Hello, Merced County.
This may sound surprising, but a major airport – with one of the longest runways in the Western United States – is within easy reach.
And its general use and potential in aviation is increasing every day. Just ask George Clover.
“On any given day,” he says, “you’ve got planes flying from Sierra Flight School, a Marine Corps C-130 coming, two F-15s from Fresno doing touch-and-go training, the Army coming with Apache and Black Hawk flights. I think on a Tuesday I counted two C-130s, one from the Navy, one from the Marine Corps. We had a supersonic training plane from Beale Air Force Base. We had two F-35s from Lemoore. We had an F-18 from Lemoore and two F-15s from the Air National Guard. And that was a random Tuesday.”
Clover is an airport coordinator at Castle Airport near Atwater, and he didn’t even mention the charter and cargo flights that also operate there.
Nearly 30 years after Castle Air Force Base closed its military gates, Castle Airport, with its 3,660-meter-long concrete runway, is still fully operational and ready for more traffic.
Yet it is sometimes referred to as the county’s greatest asset that no one knows about. Many motorists driving by on Santa Fe have no idea what is out there.
That’s why Clover and other county officials have created the first Castle AirFest & Family Fun Day, set for Oct. 19. The idea is to promote the airport and get residents excited about what’s available in their community.
It’s quite an ambitious event, and nothing like it has been seen at the airport since the military started hosting air shows with the Thunderbirds three decades ago. AirFest won’t be an air show in the true sense, but it will be a “fly-in” — meaning pilots from across the region and beyond are invited to land for a visit and enjoy a festival-like atmosphere right on a roped-off section of Castle’s vast runway and hangar areas. Some of those pilots are expected to bring historic aircraft, such as one confirmed pilot who will bring a World War II-era P-51 Mustang fighter jet.
Clover says he’s asked all branches of the military to bring “aviation resources,” so expect to see some active fighter jets fly by, land, and be displayed in a special area, along with some vintage aircraft trucked in from the nearby Castle Air Museum restoration hangar. There will also be local sheriff’s and CHP planes, Civil Air Patrol planes, and perhaps Cal Fire tanker planes. There’s no telling how many planes will show up, but one thing’s for sure: Castle has room for hundreds, maybe thousands, of them.
But AirFest isn’t all about aviation. The Family Fun Day portion includes an entertainment stage with live music, a “Bombs Away” car show sponsored by the Aviation Museum, a public safety show area with numerous local agencies participating, a local vendor market, a Kids Fun Zone and a garden with food and beverages.
Given the venue, there will also be a huge amount of easily accessible parking. However, it is quite a walk to the actual festival site on the flight line, so organizers are planning a shuttle service for guests as well as specially designated parking spaces for people with disabilities.
All this and the most incredible thing: admission to AirFest & Family Fund Day is completely FREE for everyone.
Clover, 60, says he is excited about AirFest, but admits that his job means he sees an interesting air show at the Castle every day.
Clover was appointed airport coordinator last September after serving as a leader in the county’s risk management department. He has been a private pilot since 1985 and has also organized smaller fly-in events at the Mariposa Airport, where he maintains his own aircraft. Clover grew up in Modesto but raised his family in the Atwater area and has held leadership positions at Kelly-Moore Paints in Merced and Farmers Insurance. He currently lives in Cathey’s Valley.
“One of the reasons I wanted this job was because I wanted to help realize the full potential of this place – a major airport that could accommodate anything,” he says. “Since Castle Air Force Base closed 30 years ago, everything that has happened here has been random. … So when you have a runway that’s over 11,000 feet long and 50 acres of concrete and lots of developable land, it should be more. This should be a major commercial hub of some kind – commercial, but not necessarily for passenger traffic.
“My mission is to help make the most of this place’s potential. That includes attracting aviation-related companies to take care of transportation, maintenance and the like.”
By marketing AirFest on aviation websites and inviting pilots to fly, word of Castle’s potential will surely spread even further.
Merced County residents can expect beautiful weather on October 19th with a 100 percent chance of cool flights and family fun.
Watch the County Times for further details as the event date approaches or visit the website: https://www.flycastleairport.com/events
