Douglas A-4L Skyhawk. This plane was shipped to the museum in 2006 and carefully restored.

In October 2013, the museum received a special VC-9C aircraft. This plane used to be an alternate "Air Force One" or "Air Force Two." It carried important people like Vice Presidents Al Gore and Dick Cheney. First Ladies like Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, and Hillary Clinton also flew on it. Even Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton used this plane sometimes!

The museum keeps getting new planes. An F-16 jet arrived in February 2016. In 2021, five aircraft came from the Naval Air Museum Barbers Point, which had closed. A McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II moved to the museum in July 2023. The museum also opened a new place to eat, the Copper Wings Cafe, in July 2023. A UH-12 helicopter was given to the museum in December 2023. In May 2024, a TBM Avenger plane joined the collection. This Avenger had been found after landing in the ocean off Daytona Beach in 2022.

In June 2023, the museum announced it received $4 million in donations. This money will help build a brand new Aviation Pavilion to display even more aircraft.

Museum Buildings and Areas

The museum has a special restoration facility. It's in an old World War II hangar, separate from the main museum. Volunteers work there to fix up and prepare aircraft for display.

The museum also runs an RV park nearby for visitors.

Things to See Inside

Inside the main museum building, you can find many interesting things. There are old artifacts, photographs, and military uniforms. You can also see war memorabilia, aircraft engines, and even a restored B-52 cockpit!

Aircraft Collection

The Castle Air Museum has a huge collection of aircraft. Here are some of the amazing planes you can see:

Boeing B-29A Superfortress

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

Convair RB-36H Peacemaker

Douglas B-23 Dragon