Air Museum Pics - Castle Air Museum

[comiso90]

Great day. Only a few of the planes were rare like the B-18. B-23 and B-36 but the collection was impressive. where else can you see a
B17
B18
B23
B24
B25
A26
B29
B36
B45
B47
B50
B52
B57

and a Vulcan in one place! Plus a lot more..

.: Castle Air Museum - Atwater, California :.

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[comiso90]

more

 

[comiso90]

Look how low the clearance is on the F-86 tank and how thin the tire is on the voodoo.

Also not the wing gear for the B-52 and the supercharger on a B-24

 

[comiso90]

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[comiso90]

I never saw a black A-26...
What is that pod under the A-4???

 

[pbfoot]

The CF 100 still has the EW pods on but since its from 414Sqn the Canadian EW squadron it makes sense

 

[comiso90]

another for you PB

 

[pbfoot]

another for you PB

ain't it ugly

 

[comiso90]

ain't it ugly

I dont think so... It's a bold utilitarian design.

reminds me of the scorpion,

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[comiso90]

Funny how the B-18 looks so much more primitive than the B-17.

Looks like the B-18 would be escorted by P-26's but the B-17 looks just fine along Mustangs.

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[Gnomey]

Good stuff Comiso. Thats a pretty impressive outdoor collection.

 

[v2]

8)

 

[comiso90]

This is on the site of a B-52 base that closed in the 90's. I can see why they leantowards bombers. It's very interesting to see the evolution from the B18 to the B52

 

[evangilder]

Neat stuff, Comiso! Thanks for sharing those.

 

[syscom3]

Excellent.

My vote for the prettiest jet bomber of all time is the B47

 

[comiso90]

thanks guys... u California peeps should stop by..

I agree with you sys when the B-47 is on the ground... in the air it's the Vulcan. It didnt look very elegant parked though.

I like the B-47's landing gear,

The one gun on the B-18 sure looks pitiful

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[Micdrow]

Great stuff, thanks cosimo

 

[Thorlifter]

Great collection. Sad to see how weathered they are looking.

 

[comiso90]

Great collection. Sad to see how weathered they are looking.

The B-36 had pigeons in the bomb bay. many had paint peeling off exposing aluminum.

The air in central CA is terribly corrosive and the 100 degree heat doesnt help. I'm sure when the Air Force base was active it was kept up better. I'm sorry I didnt volunteer to help years ago it's an hour from my house but it looks like i'm moving.

I'm sure they take donations!

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[SoD Stitch]

The B-36 had pigeons in the bomb bay. many had paint peeling off exposing aluminum.

The air in central CA is terribly corrosive and the 100 degree heat doesnt help. I'm sure when the Air Force base was active it was kept up better. I'm sorry I didnt volunteer to help years ago it's an hour from my house but it looks like i'm moving.

I'm sure they take donations!

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Can I post my pictures from a few weeks ago, also?

If you look inside the bomb bay of the B-36, you can see where they cut the airframe in half in order to transport it to Castle.

Interesting story: I went there with my nephew, who used to be in the ROTC before he joined the AF. He says he used to go down there (we lived in the mountains east of Atwater/Merced) and spend a whole day cleaning the planes, one by one. When he saw what kind of shape they were in, he said it looked like nobody had cleaned them since he was there 10 years ago. Sad . . . .