ATWATER, Calif. (KMPH) -
For young and old there is always a fascination about flying. Most old American warbirds no longer take to the sky. But twice a year at Castle Air Museum the curious get the chance to sit in the cockpit of a bomber.
It was Open Cockpit Day Sunday at the museum in Atwater. Kids big and small got a chance to pull back the controls and watch the flaps respond.
Rick Morrison is a resident historian at the museum. "This was on hauled in from the Navy electronic bombing range in China Lake. It's actually three different aircraft that we took the best parts out to bring them in and put together."
Many of the planes on display are from World War Two. There's a B–25. Planes Jimmy Dolittle and his squadron flew off an aircraft carrier to bomb Japan. Some kids like Mike Frontella felt like they were in Disneyland. "I like everything about this place. The planes are old but they're nice. They're cool. They're just old planes. It's old technology but it's interesting."
Twice a year during the Labor Day and Memorial Day weekends, Valley people get a walking tour through these magnificent warbirds. It's show and tell at its best.
Just ask Alfonso Hernandez. "It was so cool because it has two bombs. It has one big one and one pokey one."
The executive director of the museum Joe Pruzzo says what he enjoys most is seeing the amazement in the eyes of children. "Also to look and marvel the technical aspects of how we got from small airplanes with their fabric and wood to airplanes with exotic metals. It took some engineering there."
