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CASTLE WELCOMES U.S. ARMY AVIAVATION EXHIBIT
Castle helicopter

Castle Air Museum will be receiving a new addition to their collection of nearly 70 vintage military aircraft when a Boeing CH-47D Chinook Helicopter from the California Army National Guard touches down at Castle Airport at 11 a.m. Thursday.

The aircraft is a combat veteran of both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and its base was the 49th Aviation Company located at the Stockton Metropolitan Airport. The CH-47D Chinook will be the first significant U.S. Army aviation exhibit in the collection.

The trip to the museum will also be the last flight for its Pilot Chief Warrant Officer Doug Jones, who will be transitioning to fixed wing aircraft and ending his long association with this helicopter.

Castle Air Museum is located at 5050 Santa Fe Dr., in Atwater. It is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for children 5 and above and free for active duty military.

The museum is home to many rare and significant aircraft from the Korean, Vietnam and Cold War era. Examples include WWII bombers, one of four RB -6 Peacemakers in existence and Special Air Mission 1681, (also known as Air Force One/Air Force Two), which flew presidents such as Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton and every first lady from Rosalynn Carter to Laura Bush.