Castle Air Museum Gift Shop   

5050 Santa Fe Dr
Atwater, CA 95301
209-723-2178
www.castleairmuseum.org

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Just a few years ago Castle AFB was a humming beehive, a busy Strategic Air Command facility. Today, it is a much quieter general-aviation airport. A cluster of unadorned former military buildings perches beside its mammoth 12,000-foot runway, and the occasional Piper or Cessna flutters in where B-52s once thundered (visible from 20 miles away and filling the windshield on final approach, this runway is a great place to practice landing). The hangars and taxiways, however, house the most exciting and comprehensive collection of lovingly restored aerial warhorses west of the Mississippi. From a World War II B-24 Liberator bomber that is the last of its type to a B-52, KC-135 tankers (pictured) and various fighter jets, you'll see plenty of vintage aircraft in immaculate condition. An army of volunteer mechanics works year-round to keep the planes in tiptop shape. If you work up an appetite on one of the docent-led strolls, glide on over to the Museum's Flight of Fancy Grille for some chow. -- Brian Elsasser