Which Castle Air Museum Planes Will Ever Get a Roof?

Picture the biggest airplane you have seen parked at 5050 Santa Fe Drive. Will it ever get a roof? If you are thinking of the B-52D Stratofortress or the B-29 Superfortress, the answer from the museum's own executive director is no. Both are too big for the shelters now being planned, and they will stay outside in Central Valley weather for as long as the museum has them.

The museum is starting a decade-long effort to cover part of its collection. The planes that define the skyline along Santa Fe Drive will still depend on a restoration crew with sanders, primer and paint guns. Whatever looks new on the field in a given year usually traces back to that hangar, one aircraft at a time.

Heat, Dust and Rain Set the Restoration Schedule

The museum has been preserving military aircraft for more than 45 years. In July, the Merced Sun-Star reported that the Valley's heat, rain, dust and wind have taken a real toll on those historic planes. An outdoor airplane collection doesn't stay finished, and the restoration crew works through a backlog that the weather keeps refilling.

That backlog sets the pace for everything else. The museum's August 2026 newsletter is a good example. Restoration manager Greg Stathatos wrote that the KC-135 and C-123 would "have to wait" to start repainting, because the crew first had to get the grounds and aircraft ready for Open Cockpit Day on September 5. Big public days and preservation work draw on the same people and the same weeks. On hot days, he added, the hangar crew runs "out of steam early."

What the Hangar Finished, and What It's Still Working On

If you haven't walked the field in a year or two, this list covers the changes, each tied to the hangar or the museum's display work:

• B-52D Stratofortress. The repaint is done. The August newsletter reported the SAC emblem and name markings were on, and the crew held off on the final touches so Al Osborn could install the emblem and paint his name on the plane himself.
• A-7. As of late August, the outer wings were installed, two major repairs were complete, and the control surfaces and nose cone were in place. Sanding was about halfway done, and the crew's stated goal was to be ready for October's AirFest.
• KC-135 and C-123. Both are next in line for repainting. The crew's two Hotsy pressure washers have been repaired and are ready.
• AV-8B Harrier II. This "jump jet" arrived in July 2025. ABC30 reported that Castle was among the first six U.S. museums chosen to receive one, and that the jet arrived in flying condition, which was expected to speed up restoration. Vintage Aviation News later reported that it had been demilitarized and moved next to the museum's Cobra helicopter.
• F-106 "black box." This display is indoors. The museum's April 2026 newsletter announced a finished exhibit built around a donated F-106 black box, its Hughes MA-1 fire-control system, and its link to SAGE, the Cold War air defense network.

The newest exhibit on that list is a box small enough to carry. Everything else is a full airframe that has to be stripped, repaired and repainted outdoors or in a busy hangar, and each one takes months.

The field got some national attention this fall. On September 2, 2026, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman visited the museum. KMPH covered the visit as a student Q&A and tour, where he talked about NASA's plans to return to the Moon, build a permanent lunar base and eventually send missions to Mars. Ahead of the visit, the museum's board chairman pointed to the chance to showcase the museum's F-100, an aircraft flown by several Gemini and Apollo astronauts. UC Merced's account of his time with its students described a talk on lunar and aeronautics work, including Artemis IV technology being developed with Lawrence Livermore.

The Roof Comes in Phases, and Phase 1 Is Half Funded

The Pavilion Project is the museum's answer to the weather. The Sun-Star reported it is expected to take about 10 years. Phase 1 alone is estimated at around $4 million, and the museum had raised about half of that as of July 2026.

Phase 1 has two parts. The first is a 60,000-square-foot event center, which Executive Director Jared Hines told the Sun-Star would host seminars, reunions and corporate functions. The second turns the former rodeo arena into a pavilion for some of the museum's World War II bombers. The draft environmental document the City of Atwater released for public review in October 2025 adds more detail. It lists 28,000 square feet of covered area in Phase 1 along with a relocated SR-71 hangar. Later phases would add more pavilions, a café and gift shop, more covered area and parking.

The museum frames the project as protection for the aircraft and better conditions for visitors. As Hines put it to the Merced Sun-Star:

"We're trying to make it a more enjoyable environment for people coming out."

Shade at the event center and over the WWII bombers will make July visits easier. The B-52D and B-29 will still sit in full sun, and so their paint will keep depending on the crew in the restoration hangar.

Why the First Shovel Takes So Long

Pouring concrete for a pavilion on an active museum field means moving airplanes out of the way first. The Sun-Star listed the challenges as moving planes to pour concrete, putting power lines underground and rebuilding sewer lines. The project also requires moving the memorial brick garden and flag area, and an architect is working on that piece.

The museum's May 2026 newsletter described the same holdups from the inside. Pavilion work had been slowed by sewer system work and by the approvals needed to bury electrical service and remove overhead lines. In its July 24 report, the Sun-Star said the rodeo arena work was expected to break ground in about a month. At a life member appreciation dinner this summer, museum leadership gave members a Pavilion Update. That is one sign the museum treats the project as a long campaign it reports on regularly.

If you have bought a memorial brick or know someone who did, this is the part to follow. The brick garden and flag area are on the list of things that have to move before the arena work goes forward. The museum stays open throughout, according to Hines.

Visiting Between Now and December

AirFest and the Fall Blitz Car Show filled the field on October 17, and the museum's calendar has no events listed for November. For a local, that makes the next few weeks the quietest time to walk the aircraft row and look at the freshly painted B-52 up close.

Admission prices on the museum's visitor information page:

A few practical points from the museum's listings:

1. The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The last admission to the aircraft area is sold at 3:15 p.m., and the museum asks visitors to call ahead in bad weather.
2. The VC-9 Presidential Aircraft is open for tours on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., weather permitting. A weekend visit is the only way to get inside it.
3. The museum is also looking for docents to lead those VC-9 tours, one day a month or one weekend a month. Volunteer Coordinator Bob Scoble handles the details.
4. The Members Dinner is December 5 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Merced Elks Lodge.
5. Flicks of Flight, the museum's outdoor film series, screened "Dr. Strangelove" in September and "Flight of the Intruder" on the evening of AirFest. Check the events page for the next screening.

To get there from Highway 99, take the Atwater-Merced Expressway to Green Sands, turn onto Buhach Road, and drive about a mile and a half to Santa Fe Drive. The entrance is on the left just after the railroad tracks.

Here at E3 Realty, we keep track of what is changing in the places our clients already call home, from repainted bombers to pavilions years away from opening. If you'd like an agent who knows Atwater down to the aircraft row on Santa Fe Drive, reach out and let's talk about your next move.