OUR FLIGHT ENVIRONMENT

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Castle Airport has over 50 surrounding airports within 100 nautical miles, allowing for the kind of diverse and complex training environment that pilots need before going to an airline. Pilots who take-off from Castle Airport will also find a large variety of notable landmarks, terrains and weather climates to travel across; from the fertile agricultural valley and Sierra Rocky Mountains to the beautiful California coast.

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION: Because Sierra Academy of Aeronautics is situated at a former U.S. Air Force base (Castle Air Force Base), it has the unique advantage of having a strategically selected location intended for pilot training all year long. Geographically, Castle is located in the Central Valley of California where it is nestled between two mountain ranges and sheltered from heavy storms and strong winds. As a result, Sierra Academy students fly all year long (every month of the year) with only some bad days or even some bad weeks when flights are temporarily cancelled during the storm & fog months – (between November and January).

TOWER & RUNWAY: Castle Airport (KMER) Runway 13/31, enjoys its own FAA certified ATC Control tower, which provides students with constant radio communications experience and the added safety of guided take off, approach and landing operations by a certified Air Traffic Controller. Additionally, Castle Airport has a runway over 2 miles long (11,800 feet / 3,596 meters), making it the 4th longest runway in California – ideal for safe landings and take-offs; complete with instrument approaches for

• ILS or LOC/DME 13

• RNAV (GPS) 13 / 31

• VOR/DME 31.